Is your shinai safe?
Have you heard of SSP Mark?
It is now less than 100 days until the 19th World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy.
Today, we would like to talk about the shinai regulation and its safety that will be always checked at kendo tournaments.
There are detailed regulations for shinai to ensure fairness and safety.
For example:
1. Length
- The length is regulated based on the competitors' age.
- For example, you may not use any shinai length shorter than 39 if you are university student or older.
2. Weight
- Just like the length, the weight is regulated based on the competitors' age.
3. Sakigawa's length and thickness
- Sakigawa (tip leather) must be longer than 5cm and thicker than 26mm for university and up. (25mm for women)
4. Thickness of bamboo
- The thickness of the bamboo at the location of 8cm from the tip, which is considered as the thinness location, must be over 21mm. (20mm for women)
These 4 components are always checked at every tournament.
Additionally, they will check that tsuru, nakayui, and other knots are not loose, as well as the condition of the bamboo itself.
It is crucial to check shinais to ensure the safety, and it is not ideal for your opponent to get injured because of your shinais' malfunction.
The shinai tends to be break easier if you left the splinter or kept them in a dry room.
There are some bogu stores that are selling shinai that may not pass these regulations.
It is very important for each consumers to check the shinai yourself.
In Japan, all the bogu stores are putting "SSP Mark" sticker on shinais so consumers can immediately know that those shinais are meeting the regulation.
They are all avoiding to sell any shinais that will not meet the regulation.
After these safety practices, all tournaments hosted by All Japan Kendo Federation requires competitors to use a shinai with SSP Mark sticker since 2017.
This SSP Mark is not fully recognized in North America yet, but we are actively selling shinais with SSP Mark to ensure the quality and everybody's safety.
Check our shinai selections:
- MEN'S SHINAI
- WOMEN'S SHINAI
- JUNIORS SHINAI