Purchasing Tabi

[Dark Kendoka]

I am one of those people who have low ceilings in the house so it's hard to do some Kendo practice inside. I can do the suburi inside, but I guess it would be nice to practice outside. I have looked around and saw about outdoor tabi and such and I was wondering what you think about using them for those that have experience in doing so.

[Brian Owens]

I don't do Kendo, but I do like training out-of-doors sometimes, and have both gone bare-foot and worn tabi. I like the way the differences in terrain neccesitate changes in footwork compared to practicing on smooth wood floors or tatami. I think everyone should do it from time to time; after all, the bushi from whom our arts sprang didn't fight only on flat floors.

[louroberto]

I also train and cut outdoors. I purchased these tabi and they are great for training outdoors. Hope this helps!

http://www.awma.com/index.cfm/action/productdetail/product_id/9270.htm

[ScottUK]

I have done outdoor embu in 'ninjer boots' and they're ok. Better than a pair of nikes... :)

[Brian Owens]

I have done outdoor embu in 'ninjer boots' and they're ok. Better than a pair of nikes... :)
And a lot easier to doff and don than waraji. ;)

[100110]

I often practice on an uneven lawn in tabi. It's very interesting. If it's a wet day I stick to tachiwaza because there's a limit to how much I'm willing to mess up my hakama.

Make sure you get the right size. In my experience there's not a lot of choice from regular suppliers. Mine are a little loose and therefore less than ideal, but I'm getting used to them.

[Dark Kendoka]

Thanks for the replys everyone. I have looked around at some of the tabi and the rubber-soled ones seem to be the most expensive, unless the other kind are a better option.

[renfield_kuroda]

http://www.awma.com/index.cfm/action/productdetail/product_id/9270.htm
Marketing is an amazing thing. One man's ninjer boots is another man's construction worker's shoes.

I imagine a bunch of European fencers clomping around in Timberlands...

Regards,
r e n

[mews]

Marketing is an amazing thing. One man's ninjer boots is another man's construction worker's shoes.

I imagine a bunch of European fencers clomping around in Timberlands...

Regards,
r e n


no, they would buckle their swashes clomping around in cool boots with a 2" heel. in lace and satin, too.
the ninjers get the boring black outfits.

mew

[Jason Chambers]

Try www.tabisonline.com

The rubber soled tabi, at least here in the "Ninjergized" United States are going to cost you between $40 and $50.

[Dark Kendoka]

Interesting. I wonder why the ones given on AWMA and other sites are so much more expensive than those dedicated to selling tabi. I have seen some of the reviews for the tabi mentioned on the first webpage on here and I don't trust them as far as I can throw them.

[Brian Owens]

...One man's ninjer boots is another man's construction worker's shoes....
And some people try to get both at the same time:

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/tabis_online/laceup2.JPG

Things that make you say, "What the..."

[renfield_kuroda]

And some people try to get both at the same time:

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/tabis_online/laceup2.JPG

Things that make you say, "What the..."
Not really. The rubber-soled, split toes are generally variants of construction-workers' boots. Mainly for good traction when climbing about scaffolding; supposedly much better grip than thick soled, inflexible boots.
I've also seen 'street tabi' with proper soles for use in festivals; those are probably better for martial arts.
Then again, you really should try it in seta or geta...then again, most of the stories I've read have the samurai taking his footware OFF and stuffing them in his obi if he thought he was gonna get into it.

Regards,

r e n

[100110]

Apparently mine have leather soles. Could anyone shed more light on this? Were leather soles used historically? Is this just a modern marketing device? I'm not trying to demean the company I bought my tabi from, because they do they job pretty well... I'm just wondering.

[renfield_kuroda]

"Historically", tabi were socks. You wore them, and them put on geta or tied on some wara or something.

Regards,

r e n

[100110]

That's not quite what I meant. I was asking about the soles. It seems that some are just cotton, while I bought a pair with leather. I didn't fail to comprehend their function as socks, or that one puts on shoes after socks :)

But it's not an important question.

[Dark Kendoka]

I'm pretty sure that someone would correct me if I'm wrong, but my hypothesis is that there were rubber soled ones for martial arts like Ninjutsu. I don't think that the cloth soled ones would provide the silence needed to sneak around.

[Jason Chambers]

Tabi are/were socks... Most olden time Japanese foot wear wear made like modern day flip flops... Would you want to walk around in the dead of a Japan winter in just flip flops? No. You would put on your tabi socks...

[renfield_kuroda]

tabi = socks, in that tabi were not footwear in and of themselves. The characters for tabi are literally 'foot' 'clothing'.
A modern invention is the 'outdoor' tabi, which combined the sockiness of the tabi with the outdoorness of the footwear. The most popular of these are:
1) For festivals, generally a short, colored tabi with an outdoor sole
http://www.uni-work.co.jp/web/tabi/index.html

2) For workin', 'jikatabi', generally more bootlike w/tough soles:
http://www.uni-work.co.jp/web/g/index.html
(Steel-toed! http://www.uni-work.co.jp/web/at/index.html)

"Real" tabi are just socks. Generally for wearing outside, WITH FOOTWEAR, to keep the feet clean/warm/cool/dry.
Often they were taken off before going indoors, as they'd get kinda skanky from walking around outside all day.
These days usually made from cotton, perhaps silk, sometimes nylon.

A variation of these are budo tabi (another modern invention), usually made with a thicker, often leather (suede) sole. The ones I have use velcro to seal instead of kohaze (the little metal bits that you slip into the ukeito, the 'receiving string').

I will not get into a debate about ninjers, so I will not get into a debate about ninjer boots for sneakin' up on the enemy and stranglin' him with the fishing wire hidden in the pommel of yer ninjer-sword, whilst hypnotizin' his friend with ancient sutra chants...

Regards,

r e n