If anyone is into Kendo could they please drop me an email.

pcooke@philc.net

Thanks ;)

Have I got it right?

Phil,
I do not practice Kendo, but have taken martial arts, so I guess I can give you some pointers... but dont take what i say as if it were carved in stone. A lot of this is from general knowledge or IMHO.

Youve got it pretty much right. The sleeves need to be full length, and the base of the outfit (gi, dobak, whatever you want to call it) at the legs needs to be wider. Not like flare bellbottoms, just they are all around wide.

And lastly, the staff seems to be a bit long, but thats just perceptually speaking. Though in measurement it could be accurate.

Phil you could put him in hakama which looks like a big skirt but is full length and is actually trousers and pleated of course jim

Thanks guys. I made the legs very full, and with a slight turn of a taper dial they look like this. Should they be fuller? The picture I'm working from has sleeves to the elbow only. The staff is only the cylinder prop to make the picture. I'll be including some swords and such. Michael has had some surgery. I threw out the left and right collars and made my own so there is now no chance of break out. Same with shoulders and shins. LOL not sure why his nibs is under there anyway, there is so little left :)

The legs tend to be very full (a kind of split-skirt). You are within the realm of "correctness" however. Do you have a good picture to model the shinai (practice "sword") from?

Yes I'm working from pictures but I would welcome any you would like to offer. In particular one showing the design to the front portion of the Muna Zuki would be most helpful.

pcooke@philc.net

Attached Link: http://www.swordforum.com

Funny you should mention Kendo... I just got back from a practice earlier this evening.. Here are a few details, off the top of my head.. The Dogi top is almost always deep blue. On occasion, it is white, and children wear a particular white and grey quilted pattern. Sleeves fall a bit lower on the elbow. There is no color to the lapel or seams, as that is a convention of the Korean pugilistic arts (taekwondo etc.) The Shoulder guards of the men need to be larger( Shinai strikes hurt) The men is secured by cords known as Himo. Himo, which also secure the Do(chestplate) are almost always a dark blue in colour, as anyone who wears a white dogi will quickly discover. The Do covers more of the upper chest. Kote are looser around the wrists. this helps to lessen the impact. The waist protector, or Tare, needs larger flaps( I don't know the specific term) that overlap, and cords that pass underneath the central flap. The Hakama definitely needs more of a "skirtlike" feeling, with better defined pleats. Hakama often follow the color scheme for the Kendo top. Black is sometimes used, and will pass for animation purposes. Footware is resricted to specific accoutrements that assist in movement. Very seldom are both feet covered. Almost never are they covered entirely, with the exception of elderly or injured practitioners. The weapon used in bogu practice is a shinai, which is 38 or 39 shaku in length (36 shaku for children). It is made from four sheaves of bamboo( or synthetic carbon surrogates) bound together. Well, this enough to keep you busy for a while. Good beginning, though! A good site to check out for specific arms and armour related questions is www.http://swordforum.com

That's a lot more specific than I can get :-). I can however also point you to... www.mantisswords.com click on shinai around about the middle of the page and you'll get a pic of some of the kendo armor and a shinai. , fgeorge

Thanks folks I appreciate your input. Here is the modified figure. I aim to emphasise the hakama creases using the texture. The jacket is now a separate figure so the hakama could be worn on its own. I think I'll supply him bare footed but include tabi in the package.

The whole combined figure including the modified Michael comes to 38000 polly's. This I feel compares well with the 34000 faces in the original Michael figure. I'm still looking for a good picture of the front of the Muna Zuki so will go through those web links.

Phil: closer, but the "skirt" is still too "pantlike". Its almost as if one starts from a somewhat full floor-length skirt, then cuts it straight through the middle from floor to crotch and inserts flat panels. Ill see if I can find photos as well.

Much better. The two things that still need to be modified, in addition to the Hakama, are the Tare and the Kote. The panels of the Tare need to be of a size that they overlap. They should probably be approx mid thigh in length. Part of their function is to protect against any cuts to the Do that miss their target. here is an image http://www.e-bogu.com/comset2ad.html The Kote are more mitten like. They function to protect the fingers from being broken with the wrists are struck with a shinai. They are comprised of a padded front, and a stiff gauntlet-like back, similar to a loose medeval style bracer. The back is loose, with a good two fingers thickness of separation between the arm and the padding. These are two distinct, connected pieces. here is an image http://www.e-bogu.com/kendo-equipment-kote.html Good going!

OK lets try this. Each segment of the tare is a "limb" with all the usual dials. This should make posing easier. It is parented to the figure's hip. The kote look like this with the hand closed. I can do the laces at the wrist with textures.... or should I just pitch it and start over?

The Tare is considerably improved. As for the Kote, The thumb needs to be protected. In addition, the enire finger needs to be covered..not just the outside. The palm should not be open, though if that provides too much difficulty, at least see to it that the fingers and thumb are fully protected.The question is really one of how much detail you want for the various meshes. The Kote could definitely be done as two part elements, though it can work as it is( if given good textures). Kote tend in structure to look just a bit like the hands of the old Mutant Ninja Turtles, with the fingers almost appearing to be comprised of a single mass split into two fused,stubby fingermasses. Oh, and don't forget the Himo(cords) that secure the Men(helmet) to the head. They are attached to the front of the men, on the top and bottom of the mask, and wrap back to cross in the back of the head. Looking good, and getting better!

So your hand goes right inside like a mitten? And do you have a sketch of the Men chords. I can not find a picture anywhere. Thanks :)

Yes. That is an accurate description. Here are some pictures of the Men. This is from Hiroshi Ozawa's "Kendo, the definitive guide"

And here is another image...

It's really coming along. I like it!

Progressing I think. Is this a better line for the hakama? The pleats I'll put into the texture. Although I have no training in any martial art I am very aware of the significance of different parts of the outfit. I also have genuine sympathies with the ethos of such disciplines. It is for this reason that I particularly want to "get it right".

Good. The Hakama are definitely progressing well. I think that once you have the pleats in place, they will be quite accurate. One matter that you might want to be aware of is that the Hakama should have a hard flap in the back that covers up to the beginning of the ribs/small of the back, overlapping the Dogi. it's shape is something like a rectangular pyramidal shape with a gently narrowing taper towards a flat top. Think of the basic profile of a ziggaraut. If you need better clarification, I will try to get an image. I really do appreciate the effort that you are putting in to ensure accuracy. I can't count how many times I wince when I will see a television show or illustration where the clothing, ettiquette, or techniques of a particular system are butchered. Of course, most of the substantial techniques and ettiquette of the various schools of martial arts that I have studied are less than cinematic. One example is swordsmanship. A real encounter is not likely to be ten minutes of clinking blades while jumping over furniture and throwing kicks. A single, decisive cut separating a hand at the wrist doesn't play as well for a generation raised on movies where shinken are swung about like fencing foils. Ah well...that's my rant. Kudos to you on the good work you are doing!

Phil: beautiful job. I truly wish I had your dedication and talent in this. I look forward to seeing this with the textures in place.

Kolschev: agreed. I participate in some UFC-like competition, and nothing pisses me off more when some yahoo says, "Theyre on the ground and they aint doin' anything!" But then, if life were like the movies, right now Id be living in a really swell apartment in midtown Manhattan, have a glamorous career, and, despite some trivial little problems that can easily be solved in ninety minutes time, be happily esconced with the love of my life. Oh, and Id be rich -- cant forget rich. =)