My gi makes me look fat.

Victoria Pitt wrote: Well, you have to graduate now to doing cuts mounted. Then you can train your horse in budo too to be a good war horse. What kind of horse? And more importantly, will he look fetching in war-horse gear? I know how to make some really cool head plumes for the bridle! (no, I am not kidding... previous job)

Now, where did I put that mohawk grenade .... gotta love Mr. T!

My horse is a miniature so I'd look pretty dang goofy trying to outfit 'Breezy' as a war horse with me whirling a sword .... I'm 6'4" and Breezy is a bit smaller than the Saint Bernard so I guess I'd have to say my war horse makes me look gigantic (the fat makes me look fat-becasue I'm fat). Might be kind of fun for halloween ...

Robert M Watson Jr wrote: My horse is a miniature so I'd look pretty dang goofy trying to outfit 'Breezy' as a war horse with me whirling a sword ....

Robert, thank you SOOO much for my giggle fit of the day; what an image that is....

Janet Rosen wrote: Robert, thank you SOOO much for my giggle fit of the day; what an image that is....

Are you laughing at me? Just for that I will be posting a photo so you can see that me and my valiant war steed (mare, whatever) are not to be trifled with! HIYO, AWAY BREEZY!

Clippity clump go the coconuts.

Ashley Carter wrote: I'm with you on that (or at least partly). I only wear a hakama in iaido as well. I won't be wearing one in aikido for a long time (started in March). I don't think I look too awful in a gi or hakama, though I would like a gi and hakama to fit my curves better (hence I will be buying from bujin when and if I ever get the money). P.S. Did I ever say I like you? You make me laugh an awful lot on here, and with my line of work, humor is MUCH appreciated.

Aww, that is very kind of you to say.

Last night, I was properly fitted into my Iaido uniform and I looked okay in it. I think the 100 yards of obi wrapped around my waist helped me look super svelte... Of course then I had to deal with a new issue- tripping- But that only happens when I kneel. I have to say that the hakama was the perfect size for me. It hits length wise exactly as it should. It is VERY heavy however. I have a new respect for yudansha now. I also know that if I ever do reach black belt in Aikido, I will wear a indigo cotton hakama for daily practice and the black one only for seminars, etc. The indigo one seems soooo much lighter!

Thanks again for the folding tips. You should get a rank just for getting your hakama tied properly and then folded properly. A nice lady helped me with it last night and was having a ball laughing at me trying to learn but the bow was so nice at the end. Getting the damn thing on took about 2 hours though... Much, much, much respect to you guys.

Robert M Watson Jr wrote: Are you laughing at me? Just for that I will be posting a photo so you can see that me and my valiant war steed (mare, whatever) are not to be trifled with! HIYO, AWAY BREEZY! Clippity clump go the coconuts.

Hmmm you know I actually know a martial artist... who has a horse... that we refer to as the war mare.... whose name happens to be Breeze....

One of these days I do plan to get a pic of me riding my horse in my Hakima...

I also realized I never answered one of your questions. The little plastic spoon is just for iaido. It goes into your obi. It is not worn in aikido because ukemi would hurt. You should be able to take it out though. Also, you will be putting on your hakama in a jiffy in no time at all. Folding it gets easier too. Just keep at it.

Do you like the bow at the end? I leave my himo dangling. No one in my dojo does the bow. I have only seen it online, so I haven't bothered trying it myself as of yet.

Ashley Carter wrote: I also realized I never answered one of your questions. The little plastic spoon is just for iaido. It goes into your obi. It is not worn in aikido because ukemi would hurt. You should be able to take it out though. Also, you will be putting on your hakama in a jiffy in no time at all. Folding it gets easier too. Just keep at it. Do you like the bow at the end? I leave my himo dangling. No one in my dojo does the bow. I have only seen it online, so I haven't bothered trying it myself as of yet.

The lady who helped me is from Japan so we did it "how we do in Japan" way. She made the bow and it was really nice. I don't know- do they do the bow in Aikido? I have always seen like a knot thing but never paid that much attention to it. Iaido is not rolling all over the floor so you get to stay pretty as you eviscerate people. I can understand the pretty bow. Aikido, well.. as I said, I'm lucky if I am still stressed at the end of class.

I keep trying to find this video on youtube where the poor guy is going and going against this yudansha and his clothes come open but he keeps going anyway. Poor sap.

Victoria Pitt wrote: I don't know- do they do the bow in Aikido?.

I've trained in a variety of styles, and, yeah, most folks do.
I never had a problem taking ukemi with the plastic keeper tucked in my obi, either.

Ashley Carter wrote: The little plastic spoon is just for iaido.

I'd say it's for every art other than aikido that uses hakama: kendo, iaido, atarashii naginata, the koryu I've been involved with, nearly ad infinitum. And like Janet, I've never felt pain with the koshibera

Victoria Pitt wrote: The lady who helped me is from Japan so we did it "how we do in Japan" way.

Be aware that when a Japanese person describes something as "how we do it in Japan", they're as likely to be describing a personal preference as they are a national trait. I've seen more ways to tie hakama in Japan than I can count.

ETA: If you're talking about jujimusubi (the cross shaped knot), it's generally more formal than a square knot and its kin. To me, tying jujimusubi in run of the mill practice hakama looks out of place. For regular iaido, kendo, or jo practice, I do basically a square knot and tuck the otherwise dangling himo under the others. I usually only tie jujimusubi when I'm in montsuki and striped hakama.

Kent Enfield wrote: I'd say it's for every art other than aikido that uses hakama: kendo, iaido, atarashii naginata, the koryu I've been involved with, nearly ad infinitum. And like Janet, I've never felt pain with the koshibera.

i agree. if you're falling correctly, then you really wouldn't make direct contact with the mat directly in the middle of your back... the hera is directly in the middle 'hooked' on your obi. that area doesn't make contact with the mat if you're rolling diagonally from shoulder to opposite hip.

also, when i first started doing iai, i found out that we (aikido) are the only ones who wear our gi pants under the hakama. in iai, kendo, etc, there isn't any ukemi per se, so no reason for us to roll around. and the jackets are longer so there's no 'skin' showing through the side of the hakama... so no need for gi pants.

I guess I should have said this before, but I don't wear the koshibera. In fact, no one in my iaido class uses one. We just wear aikido gi. I am just going off of what I was told by some other people I have spoken to. Guess I should have said that before. Sorry if I mislead you all!

Ashley Carter wrote: I guess I should have said this before, but I don't wear the koshibera.

Huh? Koshibera isn't something you wear. It's the name of the little "spoon" on most budo hakama.

Jerome Cervantes wrote: also, when i first started doing iai, i found out that we (aikido) are the only ones who wear our gi pants under the hakama. in iai, kendo, etc, there isn't any ukemi per se, so no reason for us to roll around. and the jackets are longer so there's no 'skin' showing through the side of the hakama... so no need for gi pants.

Unless, you have Aikido directly after or before Iaido and you need to do a "quick change" and don't feel like showing the dojo your cute underwear.

Just a thought.

Kent Enfield wrote: Huh? Koshibera isn't something you wear. It's the name of the little "spoon" on most budo hakama.

I know what it is and none of us have it in our hakama. We wear aikido hakama, not iaido hakama.

Ashley Carter wrote: I know what it is and none of us have it in our hakama. We wear aikido hakama, not iaido hakama.

That is why I was asking if there was a difference- I haven't seen the spoon thing on any of the hakama that I've observed in Aikido... I also think I got my Iaido set someplace totally different than where we usually buy stuff in our dojo on the advice of a friend of mine who is a Kendo-Iaido junkie.

I also know that the hakama I have now I'd never want to wear for Aikido because that back plate really is way stiff. I thought Aikido hakama had rubber in theirs because of the rolling?

Ashley Carter wrote: We wear aikido hakama, not iaido hakama.

hey ash

they're really not different. not that i can see at least... our dojo orders our supplies mainly from kiyota co. when i first started wearing my hakama, i wanted to find out what the difference was between 'aikido' and 'kendo' hakama, if there was one. so i'm on the phone with mr kiyota (really nice guy) and i asked him what the difference was. he said 'oh, little bit difference.'
so i said, 'really? they're different?'
'little bit.'
'what's the difference?'
'about 10 dolla.'

so my guess, not so much different. the older yamato sakura hakama i had before had a hera and i really liked having it, so the back wouldn't sag. my iwata hakama didn't come with hera, and i kinda miss it

kent, thanx for your additional insight

vic, ok you're right about the quick change. you win :P

Jerome Cervantes wrote: so i said, 'really? they're different?' 'little bit.' 'what's the difference?' 'about 10 dolla.'

LOL... that quote would so work for Mr Miyagi....

I make my gi look fat.

Round is a shape, and round things roll.

I have an aikido hakama, and the difference I've found is in the stitching. There is alot more stitching to hold the thing together. Also, there are no hard things in the back..its soft, makes rolling chill!

Jerome Cervantes wrote: hey ash they're really not different. not that i can see at least... our dojo orders our supplies mainly from kiyota co. when i first started wearing my hakama, i wanted to find out what the difference was between 'aikido' and 'kendo' hakama, if there was one. so i'm on the phone with mr kiyota (really nice guy) and i asked him what the difference was. he said 'oh, little bit difference.' so i said, 'really? they're different?' 'little bit.' 'what's the difference?' 'about 10 dolla.'

In my dojo, the aikido hakama doesn't have the spoon, the koshiita is a flexible rubber (most times), the himo are longer because you tie both in the front (or at least we do in our dojo) and have more stitching for durability. I would say that there are differences. Are they huge, no, but they exist. Same thing with an iaido gi and an aikido gi. They are essentially the same, but aikido gi's are thicker, more durable and often don't have a tie at the top that the iaido one's do. Again, I guess I should state that at least this is what I have found in my dojo and from talking to people from a few other dojos. I'm sure this is subject to change depending where you dojo is, affiliation and sensei....

My hakama also came with special powers...

Mine didn't

heh, dont want to say what my gi makes me look like... well, not even sure - but it is funny.

Since I bought it, the gi has gone from nice long to having the arms creep up to almost my elbows, and the pants... its just hilarious.

Trying to hold off until reaching 2nd kyu before getting another gi... as they arent that cheap.

Peace

dAlen

My knee squares are on my theighs when I sit in seiza! When I stand, they cover about half of my shin. HAHA.

Victoria Pitt wrote: TI also know that the hakama I have now I'd never want to wear for Aikido because that back plate really is way stiff. I thought Aikido hakama had rubber in theirs because of the rolling?

Nope. But if you ever need to remake the koshita, or are making a hak from scratch, plumbers gasket is the thing to use. And I was told this yrs ago by a guy from Chicago :-) He was right, I've used plumbers gasket 3 times now and it just rocks.