Equipment Maintenance.
Cleaning your Hakama, Dogi, and Tenugui
- DO NOT leave your hakama, dogi, and bogu out in the sun or dry in dryer. The sun will bleach the dye and the dryer will damage the material.
- Recommendation: wash your dogi and tenugui after every training. Hakama can be washed every week.
- Use a washing bag for your hakama - you can get them from most supermarkets.
- Tenugui must be hand-washed, if not then placed in a washing bag to prevent fraying.
Cleaning Bogu
- DO NOT leave your bogu in your bag. Let it air under the shade in the balcony (unless you want mould).
- Use Febreze antibacterial fabric softener to get rid of the odour. You can also spray it with isopropyl alcohol or buy a special bogu cleaning spray.
- Occasionally use disinfectant wipes to wipe down bogu.
- At home, get a damp cloth and wipe the men, to get rid of salt stains.
Shinai Maintenance
Tools
- Sandpaper (100-150 grit)
- Light oil such as linseed oil or beeswax
- Pliers
- Cutters
Tips and Tricks
- If you see a splinter, sand it immediately!
- Use a light oil to coat your shinai. This acts as a coat to prevent moisture from rotting the wood.
- Check your shinai for splinters and cracks during and after every training session.
- Tighten the nakayui at least once a week. Don’t tie it too tight or you might "banana" your shinai.
- Clean and maintain shinai at LEAST once a month.
Step 1
Take apart the shinai. Sandpaper each individual slat, making sure that you check for cracks or splinters.
Lightly oil each individual slat. Make sure there is no excess oil on the slats afterwards.
Throw away any that are broken.
Step 2
Reassemble the shinai. Loop the tsuru (string) through the loop attached to the handle of the shinai.
Make sure that it is tight enough where you cannot fit more than 3 fingers between the tsuru and shinai slats.
Step 3
Step 3
Tie the nakayui about 25-30cm away from the shinai tip.