Roninkai

My apology David with my late response. Tokaido and Shobu are much similar in their sizing. The cut of the Shobu gi are much more comfortable IMHO.

Hi David, My apology with my late response to your question. The website in Japan is in Japanese language and at this moment there's no translation available on that site. Only two retailers right now out of Japan and both of them are in Europe. One is in Budapest Hungary and you can email Andor at andor@shobu.hu for any inquiries. The other one is in Germany and the website is https://www.ace-sports.de/shop (Karateshop24). OSS

Are you using the Iwama type of bokken or other style of bokken? Red and white oak are the widely use bokken in every style but I prefer the white oak rather than the red. Loquat, sunuke, Lignum vitae, orange osage, hickory, ipe and so on and on with the other type of woods that you can use to make a bokken. Specialty cut on every style will also play an important part in training. For example, a Iwama style bokken will be beefier and heavier if you compare it to a Shinto Ryu bokken or a Jiggen Ryu bokken. You can contact Kim Taylor at SDK and check his website for all types of wooden weapons. My favorite is Kingfisher as I got their HC7 bokken/jo, a little bit on the pricy side but very reasonable.

The Tokyodo SP-1000 is rayon/cotton is more like the Shureido NW-3 which is poly/cotton. They are both on the heavyweight non-cotton fabric. You can also check on the Tokyodo AT-3 in which it's a little bit cheaper than the SP-1000 but on the same heavyweight non-pure cotton dogi. The Tokyodo AT-3 is becoming more popular to some Karate practitioners in Japan than any other dogi. I can only say that the Tokyodo stitching for me is the best compare to other dogi that I've seen and tried. Well, it's just a personal thing. Go with the one that you're going to be happy and let us know what is/are your feedback on the gi that you decided to get.

Thank you very much John on the information in regards to the Tokon gi. I will be checking your website after posting this.

Thank you Nidan Melbourne. I was also looking at the Arawaza Crystal and it seems like a very good kata gi and this gi was used by Minh Dack. I am also checking other gis like the Hirota Pinack and their #163, but the only drawback is the 2 months waiting period for them. The Tokaido SSA and the Tokyodo AT-3 are the 2 other kata gis that I am researching right now. The Kamikaze Monarch seems to be catching my attention due to it's price, availability and the quality. I just need someone who owned this kata gi that can give me his own personal views in regards to this gi.

I am looking for some reviews on the Kamikaze gis like the Kata, Monarch and the America model. If anyone have any reviews on these 3 gis please feel free to write your reviews. Much help and infos will be very much appreciated.

Just use Jute ropes (manila rope) and you can buy them from Amazon. Once I made a Zori sandal with the rice straws as a makiwara board before and it work fine for me until I got the Jute ropes.

I know that this is an old post but I just can't control myself to reply . I would prefer the Hirota 163 more than the Tokaido (TSA) Yakudo IMHO. The Yakudo is the same as the Ultimate Traditional SAW but with shorter sleeves and pants for that tournament cut. On the other hand the Hirota 163 are fully tailored for you or custom made for that perfect fit without doing any alterations when you received it. Prior 2010 the 163 were being made with the #10 sail canvas like the Yakudo, but at present they made the fabric a little bit lighter. The Shureido NW3 is of different breed as it's made of poly/cotton fabric. It just can't tolerate any stains unlike cotton fabric gis as you will be having a very hard time in removing those stains as they will be permanent. I think the NW3 will be good for tournaments where you want to be looking good in front of everybody. I don't think it's for daily training as it will lose it's sharpness after how many uses and washes. Great sharp looks that gives you those snapping loud sounds when doing kata .

Arnis, Kali and Escrima, nunchuks as well as the butterfly knife (normal for most Filipinos to play with the butterfly knives) while growing up in the Philippines. Jo and Bo from Aikido. Iaito and the shinken from Iaido.

Bill "Superfoot" Wallace did really good with one leg kicking after he got injured but he waited until he was completely healed . Just listen to what you feel and what your body is telling you. Take care and be safe out there.

Me too. it's easy to find great fighters, but it's difficult to find someone with a faithful and humble heart. Me too, another one for Pacquiao. With 8 Division belts? Power and speed all in one.

Cardio, cardio, cardio and more cardio to build your endurance that will help you last longer by not running out of breath when you train .

5 to 10 minutes here and it's only 2.5 miles from me.

It's only $45 here for me. I am happy and lucky to be here in Vegas for that.

After 20+ years of not training Shotokan my legs are not flexible like they used to be. Now I stretch 5 days a week (2 days rest to help those leg muscles recover) to regain that flexibility again that I had and to be able to do high roundhouse kicks again with ease. When I went back training in Shotokan a month ago I can only do roundhouse kicks up to the elbows. Now I am able to do them on the shoulders after a month of safe stretching. My goal is to be able to do those mawashi and ushiro mawashi to the head level again (of course I am only 5'8" and I am referring to that height ) and I will be very happy. OSS

YES...Solid post!! Same here.

Welcome to KF .

I decided on the Shobu Standard gi and I trained with it 4 times now. The pants are cut differently and it's very comfortable on the waist. I find that a big plus as you don't have to re-adjust it every now and then especially when you're doing multiple high kicks. The jacket is the same thing, very comfortable in so many ways. The jacket and the pants are hemmed 4cm. on the bottoms and for me it's a plus also. This is a middleweight 10 oz. canvas gi for regular or daily training that will be ideal also for kumite. I always owned heavyweight gi's before as I am more of a kata person and this is my first middleweight gi. I just miss my Shureido K-10 when I am doing katas sometimes. So if anyone is looking for this type of gi then this will be a good choice for you. If you're a kata practitioner then the Shobu Special heavyweight 12 oz. gi is one of the way to go also. Shobu is the main supplier of JKA honbu in Japan and there's only two distributor outside of Japan that sells this brand of gi. They are in the price range of any Japanese made dogi like Hirota, Tokaido, Shureido and Tokyodo. Maybe a Hirota 163 kata or the MH-10 next time . OSS

I Agree. There will always be oranges and lemons .

I am looking for another pair of gi as I need one to alternate with the pair of Shureido K10 gi that I am using right now. I know that some of the questions that I will be asking were been answered before. I am deciding on the Tokaido tsa (competition cut for kata), Hirota MH10, Tokyodo K10 or the Shobu Standard. I have no experiences with the Tokyodo K10 or the Shobu standard gi, any members got any feedbacks on them? Thank you.

Thank you very much to all of you who gave me that nice welcome. Yes, I was surprised that so many good Shotokan dojos here in the Valley. It's really hard choosing one as all of them are really good. I visited three of them and I decided on one and that's the JKA Las Vegas. I wish I can join all of them but,,,. Update on my training: My first night was a 2 hours of tiring and exhausting class (but very enjoying). Doing those zukis, geris, dachis, ukes and uchis for a hundred times after 20+ years of not doing them really made me running out of breath. I mean, we don't kick as much and we don't do much atemi in Aikido as well in Iaido. Guess what? The next morning I can't even get-up from the bed,,, I am so dead sore that I can't even move my legs and arms. It took me 4 days of rest before the soreness went away. Today I went to the class and did some katas and some sparring. Now, I am back!!! OSS

My son's name is Ronin and my daughter's name is Kai .

Thank you all for those nice warm welcome you gave me.

@ sensei8, I think they have the same goal and the only difference is in their specific objectives. I noticed that in Yoga you focuses on the union of body, mind and spirit (it differs also on the many styles of Yoga) as well as the relief of pain and stress through some specific Yoga poses. Pilates primarily intend is to correct or maintain proper posture through appropriate elongation of the spine and improvement of one's core strength as it uses an exercise centered approach. Proper breathing and meditation is aimed by both but Yoga focuses on the breath process deeper than Pilates does. Yoga utilizes the nose both in inhalation and exhalation whereas in Pilates uses the nose for inhalation and the mouth for exhalation.