Having woken to suddenly more wintery weather this morning, I was thinking about some of the things that everyone can reasonably do in preparation for the end of the academic term and the change of seasons.

While most of us are pretty good at keeping on top of the basics like cleaning and maintaining our training uniforms, looking after some of our other gear can seem like a daunting task, not knowing where to start and what precisely to look for/do. Prompted by the very generous donation of practice naginata from Perth’s Raymon Lawrence sensei (via Tom Johnson sensei) I thought that I might dedicate this post to some of the things you can easily do this week.

Wooden training equipment
Most of the Club’s disciplines will have you use wooden, bamboo or cane equipment in the ordinary course of training. These need to be looked after with regular maintenance, especially in Toowoomba’s relatively dry environment. If you keep your equipment in a hot place (like the back of your car) this will accelerate the rate of potential deterioration and hence make them unsuitable/dangerous to use over time. Some of my hot tips include:

• It’s a great idea to have a maintenance kit put together ready for use and available if you need to make running repairs as required. This will most likely include a sharp craft or specialist knife, wood-safe oil, sand paper, wax block, and replacement fittings as required for the items you are servicing (like spare tsubadome, tsuru, and leather parts).

• Make sure that you check your equipment for signs of wear either at the end of each session or very soon afterwards. This will save time during practice rather than having to deal with it in class. I set my gear in a way that makes it obvious whether I’ve checked it or not (usually there way I have tied the bag that I keep the piece of equipment in).

• Keeping the fittings in good order is critical to usability and safety. For shinai correct tension of the tsuru (string) and wear of the fittings like The sakigawa (tip covering), nakayui (bracing tie) are essential. Make sure these are checked before each class, as they can alter/deteriorate even when not used.

• Bamboo and cane needs to be regularly checked for any splinters or cracks. These can be dangerous if not seen to. For fine splinters, a light sand with 800 grit paper and the application of some candle or bee’s wax can keep things going. For larger splinters, you may need to cut them with a very sharp craft knife against the direction of the splinter before sanding and waxing. Any horizontal cracks are usually an indication that there may be a safety issue and that you will need to replace rather than repair. If in doubt, check with one of your more experienced sempai …

• Avoid heavy sanding or carving of wood and bamboo. It can affect the structural integrity and weight balance of the item, and lead to further problems down the track. The adage should always be “safe rather than sorry”.

• Wood and bamboo ought be oil treated at least every 6 months (better every 2-3 months) to increase an item’s longevity. “Hard wax”, tung oil, and linseed/turpentine mixes are all very good at preserving the wood, as is more expensive options like camellia oil or walnut oil. Just make sure that you give sufficient time for the oil to penetrate the wood and wipe off any excess before coming into training. Avoid peanut oil, as some people may have allergies that are triggered by even casual contact with it.

I hope that these tips are useful. If there is sufficient interest, I might even commit these to a YouTube video so that you have a ready reference of “how to”.

Will look forward to seeing you at training this week!