qbushido

Id give the soverign a look, im really happy with it, great balance of midweight and heavy and dries fast took. The fits on the two was similar but hard to make apples to apples as one is a 6.5 and one is a 7. I went with a 7 on the dynamic, it fits well, pants are better that most size 7 and are a elastic waist which I prefer. Im 6'3 and 275lbs.

Let me start by saying two things. 1. I am in no way, shape or form employed by Tokon or by Kamikaze USA. 2. I am writing this because I used this site to try and find info on Gis before I bought the ones I did. With that said, I wanted to post a quick write up on the 3 Tokon Gis that I have purchased from kamikazeusa.com over the past 5 months. Ranked in order of awesomeness. 1. Sovereign - it kind of burns to write this as I really wanted to dislike this gi due to its price. I bought it with the full expcetation of trying it on and sending it back. I was pleasantly surprised. first of all I was able to order in a half size which is great for me as I always have a hard time fitting into a 7 and a 6 aint working. The uniform feels like what I would call Middle Weight + but once you have it on feels lighter though has a good quality snap to it and looks so good that I got a random compliment from one of my instructors. Drawstring pants, serious stiching on the jacket. it became my favorite gi of all time in about 3 wearings. 2. Europa- great heavyweight Gi, not much more I can say. great, not good. drawstring pants and the type of heavy stiching you would expect from a uniform of this weight. it looks very formal and has held up well to standard training as well as rolling/falling. 3. Dynamic- very good lightweight Gi, its what I wear when we will be sparring, the best way I can describe it is to say its closer to a high quality taekwondo uniform in weight and construction. As someone who trained and competed in olympic style taekwondo for many years please understand thats a compliment. The better TKD doboks felt like you were wearing nothing and all and dried in a heartbeat. thats all folks, feel free to reply to me directly or post if you have any questions.

how do you think your sensei would react to you having a private conversation with him about this?

sorry I came to this tread late. Im in a related but opposite position. I just moved and started training at a new dojo and thought the right thing to do was to start at 10th kyu despite my experience. Im trusting the head instructors here to adjust rank as they see fit. To me (and it sounds like you as well) training and the process are most important, rank will work itself out as needed.

is this because of testing standards or because the instructor only chose students who were ready to test?

hi guys, do you believe in massage as post workout treatment?

not the answer you were hoping to hear but.... the only advice I can give is to keep kicking and keep stretching, there are also some good books on stretching and flexibility from a guy named Pavel, just google pavel flexibility and it should come up. roundhouse kicks are tough mechanically, dont get frustrated and give up. Good technique and balance are more important than height.

agree with everyone here, give it time and the height will come, spend the time now on the technique and proper balance. Flexibility is never something that you are too old to develop.

the hurdlers stretch just feels wrong to me, I dont like the idea of stretching joints.

thanks, I think I am going to order a Kamikaze tomorrow.

this reminds me of the old cliche saying, do as I say, not as I do. There are times where I as sempai or as student has known that there are better or ways to do things but due to my own quirks have either been currently unable to demonstrate the proper way to execute a technique. I think what a good teacher has to do is look at their own skillset and ensure that their student gets the benefit of his or her strengths and not suffer due to the teachers shortcomings.

Hi everyone, I just joined this forum, looking to speak with or meet up with anyone in the Chicago area for training or an exchange of ideas.

thanks, anyone else?

Good morning all, Im a new member here, still getting my feet under me in the forums but have a quick question. I've resumed my training after some time away and am looking for a new heavyweight uniform to train in, does anyone have a brand that they like and trust? Have any of you used the Kamikaze or Budokan brands I'm living in chicago now so a heavy uniform isnt a problem, I actually prefer it. Thanks in advance