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  1. #1
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    Default Too much Viagra?

    There are a couple of ladies in my dojo who have just gotten into hakama and are using Iaito (my spares). They’ve been shown how to tie their hakama ‘correctly’ but when they put their swords through their obi and hakama himo, the swords sit at a 45 degree or even more vertically rather than just above horizontal. We can’t figure out why and they say it’s because they ‘have hips’, despite both being svelte. I pointed out that I’ve seen female Japanese Iaidoka with nearly horizontal swords and they both chimed back at me, “But WE have hips”🤔🙄

    Can anyone suggest how this might be remedied...and don’t say liposuction.

  2. #2
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    Hm. Maybe they need an instructor to help them adjust the angle. My hunch is that they tie their obi high on their waist, while most men I know bring it down just under the belly. This is because the illiac bones tend to flare out a bit more on a woman than on a man, kind of like elephant ears. So, when we tie an obi, it sits along the nook atop the illiac "wings." Then, when you slip a bokuto or iaito/shinken saya through the obi, it pitches at an angle

    To correct this for myself, I position the bokuto or saya just in front of my hip bone, and then adjust it to the proper angle. No problems!


    https://onlinesciencenotes.com/wp-co...-f-563x381.jpg
    Cady Goldfield

  3. #3
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    Thanks for advice, Cady. You don’t say where you tie your obi. Do you tie it lower in imitation of male wearers?

  4. #4
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    I use one of the soft iaijutsu obi (not kaku obi, as they are too stiff for my old fingers to tie well), which has the stretchy end that tucks and lies smoothly against the body. It sits on top of my hip bones. The himo of my hakama are tied low, below the belly.
    Cady Goldfield

  5. #5
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    It has been my experience that women naturally have to wear their hakama higher than men, due to the greater flare of their hips. However, this does not cause the sword to sit more vertical. That is generally caused by having the obi too loose to hold the sword properly. The looser the obi is, the more vertical the sword will sit.

    It is more difficult for women to tie their obi as tightly because it sits higher. I have found that the easiest way to get around this, and thus cause the sword to sit correctly, is to ensure that the saya passes over the lower hakama himo after going through the obi. This wedges the saya between the obi and the hakama himo, and helps to keep the sword from falling into a more vertical position.
    Paul Smith
    "Always keep the sharp side and the pointy end between you and your opponent"

  6. #6
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    Using the stretchy-end iaijutsu obi solves the problem, at least for me, as the friction of the fabric keeps the obi snug. You wrap it tight and tuck the soft end in flat, and it holds. The slightly stretchy fabric of the body of the obi gives a little so it's not like wearing a corset. ;-)
    Kaku obi are too stiff,IMO.
    I agree with Paul that the problem for women is not that the tsuka goes vertical. It just pitches at a sharper angle than desireable.
    Cady Goldfield

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