New to Karate and have a question about my Gei fitting.

[Steinhauers]

Hello,

 

I'm sorta new to Karate and I just got my Gei. I wear a size 5 gei and they fit fine in the waist but are way to long. So I went and had them tailored up so I wasn't walking all over them. They now hang between my heel and my ankle. So my question is.... Is that where I want them to fit me? Are they too long or short?

 

 

 

Thanks, Seth

[Rich67]

Gi's usually run real large, and the length of the pants are definitely always in need of tailoring. It's a matter or preference, I always liked mine to hang about an inch or so above my heel. Some guys like em real short; like "flood" pants- I think that looks a little funny.

[tommarker]

as long as you aren't stepping on them...

 

I've seen some older pics where they look like capri pants

[Steinhauers]

Okay thanks alot. I didn't want them real short but I didn't want them getting in my way all the time.

 

 

 

Thanks for the quick reply,

 

Seth

[CanuckMA]

Just make sure you wash it in COLD water and hang it to dry otherwise the gi will shrink . A LOT.

[Rich_2k3]

There are two styles; Europian cut, which is basically the longer one (ankle length) for kumite (fighting) and Japanese cut which are shorter for kata, their shorter so the judges can see your feet and if your doing the techniques right. I'd say a good fit is if it reaches the ankle, i prefer europian cut gi's.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

There are two styles; Europian cut, which is basically the longer one (ankle length) for kumite (fighting) and Japanese cut which are shorter for kata, their shorter so the judges can see your feet and if your doing the techniques right. I'd say a good fit is if it reaches the ankle, i prefer europian cut gi's.

 

Personally, if the judge needs to "see" your feet, he has no business judging. A good, experienced judge should be able to knwo where that foot is and how it's positioned if the gi goes all the way to the floor.

 

The old style gi had shorter pant legs. It was just the way that they wore their pants. Yes, it looks a bit odd now days, so I'd say that it depends on what your sensei wants in his class. If he doesn't care, hem them so that they are a bit higher (in my opinion anyway) that you would normally wear a pair of jeans so that during practice, if the waist should loosen a bit, they don't fall down around your feet. That could cause you to trip over them, or cause a distractuion while you're doing kata or such.

 

I'm 6'6" tall (around 198cm) and when I first started..ALL of my gi pants looked like I was expecting a flood at any moment! lol I have long ago switched to another brand which goes down to just above my ankle. UI've never had to hem a pair yet.

[aefibird]

As long as you're not tripping over your gi, then it doesn't matter too much what length you have the bottoms.

 

It's a good idea to get a gi slightly larger than you need IMO, to account for shrinkage when washing. Gi's need to be washed on a cold wash or they will shrink like crazy (I found this out to my cost when I started karate...), but even if you wash them in cold water they sometimes do tend to shrink a bit anyway.

[GrrrArg]

Hmm, I boil wash my Gi every couple of weeks, and normal (hot) wash them after every training sesion. They shrink the first two/three times but after that they're ok. IMO get one thats too big then once its finished shrinking hem it up if neccasary.

 

Boil wash also keeps them much cleaner than a cold wash does.

[monkeygirl]

Different people like the gi at different lengths. I know some people that like the pantlegs to be above their ankles...personally I like it to be just above the floor, just barely short enough to where they don't drag and I'm not stepping on them.