Maintaining your Shinai is necessary to keep it in good working order. When practicing with a Shinai, the leather piece, Nakayui, and the string, Tsuru, that hold the bamboo slats together will loosen and stretch. So will the leather handle or Tsuka gawa. These must be re-tied on a regular basis to compensate for this, else you risk damaging your shinai.
The following is a step-by-step description on how to re-tie the strings and knots on the shinai.
The Kensaki is the leather cap on the tip of the shinai. There are two methods to attach the tsuru to the kensaki. The default method (when you first buy the shinai) is a bit faster to attach, but can potentially rip or stretch the leather. I'll show how to attach by the other method.
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First, thread the tsuru in through and around the back of the kensaki.
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| You should have about 5cm (2") or so length of string coming out of the kensaki to tie the knot. Create a "U-Shaped" loop of string with the excess tsuru.
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| Take the long portion of the string and cross it over the front of the small loop you just made.
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| Bring it around the back of the loop, and through the top opening between the two strings.
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| Now, bring the long bit down and through the small loop and pull the knot tight.
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The Nakayui - part I. Slide the nakayui onto the string through the small hole at one end. We will come back and tie this later. |
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The "Tsuru Loop". There are two methods for this part of the shinai. One is by attaching a small piece of leather to serve as the "loop", the other is to use the Tsuru itself to make a loop. I will show both methods. |
| Method 1 - Leather Bit. Begin by making the start of a simple knot in the Tsuru. Separate the Tsuru as shown. Now, "sit" the leather bit on the Tsuru as shown, and pull the Tsuru tight. |
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| Method 2 - Tsuru Loop. Begin the same way as above by making the start of a simple knot. Then, make a loop as shown, and pull the Tsuru tight. |
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Attaching the Tsuru to the Tsuka-gawa.
| | Pull the Tsuru through the leather loop attached to the Tsuka-gawa |
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| Bring the Tsuru up and through the "Tsuru Loop". Bring the Tsuru back down towards the Tsuka-gawa and put it through the collar of the Tsuka-gawa. |
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| Pull the Tsuru tight! Be sure to keep the tension of the Tsuru tight while doing the following steps. (This part takes practice.) |
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| Wrap the Tsuru around the back of the leather Tsuka-gawa loop. |
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| Now, bring the Tsuru back to the front, making yet another loop in the Tsuru. Bring the Tsuru through the loop, then pull it tightly to the left. This "knot" will help keep tension in the Tsuru. |
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| Continue to wrap (tightly) the excess Tsuru around the the Tsuka-gawa's leather loop, then finally tie it in a knot. |
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The Nakayui - part II
| | Wrap the Nakayui around the Shinai three times. |
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| Create a loop in the Nakayui as shown, and pull it tight. This will help keep it from sliding up/down the Shinai. |
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| Bring the Nakayui up, loop it around the Tsuru and pull the Nakayui through the loop. Pull tightly. |
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| Repeat this "looping" at least three times, pulling the Nakayui tight through each loop. |
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A good rule of thumb is that you should not be able to put two fingers (easily) between the Tsuru and the Shinai. If you can, you should tighten the Tsuru. Also, there should be no "gaps" or spaces between the parts of the Nakayui wrapped around the Shinai slats. If there is, you should re-tie the Nakayui.
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