Choosing Karate Uniforms

[anto]

In the last few days, I have been reviewing some karate uniforms. I think I am settled with the 100% cotton and 12 oz uniform class.

After I searched around, I found Tokaido Kata Master (cheaper) and Arawaza Crystal (more expensive) appealing. But I am not sure yet which one to buy. By the way, I had never heard about Arawaza brand until a few days ago.

Could anybody especially who wear those 2 uniforms give me feedback and recommendation please?

And if you have recommendations on any other brands on the same type and price range as those 2, I would be glad to hear your opinions as well.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Edited March 6, 2017 by anto

[Iskrax]

Hey

Arawaza is really good brand for karate. A lot of professional athletes use it. I personally use arawaza onyx evolution kumite gi. Best gi I ever had and I really enjoy it because:

1) It is very light (by this you feel like you are naked).

2) It looks fantastic

That is kumite gi. I am sure the kata gi is also very good!

[anto]

Thanks a lot Iskrax for your comments on Arawaza.

1) It is very light (by this you feel like you are naked).

It must be cool temperature-wise, so this is a good point.

2) It looks fantastic

Could you please elaborate more on this point if you don't mind? Did you mean that it looks always smooth or wrinkled-free so that we don't have to iron it after washing it?

I also just found Tokaido Shikon (TAW) model for daily training purpose, which is quite interesting to me. But a part from on that Tokaido online shop, I only found it mostly on other Japanese online shops like here, here or here. Does anybody know any online shops which sell this model in Europe?

Thanks again in advance for your help.

[Socksey]

I have an Arawaza Coral.... I love it.

The fit is really good and it's really good value for money, so not much more than the very cheap starter gis which don't stay closed etc. Finally I can wear a gi in my size rather than a few sizes big as the bottoms (xx5 rather than xx0) sizes easily accommodate the female backside.

[anto]

Thanks a lot for all the comments on Arawaza brand.

The reviews on Arawaza uniforms that I have read and seen on Youtube are all good. However, the thing that will definitely make me uncomfortable to wear Arawaza uniform are the logos on the right chest and at the back (close to the neck). I don't like to wear anything with shiny logos. There seem to be no option to buy it without those logos. Or is there any possibility to order it without those logos?

[Bulltahr]

Thanks a lot for all the comments on Arawaza brand.

The reviews on Arawaza uniforms that I have read and seen on Youtube are all good. However, the thing that will definitely make me uncomfortable to wear Arawaza uniform are the logos on the right chest and at the back (close to the neck). I don't like to wear anything with shiny logos. There seem to be no option to buy it without those logos. Or is there any possibility to order it without those logos?

Find someone who sews and borrow thier stitch unpicker.

[KC1996]

I've worn Tokaido, Arawaza, Kamikaze and Satori gis.

Right now I prefer the Satori gi I have, but I've had plenty of Arawaza gis too.

Here are my thoughts on some of them:

For the price Arawaza is good.....but I did find that their gis wore out relatively fast...the neck line started to fray and areas of the gi that creased started to develop holes. The elastic waistband didn't hold up and lost it's elasticity after two years. The other issues I had with them is I fell between sizes, so the larger one was too big and the smaller size was a bit too small. For the price though, hard to beat. ** Note, you can order their gis without embroidery, so don't let that deter you.

Tokaido: Good all around gi, but I found it hard to size them because they shrunk so darn much. A gi that was a bit on the large side ended up being too small once it shrunk through the legs and jacket (for my taste anyway). These gis are good if you have a slender build, if you have hips you might find these ones a bit constricting. The construction on the ones I had held up better then the Arawaza ones.

Satori: Only had this gi for about 6 months and so far so good. These ones shrink a lot too, but the company calculates for shrinkage in the sizing. I like the 13oz weight of the gi I have.

[anto]

Thanks a lot KC1996 for sharing your experience.

** Note, you can order their gis without embroidery, so don't let that deter you.

I think the "With embroidery" option like shown here, is the option to add personal embroidery in addition to the standard Arawaza logos embroidery. So I think the "Without embroidery" option is just the opposite of that. I cannot find the option to place an order without Arawaza logos embroidery.

Tokaido: Good all around gi, but I found it hard to size them because they shrunk so darn much. A gi that was a bit on the large side ended up being too small once it shrunk through the legs and jacket (for my taste anyway).

Could you please share with us how you washed it until "they shrunk so darn much"? Did you wash it with hot water?

Or did it shrink as well when you washed it by hand with cold water? If so, how could we really prevent it from shrinking because of washing it?

[KC1996]

The Arawaza brand has many different gis types to choose from and they are very fast in responding to questions. If you like the gi but don't want their embroidery branding on it email them and ask if a version is available without the embroidery.

I only wash my gis in cold water and air dry. You can't prevent them from shrinking...even Arawaza gis will shrink a small amount. You have to buy a size that takes shrinkage into account. I found that they would shrink the most in the first two washes, but continue to shrink a little for a few washes after that before settling on their permanent size.

[MichaelJames]

Anto,

Not sure if this is still relevant, but I recommend (very highly) Meijin karate gi. They come in a variety of weights, and they are really well constructed. I have used Mugen, Kamikaze, and other types, but this is my favorite non-Japan made karategi.

If you want a Japanese made, then I recommend a Hirota 163, or a heavyweight (12oz) gi from seidoshop. Both have amazing construction and absolutely gorgeous cotton. I've ordered from both and both of the companies went out of their way to ensure a good fit.