Naginata bogu/weapons

[Andrei Arefiev]

Hi,

Does anybody know any companies in Japan or elsewhere that offer naginata bogu (in whole and in parts) and would ship it to other countries (Russia in particular)? I have been looking for these on the net, but haven't found any so far. Web-sites would be best, but aren't necessary. English speaking contacts, on the other hand, are.

Thanks in advance,

[Nathan Scott]

Hello Mr. Arefiev,

Is your group an atrashii naginata federation under the INF in Japan? If so, you should have no problem getting support from them regarding issues like this.

There are numerous shops all over Japan that sell atarashii naginata gear. Here in the US we have a local branch of a company called "Eguchi (USA)" located in Gardena, California.

Alot of people will buy Kendo bogu, and purchase naginata kote and sune-ate for use in naginata. The naginata bogu is almost identical, accept for some minor differences in the Men.

You will need to have naginata kote and sune-ate custom fitted to each person, via a hand print and ankle to knee measurements respectively.

HTH,

[Enfield]

Most anyplace that sells kendogu can get you naginatagu. They're made by the same companies. You'd just have to make a special request for it as there is much less demand for naginata equipment than kendo equipment, and there isn't much demand for that to start with.

You do have me curious, Mr. Scott. How does an atarashii naginata men differ from a kendo men?

[pboylan]

Hi Andrei,

I can get naginata and kendo bogu, I just hesitate to sell it since I don't know very much about them. Email me privately and we can talk about what you need if you're interested.

Peter Boylan
Mugendo Budogu LLC
Martial Arts Books, Videos and Equipment from Japan
http://www.budogu.com

[Mark Brecht]

Originally posted by Enfield
You do have me curious, Mr. Scott. How does an atarashii naginata men differ from a kendo men?

:p Biggest difference is probably the shin protectors...


<b>Dear Andrei,

please visit our ebudo merchant forum. We do all kinds of special orders and requests. We have even a variety of Kendo/Naginata stores in our close proximity here.</b>

<a href=http://204.95.207.136/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=35><img src=http://images.honesty.com/imagedata/h/187/09/31870942.gif></a>

[Nathan Scott]

Hello,

As pictured above, the kote used in naginata are white (instead of blue, like kendo) and are not the "mitten" style, but instead have a division between the first finger and middle finger. This GREATLY enhances the users ability to manipulate the naginata haft.

Also, the sune-ate can be clearly seen as well. They have vertical bamboo slats (painted black, these days) to protect against shin attacks.

Anyway, the naginata men is indentical to the kendo men aside from (I believe) two main differences:

1) The men himo (helmet cords) are attached to the upper part of the men-gane (face grill), as opposed to kendo in which the himo are attached to the lower part of the men-gane. This method was apparently thought to secure the men to the head more securely.

If you were to use a kendo Men, it would be a small matter to switch the Men himo to the upper position for use in naginata - though this way of tying the men in naginata does not seem to be enforced.

2) I'm not sure about this, but I think the shoulder flaps (men-buton?) are more narrow/shorter to accomodate techniques that we never actually use in bogu, like furikaeshi.

Many people - especially men - seem to just buy a full set of kendo bogu, and add sune-ate and naginata kote. This will give you an extra set of kendo kote, but I find other fun things to use those for anyway.

As you may know, bogu from Japan is typically far more expensive than bogu made in Korea (which is very nice quality - at least in the upper cost levels). However, I think we recently found some lower cost bogu from Japan that was pretty reasonable. I would check with Mr. Brecht or Mr. Boylan.

Regards,

[Joseph Svinth]

I asked Kim Taylor about this, and he advised you to start by checking the cost of shipping, the reason being that postage is likely to double the cost of the items purchased. That alone could help you decide whether to buy from Japan, Korea, Europe, or North America.

[Enfield]

Originally posted by Nathan Scott
1) The men himo (helmet cords) are attached to the upper part of the men-gane (face grill), as opposed to kendo in which the himo are attached to the lower part of the men-gane. This method was apparently thought to secure the men to the head more securely.
This actuall isn't a difference. Lots of (some?) kendoka tie their men this way. I've been told it used to do with where you were from: Eastern Japan one way, Western Japan the other, but with modern cross-polination, it's become one of those "my sensei does it that way" kind of things. I've also been told it does hold the men more securely, but as no one actually has grabbed mine and tried to twist it, men slippage hasn't been a problem.

2) I'm not sure about this, but I think the shoulder flaps (men-buton?) are more narrow/shorter to accomodate techniques that we never actually use in bogu, like furikaeshi.
That is interesting. At least in kendo, there's no standard size for mendare (menbuton = men + futon is the padded part on top). I've seen some that barely cover the collar bone and some that almost go past the shoulder.

Thanks for the info.

[Nathan Scott]

Hello Mr. Enfield,

I double checked on the size of naginata mendare, and it was confirmed that they are a bit shorter for naginata men. In addition to furikaeshi (spinning the naginata around over the head), the shorter flaps are also useful for cutting from hasso kamae.

With kendo Men, it is alot easier to get "caught behind the flaps" (which is really annoying) when trying to cut from hasso kamae, which is not a problem in kendo.

Regards,