Of Tsuba and Tsubadome

In the world of Kendo equipment there is not  a lot of room for variety - we wear either indigo or white, the bogu can be here and there colourful, but not beyond a certain limit (and even that is considered by someone controversial), There is constant discussion even about the allowed colours of the tsuru - white or yellow, they say, no more.
I have my personal conviction that some of the limitations that we consider sacred rules are no more than metropolitan legends, that have been traded year after year from dojo to dojo - I am not for outrageous outfits, but the resistance against wearing white or kinari kendogi and hakama or, even worse, the idea that beginners should not wear high quality bogu, because it would be immodest and inappropriate, sound to me as evident aberrations.
Tenougui can be colorful and there are millions of possibilities available, but in a sense they are meant to stay hidden and they are not noble parts of our weaponry, as the humble tsuba and tsubadome instead.
I say humble, because we all started with the rather unattractive pieces of brown or yellowish plastic that came with our first shinai - the first shinai is long gone, but possibly that first plastic donut is still around and has been used times and times again. Till we realised that also for tsuba there is an ample degree of choice and improvement.
My first "improved" tsuba was everything but refined. It was made of plain, coarse leather and it was a present from a girl named Sayuri, who was captain of the Kendo team at Osaka College of Physical Education. I met her at the Kenshinkyorai seminar in Marseille and she carved her name on it. I admired her so much I kept that tsuba as a real treasure: it is still with me today. I decided never to revert to plastic.

I love objects that show a degree of craftmanship, so I bought many more leather tsuba, more elaborate ones - but the ones I wish to write about today are particularly attractive - and labour intensive.
Trum Miklòs Olivér makes leather tsuba under the name Keiko Studio (this is also the name of the Facebook page). They can be purchased on Kendo24.com or on Bujindesign.com.
I could see, touch and try them: they are definitely objects of beauty.
They are built with lovely precision - and given the hardness of the leather, they must cost a lot of gruelling work for the shaping and the stitching. They are really sturdy: mine are flower shaped and finely stitched - on the website many types are available, with a number of different decorative patterns.

Keiko Studio makes tsuba both for shinai and bokuto - and in my opinion bokuto really need a bit of love and consideration, given the still very few noble alternatives to plastic available. I actually think that my bokuto looks more elegant and dignified, with a tsuba and tsubadome that are little masterpieces in themselves.
Keiko Studio is all about leather - also discreetly decorated chichikawa are available - and for iaido kenshi an interesting way to protect the koiguchi. I was never so sofisticatd in my iaido years, but still the little disc has its use - and it is, again, a beauty.
In case you look for a Kendo present, be it for Christmas, a birthday or, even better, a successful dan examination, well, it is difficult to find a better decorative and affordable choice!


www.Kendo24.com

www.Bujindesign.com

Keiko Studio FB page

Sae - anyone?

Has anyone an idea about the way to develop sae? Do you feel sae is an important component of a kendo technique? Am I the only one to obsess about it?

First of all, what is sae? I checked the definition in the Japanese - English Dictionary of Kendo published by All Japan Kendo Federation. 

I quote word by word:

sae (n.)

The skilfullness of a waza, or the sharpness of its function of feeling. When striking, one moves the right and the left hands cooperatively, and tightens the te-no-uchi (way of gripping the shinai) instantaneously. This gives the striking sharpness known as sae in kendo,

By the definition itself,  it is immediately clear that it is not an easy concept to describe - but the presence of sae in any strike is one of the elements that make it a yuko-datotsu, although sae is not explicitly named in the definition of yuko-datotsu itself (valid strike) - referee's word!

Mmm, the plot thickens.

If i were to try a different description, surely I would retain the word SHARPNESS, but I would mention BRILLIANCE or SNAP or STING... 

In the Manga Way to Kendo (I hope someone already wrote that book...) sae is what makes an ippon sound like POK! instead than SPLAAAAK...

The AJKF's definition also gives a hint about the way to achieve sae: coordination between right and left hand - with the precise aim to increase the speed of the shinai tip, I would add. It seems an easy task, but we all know how difficult it is. Te-no-uchi evolves all along our Kendo career and we all recognise how clumsy it might be for a beginner to coordinate the action in order to achieve a correct, sharp strike.

In these lucky years, there are all sorts of aid - although nothing replaces constant, gruesome, repetitive, boring action (sorry, it has to be said....). One of the latest, I am certain everyone heard about it, is the Men-nari.

I tested it and I had it tested, too. There are two lengths available, the shorter one being the easier to master. But what is the Men-nari about? Below you might find the promotional video by Tozando:

Many friends of mine were immediately attracted by the possibility to practice suburi in a confined space, with an instrument shorter than a shinai: nothing better than training in the living room, without threatening lamps and other hanging decorations, and keeping marital bliss

The added bonus of Men-nari, though, is the SOUND: when the movement is performed correctly and the right sae is achieved, the reward is loud and clear.

The inner working of the tool is pretty simple, but rather addictive - actually, it is really daunting not to be able to achieve the right CLICK, if not after a good number of tries!

The longer version of the Men-nari is more challenging: the right acceleration has to be reached when the arms are being fully extended, or the the little sphere in the shaft will bounce about and the sound will be muffled and broken. It requires a certain amount of concentration - and it definitely makes sae more than a vague concept: it is actually a good tool to grasp it to the full.

I am still working to master all the secrets of this puzzling thing: for the time being I would advise to use it both as practice tool (for beginners and advanced kenshi) AND as dojo conversation piece!