Gi Sizes

[Lupin1]

Hi. I'm just restarting Karate. I studied it for five years in elementary and middle school and my old uniform is from when I was a child, so I'm going to be needing to buy a new one. I'm considering a brushed 100% cotton 10oz uniform since that seems to be most people's opinions of "good", even though I'm technically going to be a beginner. I have a question about the sizing, though. Should I look more at the height or the weight? I'm 5'6'' and 220lbs (one reason I'm looking to get back into Karate-- I need more physical exercise) and so my height is two sizes off from my weight. I'm a woman, so my weight is in the womanly places (mostly breasts, hips, and bottom), if that helps. Any advice on size or the uniform type I should buy would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[DWx]

Welcome to KF Lupin1

Its going to depend on which brand you buy as to how they're cut. Some are very generous, others not so much. Trying them on would be the best option. But if not I would probably go for a taller size and then alter the lengths of arms and legs. You could always ask your Sensei as they'll have a much better idea of what you should buy.

[WireFrame]

Ask the sensei. When I was new my sensei took one look at me and said "You'd be a size 4" and he was bang on!

[KarateEd]

I agree with DWX, you'll probably need to get a uniform for a taller person and have it altered. In another thread, someone mentioned the Tokon brand and that it has a more generous cut. I have no experience with that brand, though.

[Lupin1]

I Facebook messaged the sensei (I'm 22, what do you want from me) and he said he'd help me with all the sizing stuff at my first class on Saturday. He also said he usually doesn't recommend people even buy gis until they've been doing it for a month or two to make sure they're actually going to stick with it (he teaches for free, so there's no "buy three months get a free uniform on your first day" deal), so I'll have awhile to decide what I want to do. He says he recommends beginning students get the paper thin gis, but personally I'd rather invest the extra twenty bucks in a middle weight, especially since I'm not paying for classes. We'll see, I guess.

[Lupin1]

Has anyone had a uniform tailored before? About how much does it cost?

[CTTKDKing]

Has anyone had a uniform tailored before? About how much does it cost?

Yes, but my sister did the tailoring. Best bet is to call up a local taylor and ask how much sleeve and pant hemming costs. Shouldn't be too bad. I've had suits and what not altered professionally and it was never too expensive. I'm in a similar situation to you, but I'm actually in a bigger pickle because I have to get a big and tall sized uniform. Does anyone know who carries big and tall sized martial arts uniforms? I'd refer the TKD pullover style if possible, but a standard black or white karate gi would be ok as well.

[Lupin1]

Thanks. I think I'm just going to get a size six and try to hem it all myself. I found my bag of old Karate uniforms from when I was little and my mom hemmed the pants herself and did a really horrible job of it, but they seemed to have held up fine anyway. Since I'm sure I can do better than her (she just sewed a tiny dot in five different places around the leg to hold the extra material up instead of sewing all the way around), I think I'll try it myself first and if that doesn't work then I'll pay to get it hemmed.

I think I may eventually end up having to buy seperate tops and pants of different sizes, though. My gi from middle school was a 3 and the jacket almost fit me, but the pants wouldn't go up past my knees. So I may need a size 5 jacket or so and larger pants (right now I'm just hoping the size 6 pants will fit me. I've got a bigger butt and hips than men of the same weight).

[KarateEd]

If you've got a sewing machine it shouldn't be too hard to do yourself. You could probably get the pants and sleeves hemmed by a tailor for about $20.

[JohnASE]

I'm kinda late to this topic, but some gi sellers will sell separate tops and pants so you can mix sizes. It costs maybe 15% to 20% more that way.

Many Japanese styles will use tournament cut gis. Tournament cut usually means shorter sleeves and pants with a longer jacket. You might want to look into it, although there aren't very many medium weight tournament cut gis available. The Adidas US Star and Tokon Spirit are both available in tournament cut.

I would guess that you'd have to hem a tournament cut gi anyway, but I could be wrong. From your height and weight, I would've guessed you're a size 7 in most medium weights. Of course, that'll vary from brand to brand, and people with the same height and weight will often have different shapes and needs.

Oh, and one thing about hemming. Most heavy weights will have multiple rows of stitching and some will have separate pieces in the hem. Maintaining this is more work and usually tailors will charge more. A light or medium weight will usually have a simpler hem.