Does anyone's club insist on a specific gi design?

[JR 137]

For nothing, I fell in love with Blue gi's when they were first offered back in the late 1970's, early 1980's shortly after the PKA started selling them to the public, as long with their Star and Stripe gi's to honor those that were worn by PKA Kickboxers such as Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace, and Jeff Smith.

Interesting thing I heard - the Stars and Stripes gi worn by Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis and the rest of that crew was designed and initially paid for by Elvis Pressley. He sponsored them at some level and wanted them to stand out in the sea of plain white gis. His custom gi with bell bottoms and the collar was his own, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have worn that anyway. I think a few of them actually hated them at first, but either got used to them or just shut up and wore them because Elvis was bankrolling them.

Not sure how much truth to that there is; you know if it's on the Internet, it has to be true.

[Titanium]

For nothing, I fell in love with Blue gi's when they were first offered back in the late 1970's, early 1980's shortly after the PKA started selling them to the public, as long with their Star and Stripe gi's to honor those that were worn by PKA Kickboxers such as Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace, and Jeff Smith.

Interesting thing I heard - the Stars and Stripes gi worn by Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis and the rest of that crew was designed and initially paid for by Elvis Pressley. He sponsored them at some level and wanted them to stand out in the sea of plain white gis. His custom gi with bell bottoms and the collar was his own, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have worn that anyway. I think a few of them actually hated them at first, but either got used to them or just shut up and wore them because Elvis was bankrolling them.

Not sure how much truth to that there is; you know if it's on the Internet, it has to be true.

I never knew that.

God yeah...the Internet doesn't lie.

[Farrza]

We use normal white Gi's in my club.The students who are competitioners use Kumite Gi's or eventually Kata Gi's.

[bigjono]

In our dojo its white for anyone who has not yet achieved their black belt. no real stipulations on brand but must have club badge affixed. must also be without crease. Although there is this one guy who almost never irons his gi. black pants and white top are worn by all who have their black belt.

[RAM18]

Our school provides a standard white Gi and belt for beginners for free but our main color is a black Gi.

We let the lower belts wear black Gi trousers and a black branded t-shirt to start most student wear the black Gi with the logo embroidered back and front all of which the club provide at a small cost.

I must admit i love our black Gi - it stands out from the norm.

[Hawkmoon]

hmm.. she was giggling like a loony!

I ...I on the other hand was more reserved about it .... my Gi was washed the other day...got a pink Gi now!

I think Shihan and Sensei might have a few words to say about that ..... once they stop laughing ... if they ever stop laughing that is!

[armanox]

Our (shotokan) Club does not dictate the brand, model or style of our gi. As long as it is clean and tidy, and we get the Club logo sewed on to the gi, then we're good.

I joined the Club a year a go and bought a very cheap cotton/synthetic fabric gi which i used for one season. Now using a Kaiten Dynamic which to me was a fantastic upgrade. The Price of it was about 4 times higher (around 65£) than my first gi, but the quality is way better and the cuts and the ventilation in the gi is way better.

However this one suits my needs, i do concider buying a Seishin gi though. From what i've heard its top notch if you love karate.

Ah the Gi of my friend the KarateNerd, Jesse Enkamp - they are good Gis, I own 3 myself. I would recommend one.

Can you compare it's cut to anything else - ie Shureido or Tokaido? I looked into it, but I'm so limited in what fits right. Traditional cut gis cut like a Shureido are the only ones.

They are similar to Shureido, good snap effect, look extra thick but are like wearing a super light weight, thats why I love them.

You can pick them up new for less than some Shureido's.

Viper is also of a similarity but not near the quality of the finishing.

They are traditional, shorter bottoms and elongated top endings.

I was looking at that as an option for me just last weekend when I was picking out a new gi to order. However, since up to that point I hadn't seen any remarks about it from someone outside of the creator's circle, I went with one that I'm familiar with ($200 is not the smallest pill to swallow, but at least it's not just markup like Shureido USA does (the main reason I don't buy Shuriedo!))

[armanox]

Back on topic - we simply require a white gi. School/style embroidery on the left chest is allowed. Our cousin schools, under Sensei Iha, do not have a brand/cut requirement, but do require the style on the left chest and the orgainizational logo on the left arm

[Melau]

I didn't realize there were so many differences between dojo's. Here in the Netherlands the traditional white gi is worn. At least, for the dojo's that are in the National Karate Association (KBN). No patches. Not that it's not allowed to wear something different I guess, everybody just informally agreed to wear as little 'decoration' as possible, no matter if you're 10th kyu or Godan. But luckily it's about the training, not the gi you wear.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Coloured dogi seems like more of an American trend and was more than likely started in the late seventies. White is still the standard and most common colour by far, with black used by a few schools. It is very difficult to know exactly when or who began this trend, but Century is likely one of the very first suppliers to offer a dogi in a colour other than white or black.