First of all, let me explain a few things. I'm only reviewing 100% cotton gis because I am allergic to polyester, so that's all I've ever worn. Also, all the gis I review are white because in my organization that's all we wear.
So lets begin with lightweight gis and work our way on up to heavyweight shall we?
KI - Light Weight 6.75 OZ (100% cotton)
Price: $13.95
Size: 4
KI's official website (in English)
Available online? Yes, you can purchase it at the above site
How much will it shrink? Not much. I washed mine in hot water and dried it on high heat for several years and it couldn't have lost more than an inch.
Pros:
One thing I like about this gi is that it is THE cheapest beginner gi I have ever seen. It does the job, is available online, orderable in bulk (with discounts for large purchases might I add), and is perfect for training in extremely hot weather (where a heavy gi is just not the best experience).
Cons:
On the down side (and this is true with any lightweight gi), there is a tendency to be transparent when wet with sweat. Also, lightweight gis like this one tend to tear in the groin and other places more easily than a medium or heavy weight (as was the end of my first KI lightweight gi). Unlike other lightweight gis I've had, this one has a tendency to open up in the front, which is obviously less of a problem for men than women. Lastly, you will note that even though my pants are rather short, my sleeves are so long that they had to be rolled up. This is the result of a VERY common problem I find in many non-Japanese brands: wide shoulders. The shoulder seam is actually closer to my elbow in the picture. For that reason if you have broad shoulders this may be the perfect gi for you. However, if you have a thin torso like mine, you're going to have to choose between pants that fit or a top that fits... and will mostly look odd in any size.
Kamikaze (now "Tokon") - Economy Karate Gi (Eco) ~8 OZ? (100% cotton)
Price: $25.00
Size: 2
Tokon's official website (in English)
Available online? Yes, you can purchase it at the above site
How much will it shrink? Not much. I washed mine in hot water and dried it on high heat for several years and it couldn't have lost more than an inch or two.
Pros:
This gi is a little thicker than the KI lightweight, which diminishes some of the afore mentioned problems inherent in bargain gis, yet it is still lighter than a mid or heavy weight gi for ease of training in heat. Also, maybe it's just me, but even though this is a beginner gi, it doesn't look like the typical no-shape pajamas I'm used to seeing. Also, this gi has never torn in the crotch (or anywhere else) during training, which is always good.
Cons:
It has the same problems as were mentioned previously for all light weight gis (tearing, translucency, etc.), though to a lesser degree. Another problem is that this gi DOES run rather large (thus why a 5'4" woman wears a size 2). It should be noted that the gi I am wearing in the above picture is technically from a line which was discontinued when the brand "Kamikaze" changed its name to "Tokon." However, I do believe that it is comparable to the "eco" line.
Now lets look at some medium-weight gis!
KI - Mugen - Orange Label 10 OZ (100% cotton)
Price: $40.00
Size: 3
KI's official website (in English)
Available online? Yes, you can purchase it at the above site
How much will it shrink? Very little. I washed mine in hot water and dried it high heat for several months and it seems to be the exact same size
Pros:
This is definitely my favorite gi for training. It's comfortable, durable, not too thick and hot or too flimsy, looks good, easily available online, and most important is INCREDIBLY inexpensive for a middle weight gi. This is important to me as training hard can also be hard on my uniform (blood, grass, mud etc.), so it's nice to be able to afford a new nice looking gi if I need it. Also, the cut on this gi looks pretty good in kumite and kata in my opinion. So you can even use it as a tournament gi if you wanted. It's very versatile.
Cons:
My only complaint about this gi is that even though I wash all of my gis together, this one got ever so slightly more dingy-looking after a few months. Though honestly, the only way I could tell is when I put it right up against another gi and squint my eyes.
Yamaga - YMG 10 OZ (100% cotton)
Price: ~$166.00
Size: 4 (though I really should wear more like a 3 1/2)
Yamaga's official website (in English and Japanese)
Available online? Yes, you can purchase it at the above site
How much will it shrink?LOTS! Most Japanese brands aren't pre-shrunk, so definitely wash any Yamaga on cold and hang-dry.
Pros:
This gi has a nice narrow cut to the shoulder, which is good for slim people like me. Also, I appreciate that this gi's placement of ties for both the pants and top do not bunch up around the belt (which they do for almost every other gi I have). The fit is therefore very comfortable.
Cons:
In general, the jacket flap hangs a little low for my tastes (though that could just be because mine is a little too large). Also, for most people, this gi is a little bit too expensive for the average day of training. I usually reserve it for tournaments or similar fancy events.
Hirota - MH11 (custom fit with embroidery) 11OZ (100% cotton)
Price: ~$180.00
Size: 4 in Pants, 3 1/2 for jacket
Hirota's official website (in English and Japanese)
Available online? Yes, you can purchase it at the above site
How much will it shrink? A good bit. As I said before, most Japanese brands aren't pre-shrunk. Wash this on cold and hang-dry.
Pros:
This is the BEST fitting gi I have ever worn (well duh, it's custom fitted). Also, the fabric the canvas used to make this gi has a very high thread count. This means that even though it is virtually indestructible, it makes me feel almost like I'm wearing regular clothes! It's kind-of amazing.
Cons:
Like many of the other Japanese brand gis out there, this is quite expensive. Also, it's not very feasible for the average American to fly to the Hirota factory in Kyushu for a custom fitting, but I was fortunate enough to be in the area. Aside from that, wearing tailored gi pants takes some getting used to, I'm not going to lie. I was so accustomed to constantly pulling up giant sac-like pants before I had this gi that I felt a little naked at first, but they grew on me with time.
And Last but not least... the Heavyweight gis:
Tokon - Europa ~11.5OZ? (100% cotton)
Price: $130.00
Size: 2 1/2
Tokon's official website (in English)
Available online? Yes, you can purchase it at the above site
How much will it shrink? It varies. After washing/drying on high heat I found that the top didn't shrink at all (which is what I wanted to happen), while the pants may have shrunk an inch or two beyond what I wanted.
Pros:
This is a nice thick gi which I am positive will never rip unless you bleach it excessively (which I wouldn't recommend for any gi). Also, if you are someone with wide shoulders, the proportions of this line will probably fit you better than others.
Cons:
Unfortunately... I am not one of those broad-shouldered people. Similar to the problem I had with the KI uniform above, this gi is simply cut too wide in the shoulder and middle for my thin frame. The result is that the sleeves can appear too long while the pants and even the jacket length itself can be too short. Another con is the cost of this uniform. There are simply less expensive ones out there.
Mizuno - 77FH301 ~12 oz (100% cotton)
Price: ~$80.00
Size: 2 1/2
This gi on Mizuno's official website (in Japanese)
How much will it shrink? A LOT! DO NOT dry this in a drier, do NOT wash it on hot, even if it's huge on you and you want it to get smaller. I have a child-sized gi sitting in my closet now because I failed at this. DON'T BE LIKE ME!
Available online? If you can read Japanese you can get it on the above site. If you'd rather shop in English, You can try this site (though it's more expensive and doesn't seem to carry this exact line).
Pros:
It's a nice thick, relatively inexpensive, heavyweight gi. The color is nice, not too blue, not too white.Most importantly, it fit me like a glove... before I shrunk it after washing it the first time that is (thus why I don't have a photo of my body in it).
Cons:
The heavyweight gis are always slightly less-desirable to me since I tend to live in hot climate places. But mostly MAN! Can this thing shrink! It must have lost about a foot in every direction with one hot-water wash! It's really too bad I can't wear it anymore, because it looked fantastic when I wore it the first time.
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Though my French isn't good enough to know exactly why, it used to be a long-standing joke in my house that the meaning of our last name, "Baudier" was something akin to "one who rides donkies." However, due to my recent investigations on the internet, I have good reason to believe that the meaning of "Baudier" is something more like "brave warrior" ... which, pardon me for saying, is pretty hard-core (at least compared to "mule rider" or whatever it was). On the other hand, I can't help but laugh at the notion of such a strong name being attached to someone like me. I mean, when I was a child I used to be afraid of everything: elevators, escalators, planes, heights, even toxic mold. And let's face it, how many asthmatic, anemic (hence the bruises), underweight female karate-ka do you know? Sometimes it really makes me laugh how unsuited I must seem to the life of a karate-ka.
You know, having trained for several years now, I've seen quite a few people pass though dojos on a bad mission so to speak. In all of their actions and words and ways they present themselves to others it's clear that they are putting in effort for the sole purpose of getting something to which they feel entitled. Some people want a rank, some want to win a competition, but this type of mind is always expecting something in return. Often once such a person obtains his desired result he'll quit, and even more commonly, a karate-ka who thinks like this will fail at her mission and get very angry about injustices comitted. All I can figure is people like that must be very used to success. Perhaps one of the small advantages to being a born weakling is that I never have to worry about feeling entitled to anything.
To me karate is like a fall thunderstorm. Some days it waters my garden and brings in good weather, while other days I get pummeled with hail and flash floods that seem like they could shake the life out of my frail body. Yes, the more I think about it, the more I'm sure that I love both training and storms in the same way. I do my best to prepare for both, but regardless of how else I fair, nothing could make me more satisfied than simply surviving one day of it to experience another. When you really think about it, compared to the strength of a hurricane (or the wrath of a sensei who can count REALLY fast) we're all pretty weak.
Perhaps it's just the low iron levels in my blood, but there's nothing like reaching that hot-cold calm feeling somewhere between what I thought was my maximum and the final seiza of the evening. When training gets to that point I feel equal to anyone.
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