How to Take Care of Your Kendo Bogu

Here are some simple things you can do to keep your bogu in good condition.
Video on how to wash your men, should you really need to: bit.ly/1e60dwr
Opening sequence artwork by Madonna Wozny
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Opening sequence music credit: "Pamgaea" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons...
Dojo etiquette disclaimer: If some of the things I describe in my videos differ from what your sensei tells you, you should of course follow your own sensei's instructions.

[@Sopidex]

It is sad that you stop making videos. Your explanitions were clear and the image was of quality. You were addressing topics that other kendo video are not talking about or not as well as you did. Thanks for those quality videos that I keep refering to for my group.

[@frog8220]

This is a really neat explanation, I especially like the "things to pay attention to" that you note.

[@mattiasdevlin1363]

"...when the smell is more powerfull than your waza." Isn't that the point of a smelly Bogu? Get your oponent off balance with odour alone, expecially useful during tsuba zeriai!? Classic comment though, will use it when I lecture beginners next time...

[@DedicatedSpirit8]

"You know your kote has become a biohazard when the smell is more powerful than your waza" 🤣 🤣 🤣

[@artsakakihara5519]

Many thanks from Maui

[@emcgrath3245]

This was wonderful. I learned a lot about taking care of my daughter's Kendo Kote for her. Thank you.

[@mazsaraksh1372]

Thank you for this nice and informative video. Its always good to learn new tips

[@bikergolfer]

I leave a mild scented car freshener in my bogu bag. Makes my gear smell pretty good after hehe

[@mosama22]

Thank you for the beautiful and very informative video. Just one info hopefully will help 🙂: The CVS 91% 16 FL rubbing alcohol is $3.12, while Walmart. 91% 16 FL rubbing alcohol is $1.40, And the 32 FL (double the size is only $2.79 Thank you again for all of your videos ☺️☺️

[@PaulHBShin]

Sorry. What's the question that you have?

[@mosama22]

@@PaulHBShin 🙂🙂 No question at all! Just wanted to share an info, the alcohol idea helped a lot actually. Thank you 🙂🙂

[@tartarart4922]

Thank you very much!

[@frog8220]

Tea tree oil will hurt your lungs though. I use a mix of alcohol, glycerine, grapefruit oil, ginger oil for the same purpose (and many more)

[@jimson9297]

Thanks for yet another great video on kendo Mr. Shin. I am still new at kendo and just recently wore Bogu for the first time. A warm and painful but also fun experience. I was thinking that a small amount of leather fat could be good for the dou chigawa to help keeping them soft and limber.

[@alefzagato]

Thank you so much!!!!

[@yokedupbra]

guilty as charged. I left my bogu in the bag after practice one day needless to say I put it in storage in a basement. a nice damp basement. ughhhhh I was moving and got my gear only to find you guessed it mold on the kote. I was soo horrified. this was a gift from an old friend. I wanted to pass down. there was a little mold on the men too. so thats what lead me on an Internet search. the question that compelled me "how can I clean my bogu." God is good cause he directed me to this video. I would was nervous i wouldn't find anything. at least I can start with the kote in the wash that will be good and the the hakama and dogi. I will try rubbing alcohol for the men.

[@apatheticwithnoa]

jojo i hope it all went well my friend

[@user-pu6qd4sw2k]

yo how did it go?

[@daniellopezeverest]

Awesome video thank you for sharing very informative! :-) by the way that was a joke was a good one! LOL!

[@wolvesism]

Thank you Sensie San

[@yokedupbra]

when your smell is more powerful thank your waza. lmao

[@PinAriel]

The mix of alcohol and tea tree oil is a really useful tip! I'll be trying it next week for sure! What product do you use to clean the inside of the mengane? (Specially in the lower bars, where some kind of dirt tends to build up)

[@PaulHBShin]

+PinAriel Remember, just a few drops of tea tree oil. A little goes a long way. As for cleaning the lower mengane, I just use a damp rag.

[@bigmacjack4308]

First time I washed my kotes in the washing machine it started to bleed indigo paint and it took 2 weeks to dry completely they soaked up so much water don’t make the same mistake://

[@JoanaR22]

That's some great tips, will certainly use them! Do you know anything elsee that would do the same effect as the tea tree oil that goes with the alcahool? Because I don't think we have that here in Portugal, at least not commonly found.

[@PaulHBShin]

+JoanaR22 If you can't find tea tree oil, then just go with plain rubbing alcohol. Works perfectly well.

[@ImTheReal]

Tnx for share sensei!

[@TheUnknownL]

Awesome video Paul! What if you just received a first/new Bogu? How would you go about taking care of it right out of its packaging/it’s storage? Moreso for the Men so the Men-dare is spread out nearly rather than looking like someone sat on it; but knowing what to do for the other parts would be greatly appreciated.

[@PaulHBShin]

This is a good reference video for shaping the men-dare. At the 4-minute mark. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWqkmaOGndypmLc And as I said in this video, the main point is to let the bogu dry out as much as possible between practices.

[@user-xw5nv9ck3d]

신선생님. 김형섭입니다. youtube에서 뵈니 참 반갑습니다. 영어가 너무 유창해서, 제가 잘 이해를 잘 못하겠네요.ㅜㅜ 이해될 때까지 열심히 듣겠습니다. 서울에 오시면 연락주십시요.

[@kayleeteribery898]

wish we could see you do shia.

[@BrakkoJanus]

Some great information in this video, thank you. Question, would denatured alcohol (the common pink one) work as well for cleaning the bogu? I can't find isopropyl alcohol anywhere other than on Amazon for 12€/l which is quite a steep price, but I have denatured alcohol readily available for cheap which is still over 90%. Thank you!

[@PaulHBShin]

Not sure.But I don't think denatured alcohol would be a good option, because it has additives specifically meant to make it smell bad to discourage consumption.

[@BrakkoJanus]

@@PaulHBShin Makes sense, those additives might ruin the bogu or just smell bad. Thanks!

[@shin8249]

한국인이세요? 저도 신씨라 보자마자 엇! 했네요 ㅋㅋㅋ 반갑습니다

[@perialis2970]

0:58 i kinda disliked his serious face as, i hate the seriousness of japan but this joke was funny and made me realize hes that type of guy that is serious-funny i also loved the video

[@dominiquealfandari5744]

What do you use to clean and maintains your Kiri Do?

[@PaulHBShin]

Nothing special. Just wipe it down with a damp cloth every once in a while. The main issue with kiji-dou (or any real bamboo dou for that matter) is that it's sensitive to variations in humidity, so the opening will get smaller or larger depending on what time of year it is.

[@shnyfan6609]

I could not find cheap rubbing oil where i live (the one from pharmacy only has 55% isopropyl alcohol content, so lots of residue), only find a 99.5% isopropyl alcohol from nearby car part dealer. Would the higher alcohol content has any negative impact in the bogu in anyway? Also because it's fairly expensive ($8 for 300 ml can), can I use it once per week rather than after every training session?

[@PaulHBShin]

Which country do you live in. Maybe you can find something cheaper online? The higher alcohol content shouldn't have any negative impact on the bogu -- as long as it's pure isopropyl alcohol. And yes, you don't have to use it every time. Just use as needed. The ultimate check will be whether it eliminates the odor.

[@kanekikirigaya3346]

whats your bogu stitching and price also were you purchased.

[@PaulHBShin]

The parts of the bogu shown in this video are from different makers. The men and tare are part of a set with a stitch spacing of 1.5-bu. I can't quite recall the exact cost of the entire set. I think it was something like $1,800. From a manufacturer in Korea by the name of Sehyun.

[@DedicatedSpirit8]

I accidentally left my bogu armor outside in a duffle bag outside for the night amd it ended up raining. The bag was slightly under roof and it ended up slightly wet. Barely. Im more worried about men and kote than anything else. It wasnt SOAKED but slightly wet. Bogu was bought sometime around May of this year (2023) How much damage am i looking at?

[@PaulHBShin]

First order of business is to get everything thoroughly dried out. Then you can assess damage. Main location to keep an eye on is the leather band around the mengane. Also, in case you're not already doing this -- when you return home from practice, you should be taking the bogu out of the bag and letting it air out to dry.

[@DedicatedSpirit8]

@PaulHBShin It was raining heavily last night and today. Unfortunately I had to leave it drying indoors. The damage wasn't too bad. As soon as weather clears up I'll have it drying outdoors. Thank you for your advice. I will do just that when I get home from work. Again, thank you very much!

[@bushido007]

lol@ smell more powerful than waza

[@wintersoldierdimentor5731]

im not allowed to bring home my bogu😂😂😂

[@BzykN7]

Dont get mad at me because of my stupid question, but... Can I use kendo armor to fight with others in kenjutsu? Just wonder if it will be not disrespectful thing to do, but I want to do little sparring with my friends...

[@PaulHBShin]

This should be a question for your Kenjitsu teacher.

[@splurski]

Paul Shin Hey um do you know when we should start kendo?

[@thekatanaist]

It depends on the Ryu. Bogu doesn't protect the whole body, so you will have to limit your strikes to the top of the head, the wrists, and the stomach. If your kenjutsu techniques don't cater to this, then the bogu won't really help. As an alternative, you can look into Gekken swords, which are padded, so even if you hit unarmored areas, it won't hurt as much. As mentioned by Paul, check with your instructor before you do anything.