What's in Your Karate Wardrobe?

[Urban Trekker]

Lately, I've been going to the dojo five times a week, and that may become the norm for me. Used to be two to three.

I've been getting by on three gis (two regular training gis, and one kumite). After I have trained in a gi once, I will not wear it again before washing. As such, there have been times where I went in with a damp gi because I threw it in the washer an hour it was time to head out.

I'm considering adding two more to the wardrobe.

For you "Bob the Lawyer" types out there, what's in your wardrobe?

 

[TenHands]

-An extremely heavy and durable kata gi that makes my walk audible from several miles away.
-An extremely light kumite gi that is so comfortable and nimble that I would gladly sleep in it.

Both of which are top-of-the-line pieces of equipment whose investment will surely last me several years.

 

[dancingalone]

Lately, I've been going to the dojo five times a week, and that may become the norm for me. Used to be two to three.

I've been getting by on three gis (two regular training gis, and one kumite). After I have trained in a gi once, I will not wear it again before washing. As such, there have been times where I went in with a damp gi because I threw it in the washer an hour it was time to head out.

I'm considering adding two more to the wardrobe.

For you "Bob the Lawyer" types out there, what's in your wardrobe?

When I used to train hard, I would sometimes wear up to 3 do-gi per day because I am a heavy sweater and I don't like feeling wet, so I would change after every hour. It's a different level of need for everyone. Uniforms last longer if you can let them air dry completely instead of using a mechanical dryer, and the fabric and stitching benefits from some time from not being wet from the wash or the in-use. This is especially true in humid climates where rot can happen. I agree you could benefit from owning 2 more uniforms.

I own many uniforms, ranging from the higher cost imports from Japan to the cheaper ones made in Pakistan. I probably wear my Hirota Pinack(s) the most. I am going on my 6th year of ownership of these sets and surely use them at least weekly sometimes as much as 2x a week. They are still going strong. As I said, proper care and rotation makes them last longer.

 

[Urban Trekker]

When I used to train hard, I would sometimes wear up to 3 do-gi per day because I am a heavy sweater and I don't like feeling wet, so I would change after every hour. It's a different level of need for everyone. Uniforms last longer if you can let them air dry completely instead of using a mechanical dryer, and the fabric and stitching benefits from some time from not being wet from the wash or the in-use. This is especially true in humid climates where rot can happen. I agree you could benefit from owning 2 more uniforms.

I own many uniforms, ranging from the higher cost imports from Japan to the cheaper ones made in Pakistan. I probably wear my Hirota Pinack(s) the most. I am going on my 6th year of ownership of these sets and surely use them at least weekly sometimes as much as 2x a week. They are still going strong. As I said, proper care and rotation makes them last longer.

Ah, a Hirota guy! My two training gis are MH-12's. I was looking at getting one Tsubasa and one Takumi each as my additions.

 

[dancingalone]

Ah, a Hirota guy! My two training gis are MH-12's. I was looking at getting one Tsubasa and one Takumi each as my additions.

Good choice. One of my students has the Takumi. That thing is loud. He always wears it when he competes in a kata tournament so he can sound extra 'powerful'. LOL

 

[Buka]

One black heavyweight gi and several Martial Arts T-shirts. I wear the gi when I visit a school, otherwise just shorts and one of the T-shirts when messing around outside.

That’s now, back when I trained for a living I usually had three black gis, two red gis, two blue gis, a white gi, a star spangled gi and five school T-shirts that we spared in. In my dojo you wore a black gi. If you made brown belt you could wear what you wanted, within reason of course.

 

[_Simon_]

4 gis currently, but may be getting a new one at some stage

Should see my first Kyokushin gi... absolutely ripped to shreds, so it's the one I wear when I train at home haha. Looks like I've been through some seeerious battles, and... it's true!

 

[Christopher Adamchek]

1. heavy weight white for my school
2. heavy weight white for my teachers school
3. heavy weight black for my grand teachers school
4. light weight black
5. middle wieight competition white and black
6. middle weight demo red and black
7. middle weight red top
8. heavy weight red pants
9. light weight pink (i wear in october for breast cancer awareness)
10. middle weight karate cargo pants

 

[drop bear]

Just multiple sets of action jeans.

 

[SahBumNimRush]

I have 3 Sun Brand Master Heavy weights (2 12 oz 100% cotton and 1 10 oz poly/cotton blend), and I recently purchased a TK-10 Shureido uniform from Okinawa. I LOVE the shureido uniform. I will be investing in another one down the road soon.

 

[Hanshi]

I've been retired over 12 years and don't need a lot of gi. But I do have a black canvas gi over 23 years old, a couple of middle weights, a judo gi and a fairly expensive one along with a black crosshatch black hapkido gi..

 

[Shatteredzen]

Lately, I've been going to the dojo five times a week, and that may become the norm for me. Used to be two to three.

I've been getting by on three gis (two regular training gis, and one kumite). After I have trained in a gi once, I will not wear it again before washing. As such, there have been times where I went in with a damp gi because I threw it in the washer an hour it was time to head out.

I'm considering adding two more to the wardrobe.

For you "Bob the Lawyer" types out there, what's in your wardrobe?

First off, thank you for being the clean guy in class, I wish more people were this considerate, seriously. I think you are right on target with having 3 to 5. I do laundry twice a week or more and I prefer training in shorts and a moisture wicking shirt since I'm not on the mats as much right now, so I have two gi's, a heavy and a light one although I have entertained the thought of getting at least one more if I can find a local BJJ place to frequent. I don't think 5 would be excessive for the amount you are training at all.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

My needs have changed over the years. I don't do tournaments or seminars anymore, I just work out in the dojo. I have several diamond-weave gi from Tiger Claw. They're durable and cheap. They don't look like much, and they offer no 'snap' when you punch or kick in them, which doesn't bother me. I find they last me about 3 years, then I replace them.

 

[Shatteredzen]

After reading this thread yesterday I went and inspected my current Gi's. I'm contemplating enrolling in a local Gracie BJJ club I just found and sadly, my beautiful Okinawan Judo Gi that I prefer for BJJ has not kept up with my COVID weight gain lol. Does anyone have any recommendations on high quality BJJ gi's that would still breath well in hot weather? I'm in the central valley in CA and it gets up to 110 pretty routinely in summer.

 

[SahBumNimRush]

So I've had the Shureido New Wave 3 for almost 2 years now. It is starting to show some yellowing in the collar and pits, but otherwise is still crisp and sturdy. I ordered my first Hirota Takumi last year, and just got it back from the Tailor (had it trimmed Moo Duk Kwan style). I cannot wait to try it out tonight in class! I've never had a custom tailored uniform before.

 

[J. Pickard]

I have one for every day for similar reasons. Once I train in one it needs to be washed and I don't want to do laundry everyday.

 

[Hot Lunch]

So I've had the Shureido New Wave 3 for almost 2 years now. It is starting to show some yellowing in the collar and pits, but otherwise is still crisp and sturdy. I ordered my first Hirota Takumi last year, and just got it back from the Tailor (had it trimmed Moo Duk Kwan style). I cannot wait to try it out tonight in class! I've never had a custom tailored uniform before.

I recently ditched Shorin-ryu after about three and a half years after realizing that I was going through pure hell for no reason (long story that I'll probably get into later), and finding out that there were smarter ways to continue my martial arts journey. I've been doing Shotokan for about a month now, and couldn't be happier.

Anyhow, I own a Takumi. Before moving to my current dojo (ISKF), I did scope out the place a few times, and noticed that no one was wearing WKF gis; so I had to retire both the Takumi and the Tsubasa. I also retired the two MH-11's, as there are no sleeve patches at the current dojo, so I don't want gis that look like crap with frays on the sleeve where the old patches were.

When I decided it was time to move on, I ordered two Tokaido Kata Masters (12 oz), complete with ISKF labels and embroidered chest insignia (I was loyal to Hirota, but Hirota has nothing for ISKF). I would have ordered the "made in Japan" Tokaido gis, but I decided to save a few bucks for the time being as these are temporary until I shed a few more pounds.

As for the Takumi? When I ordered it, I got everything in the "standard" size, with only the sleeve and trouser lengths being altered. And it fit way too tightly compared to the MH-11's. Furthermore, it wasn't fun to train in at the old dojo; though I probably wouldn't mind training in it at the current dojo had I gotten the non-WKF version.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Lately, I've been going to the dojo five times a week, and that may become the norm for me. Used to be two to three.

I've been getting by on three gis (two regular training gis, and one kumite). After I have trained in a gi once, I will not wear it again before washing. As such, there have been times where I went in with a damp gi because I threw it in the washer an hour it was time to head out.

I'm considering adding two more to the wardrobe.

For you "Bob the Lawyer" types out there, what's in your wardrobe?

I have two Tiger Claw diamond weave lightweight gis. That's it.