Karate International-KI- Gi & Embroidery

[ShoriKid]

I've been looking at picking up one last gi (for now) and looked at the Karate International uniforms. I know they aren't top of the line, but appear to be serviceable. If you order direct from the company they do embroidery work. Anyone have any experience in dealing with KI, their uniforms or their embroidery quality?

[JohnASE]

Assuming you're talking about KI International (https://www.kiintl.com), I know a little about them. We sometimes substitute KI brand gi when we're out of our ASE brand. If we're talking about the same KI, I don't think KI stands for Karate International. I think it's the initials of it's founder, Katsumi Inoda.

If you're interested in their standard heavy weight canvas karategi, you're looking at a good value. The material is heavy, the stitching is good, and the price is low. The material isn't as smooth as a more expensive gi, like their Mugen line, but it should still be nice and durable. Sorry, I haven't heard how much shrinkage there is. I'd guess 10% maybe, but it's a wild guess. As with any line, there will be a factory defect now and then, but in general, quality control should be pretty good.

I don't know anything about their brushed cotton heavy weight gi, but it should be about the same. Brushing damages some of the fibers, making the material more fluffy, but it shouldn't have a significant effect on durability.

Also, I have no experience with the Mugen line, but as their premium karategi, I'd expect better quality. I know the material is smoother and maybe more comfortable. I think Mugens are only available in white though.

I don't know anything about the quality of their embroidery these days, but they have their own computerized machine. They do English and Japanese. Not sure about other languages. The owners can speak and read Japanese, but I don't know who handles their embroidery.

Don't know much about their customer service. We used to hear complaints about the old man, but things might have gotten better after the son took over. They seem to treat us well, but some of our orders are pretty big, and we've known them for a long time.

I guess I don't know that much about them, but I hope there's some helpful info here. Maybe someone can fill in a bit.

[ShoriKid]

KI International, that's the one. Thank you for the information John. I've been looking at their line. The Mugen, I expect to be a quality gi, but I have no experience with their base line. I would really like to look into helping the adults in our dojo get a gi with embroidery. While I'd like to go with a local shop, they don't seem up to the task of doing any work not in English. That and I really need a good gi.

My "new" Iron Man is pushing 8 or 10 years old. The "old" one, younger people are driving cars. The Piranha gi I picked up last spring has shrunk horribly, 2 sizes in the top at least. The pants not so much. KI's base gi, the Mugen and Ronin are my top choices at this time. KI International caught my eye with their in house embroidery and the price point isn't too high.