GI Question

[NightEagle]

what is the difference in the Student gi to the Heavyweight gi that I see most web sites selling on line here.

[AndrewGreen]

How thick the material is and how many rows of stiching there are.

In general don't bother with a student weight one unless it is for someone under 10.

[stoneheart]

About 8 ounces of fabric. A decent heavyweight will be at least 12 ounces, although you can readily buy a 14-16 oz uniform. The student weights are anywhere from 6 oz - 8 oz.

I recommend getting a heavier gi if you can bear the extra expense. They last longer and look nicer. Despite the weight, I find myself cooler in the heavier top because it absorbs my sweat better, and the fabric clings less to my skin.

[Uechi Kid]

About 8 ounces of fabric. A decent heavyweight will be at least 12 ounces, although you can readily buy a 14-16 oz uniform. The student weights are anywhere from 6 oz - 8 oz.

I recommend getting a heavier gi if you can bear the extra expense. They last longer and look nicer. Despite the weight, I find myself cooler in the heavier top because it absorbs my sweat better, and the fabric clings less to my skin.

I agree, get the heavy weight gi. Last longer and they will keep looking good longer also

[Jussi Häkkinen]

Please, read this thread about do-gi. It pretty much covers the weight issue.

[Killer Miller]

Tokaido all the way!

- Killer -

[RichardHangHong]

Heavyweight gi's are far better than student gi's. Especially if you sweat a lot when you train. Student gi's are okay to start with, but after a while you will find the heavyweights are far superior. They're a bit stiff when you first wear one, but that just makes you train harder against its resistance, and it will soften up a little over time. There's the added benefit of it soaking up your sweat so it won't cling to you either making it much more comfortable to get on with your training in class.

I used to have about 8 or 9 gi's but now I'm down to 4 (2 Tokaido's and 2 Blitz) as the others have either worn out or fallen apart.

The best gi to get above all else I have to agree with Killer Miller is a Tokaido. The fabric is the highest standard, there are 4 different weights of fabric going from "ultra-light" to "heavyweight". My favourite is the mediumweight (AW no.10) as I find heavyweight gis take too long to soften up. I've had my latest tokaido heavyweight for about a year now and its still blue! Grrrrrr!

But they're still the best. They are tailored for a better fit and you can even get it custom made to your own measurements, but that costs a bit more. I'm a bit of a gi snob so I only wear tokaidos now, the only time my old blitz gis come out is when I haven't had time to wash my tokaidos.

If you can't afford a tokaido straight away (They're about £130 direct in UK) then I'd recommend Meijin gi's as they are probably the closest you'll get to fabric and tailoring to a tokaido but they only cost between £50-£60.

There's a website for tokaidos that they are a bit cheaper than in the UK, and the price gets lower the longer you are prepared to wait on postage. I'm getting a TAW medium no.10 on 30 day postage and it's only £90. Not bad and worth the wait!

Regards,

Richard

[RichardHangHong]

Oops! I forgot to include the address, it's

https://www.tokaidojapan.com

[P.A.L]

IMO 12oz is the minimum for a good gi but i prefer 16oz( although harder to wash, my washer starts to walk in the kitchen when i am washing my gi).

[Fish]

I've just bought a 16 oz and looking forward to trying it after using 10 oz for the last 2 yrs.