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I have just bought this Gi as I thought I need a comfortable Gi for hot summer. I bought it only for about 32 EUR with free shipping. Even though I have chosen the smaller size (rounded down of my height), the length of the trousers and sleeves are still a bit too long for me as they are still a bit covering my wrists and ankles. I like them maximum 2 cm above my wrists and ankles. So I kept washing it with higher and higher temperatures than the recommended in step of 40, 60 and 95 degree Celsius. I also tumble dried it on each step. I even washed it twice in 95 degree Celsius. But it only shrunk about a few millimetre. The good thing is that, it became shiny white and I think it does not feel like the light 8 oz Gi anymore, so I like it. Now I am wondering, what are the advantages of the expensive Gi (above 200 EUR Gi from Shureido, Tokaido, Seishin, etc.), a part from perhaps the prestige in wearing it? Expensive Gi requires extra care. I think we cannot wash it very often so we cannot have it shiny white like the cheap Gi that I just bought. And I definitely cannot afford to buy multiple of them, so I can wash them less often. And I think I will not be comfortable to wear them in a hot summer, as they are mostly heavy (14 oz or above).

Thanks a lot KC1996 for sharing your experience. I think the "With embroidery" option like shown here, is the option to add personal embroidery in addition to the standard Arawaza logos embroidery. So I think the "Without embroidery" option is just the opposite of that. I cannot find the option to place an order without Arawaza logos embroidery. Could you please share with us how you washed it until "they shrunk so darn much"? Did you wash it with hot water? Or did it shrink as well when you washed it by hand with cold water? If so, how could we really prevent it from shrinking because of washing it?

Thanks a lot for all the comments on Arawaza brand. The reviews on Arawaza uniforms that I have read and seen on Youtube are all good. However, the thing that will definitely make me uncomfortable to wear Arawaza uniform are the logos on the right chest and at the back (close to the neck). I don't like to wear anything with shiny logos. There seem to be no option to buy it without those logos. Or is there any possibility to order it without those logos?

Thanks a lot Iskrax for your comments on Arawaza. It must be cool temperature-wise, so this is a good point. Could you please elaborate more on this point if you don't mind? Did you mean that it looks always smooth or wrinkled-free so that we don't have to iron it after washing it?I also just found Tokaido Shikon (TAW) model for daily training purpose, which is quite interesting to me. But a part from on that Tokaido online shop, I only found it mostly on other Japanese online shops like here, here or here. Does anybody know any online shops which sell this model in Europe? Thanks again in advance for your help.

In the last few days, I have been reviewing some karate uniforms. I think I am settled with the 100% cotton and 12 oz uniform class. After I searched around, I found Tokaido Kata Master (cheaper) and Arawaza Crystal (more expensive) appealing. But I am not sure yet which one to buy. By the way, I had never heard about Arawaza brand until a few days ago. Could anybody especially who wear those 2 uniforms give me feedback and recommendation please? And if you have recommendations on any other brands on the same type and price range as those 2, I would be glad to hear your opinions as well. Thanks a lot in advance.

Thank you for your further comments and suggestions JR 137 and Nidan Melbourne. For sure I will be joining a Dojo to get feedback and instructions from the Sensei. I found that there are quite a lot of Goju Ryu Dojos in Vienna. Amongst others, there is one IOGFK Dojo - http://www.iogkf-austria.at, NGKKI Dojo - http://www.gojukai-karatedo.at and Karate Do Wien - http://www.karatewien.at. I am not sure to which international organisation the last one belongs to. But I think I will join them (if they would allow me) as there is one Dojo within their organisation which is quite close to my apartment. And they offer quite flexible training schedule in the evening. But before that, I would like to prepare myself first at home. In the Dojo, I don't want to be always sitting on the side line with pale face and cold sweat due to exhaustion. So I want to do the exercise step by step. First by - as JR 137 mentioned - replicating the movements of some Goju Ryu katas that I remember, without really flexing my muscles. I use the video clips on Youtube to help me remembering that. And then I will slowly do that more properly. In the last 2 weeks, I always do that at least for one hour in the morning, sometimes also another one hour in the evening. Even without really flexing my muscles, I still feel the pain in my feet now especially on my thighs from practising Gekisai dai ichi and Tensho katas this morning A couple decades ago, I could easily walk up hill through the jungles or forests with hard terrain for at least 10 Km without stopping. A few months back on a hiking trip of not more than 5 km on the hill with easy and flat terrain, I had to stop and sat several times with pale face and cold sweat perhaps every kilometre or even less. I only mentioned that I want to be more healthy. But the main trigger of all of these is that, for the first time in 25 years I went to a Lung doctor 2 weeks ago for a checkup as I have difficulties in breathing. The doctor told me that my lung is only functioning about 45% of it should be. I had been a heavy smoker. Especially in the last 15 years, I smoked 2 to 3 packs or 40 to 60 cigarettes a day. And I didn't do exercise at all, perhaps just walking or bicycling once in a while. I was quite sick and kept coughing in spring last year. So I started to reduce my cigarette consumption and play badminton. I had never wanted to go to the Lung doctor as I knew that the only thing he/she would tell me is to stop smoking. But last month I thought that as I am getting old, I better have my lung checked. A part from reducing my cigarette consumption to about 10 to 15 cigarettes a day now, I thought it is better to do exercise for my lung as well. The only thing that popped up in my mind when I thought about breathing exercise are Sanchin and Tensho katas which I learnt when I was teenager. Thanks a lot for your suggestion. However, a part from only for getting healthier, I don't see the sense of self achievements from doing repetitive exercises in a Gym. Over the time, I could possibly only see that sense of self achievements from lifting or pulling heavier weights or do faster and longer exercises. I might get bored easily by doing that. I see that I can get the sense of self achievements quite a lot more from performing Katas, like over the time improving my feet and hands movements, stances, breathing, combination of them, the right timing, etc. I am quite sure that I need years of training to properly do that. So I think the chances for me to get bored easily from doing that is quite low.

Thanks a lot JR 137 for sharing your comprehensive insight on this. That indeed is the most probable reason why there are variants within Goju Ryu. As my objective to do exercise using Goju Ryu Katas is mainly to stay healthy, I think it is quite easy for me to decide which one to choose. That is to choose the style that is being taught in a Dojo close to where I live, whatever style would that be, as long as its root is Chojun Miyagi Goju Ryu. So all variants like the variants on Tensho Kata I initially posted, are fine with me. I am not sure why I like Goju Ryu, so it stuck in my mind. And I forgot why I switched from Shotokan to Goju Ryu 36 years ago. My questions are perhaps more related to what has been going on in the last few decades. So I was wondering if one style/variant becomes more popular than the other. I was also wondering if there is some kind of "standardisation" amongst different Goju Ryu organisations within the last 30 years. So there would be common version of katas in all organisations on top of the traditional ones being taught in each organisation. Or perhaps this last one is a bad idea because perhaps the traditional ones will fade out quicker, which is not good.

Thank you sensei8. I forgot to mention one thing. I was not following the development of Goju Ryu until last week. That was due to I had other interests started when I was 17, like interests on girls, electronic, internet, music, guitar, etc. So I assume there has been some developments in the last 30+ years, especially to improve the way we practice Katas. Is this correct? If so, which variant of Goju Ryu are mostly taught in Dojos especially in Europe? Thanks. But I think I will not train myself hard in the next few months, like performing Sanchin Kata properly, even the easier one or Sanchin dai ichi, so let alone Sanchin dai ni. I will start slowly on easier Katas by remembering and practising the hands movements, feet movements, the breathing, and the combination of them in that order.

Hello Everybody, This is my first post so greeting to all of you. First of all, I am sorry if I don't use the right terms on my post below, especially the Japanese terms. I just celebrated my 48 birthday this month. So my body started to refuse cooperating with my mind in the last few years. A part from I don't do exercise and just mostly sit all day in the office and at home, I had been a heavy smoker until last year. I am not completely quit smoking yet, but I have reduced smoking quite a lot. So I am thinking of starting to exercise every day at home by performing some Karate Katas, especially the ones involving breathing exercise. There are indeed a lot of exercises, but I think I like doing Karate Kata. I think I will do this for a few months before joining a Goju Ryu Dojo. When I was teenager I joined Karate Dojos, Shotokan style when I was 11 to 12 years old and then Goju Ryu when I was 12 to 16 years old. But at that time my main intention was quite different. I got bullied and harassed quite often so I needed something that I can use to defend myself. But this time my main intention is just to stay healthy physically and mentally. Since my memory is getting rusty, I had a look on Youtube about some Senseis performing Katas. And I came across some clips about Goju Ryu Tensho Kata. As far as I remember, we practised Tensho Kata like the one performed by Hanshi Hichiya Yoshio on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKMmE-m6Yck. The first 2 steps forward is performed like Sanchin Kata, so there are 5 steps forward and 5 steps backward. But after I had a look at several other clips, it looks like there are 2 other variants especially on the foot steps. First, the one performed by Shihan Morio Higaonna on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf9eT3P0aU8, where there are only 3 steps forward and 5 steps backward. And second, the one performed by Shihan Goshi Yamaguchi Saiko on which is quite similar to the one performed by Shihan Morio Higaonna but a little bit different at the start and on the breathing technic.I am not looking for which one is right or wrong. I am quite sure there must be good reasons for those variants. But could anybody let me know which variant is more popular and being practised in most Dojos? Or perhaps you could tell me which variant is being taught in your Dojo? And do you think this is a bad idea to choose Karate Kata as a mean of staying healthy for middle age man? Thanks in advance for your help. Cheers, Anto