equipment

[BlackBeltKid]

What do you think the best equipment is. I think it is the XP gear.

[Jussi Häkkinen]

I use Shureido, but Tokaido and Hirota - and maybe Shobu - are also on my "will accept" -list. Perhaps even Satori, I've heard good things about them. Shureido is back from their drop in quality (whatever caused that, I don't know - however, they're great again) and rolling well.

I want to get my do-gi made to my measures, as well as my obi.

[kurome]

Jussi, maybe I haven't been around for long enough. When did the quality of Shureido goods drop? I own a great deal of Shureido equipment that I actually bought within the past year that is pretty good. I have a medium weight gi that I bought two years ago, however, that for some reason is much better in quality than the heavyweight that I purchased recently. Could this be what you speak of?

[Jussi Häkkinen]

Jussi, maybe I haven't been around for long enough. When did the quality of Shureido goods drop? I own a great deal of Shureido equipment that I actually bought within the past year that is pretty good. I have a medium weight gi that I bought two years ago, however, that for some reason is much better in quality than the heavyweight that I purchased recently. Could this be what you speak of?

Yes, it is. Although the current quality is up again.

I have one Shureido TK-10 bought in 1998. It's still going strong, looking good and fitting well. The quality in seams, fabric etc. is top notch. All in all, it's pretty close to being as good as a cotton uniform can be.

I got another TK-10 in 2002. Fabric had more little "knots" than the earlier do-gi, thus the canvas was lower quality. Seams were not as good as before (although still light years ahead of Kwon etc. cheap do-gi) and the overall quality - and feel - had dropped. My friends got some of the similar quality uniforms during that period as well.

I seriously considered about switching a brand, but some of my friends showed me their new Shureido uniforms. Quality was back - or even higher - to the "older" Shureido I had and fabric etc. were certainly better. So, I decided to give them a try - since I train Okinawan karate, an Okinawan brand is a nice extra. However, I don't settle to anything but absolute best there is. I decided to try Shureido's new fabric and cut - NW-3 - which was supposedly the peak of karate uniforms there is, being heavy, absorbent and quickly drying.

Now, the NW-3 is great, simply great. Only problem with it is that it's a bit too large - not too much, but it has some extra room. That is my fault only - I calculated the shrinking with the canvas cotton scale (8-10%) and since the fabric isn't cotton based, it only shrunk around 2-3%. This calculation was mine, so Shureido can't be blamed for it. I had my uniform made to my measures, so the cut (sleeve length and pantleg length wise, as well as room of the pants etc.) can't be commented much here. However, they have a new kind of gusset in the pants (going all the way to the ankles) that works very well. Fabric is incredible - quality is as good as it ever can be and the facts that the do-gi doesn't shrink even in hot wash and that it will be dry within 2 hours from washing (!) are certainly something great.

So, Shureido is back among the greats. It competes with Tokaido and Hirota from the title of "best karate uniform" and winner really cannot be declared easily. I'd say that if one finds something they like from any of these brands (and perhaps from Shobu, too), they really cannot go wrong.

[kurome]

I agree with you on the Okinawan brand thing, that was always a plus when I was looking for a gi. How is the NW-3? I've heard that the cut is great, but how is the fabric? Does it feel different? Is it heavy or light, say, in comparison to a K-10 or K-11?

[Jussi Häkkinen]

I agree with you on the Okinawan brand thing, that was always a plus when I was looking for a gi. How is the NW-3? I've heard that the cut is great, but how is the fabric? Does it feel different? Is it heavy or light, say, in comparison to a K-10 or K-11?

OK, about the fabric.

It's something else. Weight and thickness is closer to "medium weight" do-gi, K-11 is pretty close to it. However, how the fabric settles is very different - it looks like a very heavyweight do-gi, staying away from skin and looking really thick.

Feel of the fabric is "surface soft", feeling silky to touch but weirdly paperlike, although not in a negative sense. It also is very much cooler than K-10 canvas, partly due to its stiffness and partly due to its evaporation qualities (that baby dries fast).

So, the do-gi really is different to any 100% cotton do-gi. I like the feel, but if one has got used to the warmth of cotton, this might be too cool for him.

And for all those kata competitors there: NW-3 is loud. Almost too loud for me - I have a tendency to make a simple T-shirt to go "BANG" when doing a technique, so NW-3 is almost too much (I don't compete in kata nor do I need audial feedback from my do-gi).

So, shortly: Yes, NW-3 does feel different, is light-ish but looks very heavy. Warmly recommended.