 White Belt
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My Gi Thread
Hellow all, Ive been lurking around this board for some time now, I just dont post all that often, so I am still, a mere white belt on the sherdog forums. Ive probably read just about every thread pertaining to gis. So I decided to make my own. I own many gis and hopefully one day, I will be King of the Gi people! But for now, here are some of my opinions on the different gis that I have owned. Also feel free to add to this thread with your own input.
there are so many gi brands out there, I cant think of one I dont especially like. Ive just noticed that some have weakpoints and some have strong points. For instance, the keiko raca gi is pretty good, the top is cut for the taller narrow guys (thankfully I am.)Although, I dont like the red trim that is around the waist and cuffs of the sleave, but its a GB gi so I can look past that.Its a light weight top, but still feels strong. The down side to the top is, it seems to open alot in the chest, like superman when he is dashing off to change into his tights. I have to tuck it in all the time because Im not trying to show off my chest or anything. The pants on the other hand are a different story. I like the rope tie they have, but the crotch is cut too low and my legs dont have that great of mobility. The material feels strong, and they are about averge weight, but with the low crotch problem, I always feel like I have hike em up past me belly button.
HCK, the pants have the same problem, cut too low and when someone picks up my leg for a single leg, my other leg starts to come with it. They are made out of very durable material and have a very strong contrcution though. I wish they had a rope draw string like the keikos. The top on the other hand, so far, is my favorite. The contruction is top notch, it has the setsugi stiching, which some people complain about because its hard on thier backs when using guard, but I dont even notice it. The gi top also has the reinforcement pieces sewn into it along the collor, waist, and on the seam of the sleeve. That is something I seem to find more common among judo gis, but a very good idea. the lapels dont fold all the way over but still fits real well, and it has a killer price. The collar is strong and makes it hard for people to choke you, that is really the only part about the top that I dont like. I would rather posses the skill to defend my neck then relying on my gi to do it for me. Overall, the gi top is awsome, just not the pants.
The Mkimonos are another awsome gi brand, the cut is narrow like I prefer and the material feels realy strong yet light wieght (the hybrid weave). I dont like the gold embroidery on the ass of the top though. I think is looks kinda silly, but I dont ever see it so oh well. I like the collar on it, not too hard not to soft. The only other draw back is when I wear it after washing it, it is hard like sand paper (I hang dry my gis.) It actually tore the skin off of my friends knuckles when drilling takedowns. The pants are good too, cut higher so leg mobility isnt a problem, the draw sting just bunches up pretty bad, actually I dont like the string they used either. Overall though its a really good gi, just too pricey. I also think it would be good with a reinforcement system like the howard and the gi keeps slowly shrinking, pretty soon the gi will be the size of a t shirt and the pants will be shorts!
Atama is a good gi. The top has about the average contruction of a jiujitsu gi. I do like the diamond pattern around the waist of the top, I feel like it makes the gi a little lighter. Ive heard people say that it is a good gi for a narrow person, but I went back to my atama the other day and it felt like I was swimming in it, it felt too baggy (maybe Im loosing weight?) The jacket doesnt close all the way so it opens up pretty easy. The pants are about average weight and pretty good contruction. Over all it is a decent gi, the thing that suprised me was it lasted for about 2 and 1/2 years untill the pants ripped. But I was drying it in a dryer alot, so that why now I hang dry. I noticed with this gi is that is stop shrinking eventually to the point where you can wash it in hot water and dry it. But I wouldnt recomend doing that though.
KF gis are good, not too many places you can get them from what Ive found. The Gi top is pretty much the same as a Atama, other then the logo I cant tell the difference. It does have one reinforcement piece sewn into the waist though. The pants I hated. They were cut good, but didnt last long. Also, you knwo how most gi pants have the extra layer of padding from the thigh down tot he cuff, well the KF pants had it from the knee to the mid shin, which wasnt the problem, the problem was the material used for this padding was similar to the inside of a ruff feeling gi top. I went to a seminar once that was about 2 hours and when I got out my knees we real red and sore, it felt like I was ribbing my knees with sand paper. i also think that it caused me to get some ingrown hairs on my knees.
I have a Vulkan gi, which is holind up pretty well suprisingly, considereing how light it is, I would have expected it to rip real fast like the pants did. The pants lasted a month, so thats the verdict on those. The top though, is running strong. I really like the weight of it but it almost feels too light. The top also tends to feel rather baggy too, so Im not a fan of that, over all a decent gi, but the pants suck.
I do own a Rickson Gracie Mizuno gi, the sport model. I have mixed feelings about it. The top is real baggy around the stomach and chest area, I dont have the muscle structure of Rickson to fill it out. It has some of the same judo style reinforcements like the HCK but not as many. I like the collar though, not too hard, I would just rather the gi be made a little more narrow like the Mkimono of HCK. The pants on the other hand are One of my favorites. The pants are perfect, cut high and made of very strong material, they are heavier than most pants, but I like that considering how easy pants rip, but I dont notice the wieght to be honest, they feel normal to me. They also have the triple row stich reinforcement around the cuff of the pants which is good. The only thing I had to do was change the draw string, and cover up the Rickson logos with GB patches of course. The top is ok, pants are awsome.
I dont have an SSF gi but I did order some pants a while ago and I am very pleased with them. They are almost identical to the mizuno pants. Which makes these too pairs my top two favorite pants. The SSF pants are a little lighter though, but Im thinking thats because they are from the light weight gi model maybe?
So there it is, my reviews of the gis Ive had, I think I have ahd others but cant think of them at the moment, hope this helps anyone who is interested. Also this gi looks pretty interesting, Id like to take her for a test drive!
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