Ki Mugen Orange Gi review

[Zaine]

I would love for KI International to offer hemming services. They tend to be my go-to brand for lower end gis, and as previously mentioned I love their Mugen series and often wear it to competitions. Having an in-house service would be great.

[gspell68]

Just a little help with fat boy sizing for everyone since gi sizes are generally based on height rather than chunkiness.

I got a size 8 Orange Tag Mugen yesterday.  
Planning a trip to the Philippines next week and they have a couple of nice, traditional Japanese karate schools there.  
I haven’t been in a karate class or karate gi since 1996 so I figured something lighter was in order rather than the Tokaido or Century Iron Man uniforms I last wore 30+ years ago.

I’m 5’8” tall but I’m also 295 pounds, around 42” at the hips, and 53” around the chest and around the waist at the navel.  
KI suggested a size 8 when I called.  

I just tried it on fresh after a cold wash and hang dry.  
Starting from top to bottom: the shoulders have lots of room; the sleeve length is not bad, only two or three rolls of the stitched cuffs and it’s about where I like it, the arm hole openings where your hand is at are huge; the left side flap ties won’t butt up and cinch all the way, but there’s easily enough to tie the strings together, same on the right side; the jacket skirt was really long reaching down to my knees, however, once I cinched up a size 8 belt around my waist, the Bavarian tumor above it took up all the excess fabric and it looked fairly normal at a mid-thigh length;  the size 8 belt ears had about 8” of hang-down floppiness.  
The pants had about 3” of looseness at the waist. I could pull them up over my navel and simultaneously give myself a wedgie and a cameltoe and they were almost the right length for floor dragging American style, but rolling the 1” stitched seam about five or six times put them at the classic Japanese low- to mid-shin length.  
I’ll probably tie them under my Bavarian tumor so I don’t cause an international incident requiring medical attention in the groinal netherworld.
Hemming is planned.

The fabric is light but stiff.  
No shoulder liners to rip out.  
A little scratchy right now since it’s not broken in.  
I predict it will last quite a while.

[Furinkazan]

7 hours ago, gspell68 said:

Just a little help with fat boy sizing for everyone since gi sizes are generally based on height rather than chunkiness.

I got a size 8 Orange Tag Mugen yesterday.  
Planning a trip to the Philippines next week and they have a couple of nice, traditional Japanese karate schools there.  
I haven’t been in a karate class or karate gi since 1996 so I figured something lighter was in order rather than the Tokaido or Century Iron Man uniforms I last wore 30+ years ago.

I’m 5’8” tall but I’m also 295 pounds, around 42” at the hips, and 53” around the chest and around the waist at the navel.  
KI suggested a size 8 when I called.  

I just tried it on fresh after a cold wash and hang dry.  
Starting from top to bottom: the shoulders have lots of room; the sleeve length is not bad, only two or three rolls of the stitched cuffs and it’s about where I like it, the arm hole openings where your hand is at are huge; the left side flap ties won’t butt up and cinch all the way, but there’s easily enough to tie the strings together, same on the right side; the jacket skirt was really long reaching down to my knees, however, once I cinched up a size 8 belt around my waist, the Bavarian tumor above it took up all the excess fabric and it looked fairly normal at a mid-thigh length;  the size 8 belt ears had about 8” of hang-down floppiness.  
The pants had about 3” of looseness at the waist. I could pull them up over my navel and simultaneously give myself a wedgie and a cameltoe and they were almost the right length for floor dragging American style, but rolling the 1” stitched seam about five or six times put them at the classic Japanese low- to mid-shin length.  
I’ll probably tie them under my Bavarian tumor so I don’t cause an international incident requiring medical attention in the groinal netherworld.
Hemming is planned.

The fabric is light but stiff.  
No shoulder liners to rip out.  
A little scratchy right now since it’s not broken in.  
I predict it will last quite a while.

I have to agree with some of the other posters here.  Mugen is a good deal only if you don't need anything altered.  Depending on the size of the gi and how much alteration you need, you could end up spending roughly $200 before that Mugen is ready to be worn on the floor.  Even with international shipping, you'll end up spending a similar amount or less on a Shureido or Tokyodo (both companies hem pants and sleeves for free).  The cut of both Shureido and Tokyodo are known to be big-boy friendly.

The lack of in-house alterations doesn't make Mugen the worst deal, though.  The title of "worst deal" goes to Arawaza.  That Black Diamond is nice, but by the time I'd get one altered at the local shop, the overall cost would be ridiculous.

[gspell68]

13 hours ago, Furinkazan said:

I have to agree with some of the other posters here.  Mugen is a good deal only if you don't need anything altered.  Depending on the size of the gi and how much alteration you need, you could end up spending roughly $200 before that Mugen is ready to be worn on the floor.  Even with international shipping, you'll end up spending a similar amount or less on a Shureido or Tokyodo (both companies hem pants and sleeves for free).  The cut of both Shureido and Tokyodo are known to be big-boy friendly.

The lack of in-house alterations doesn't make Mugen the worst deal, though.  The title of "worst deal" goes to Arawaza.  That Black Diamond is nice, but by the time I'd get one altered at the local shop, the overall cost would be ridiculous.

Yeah.  
I live near a military installation which generally has cheap and fast alteration services, but a karate gi might be a little too weird even for them.  
I’ll probably just try to do it myself.  
I did my first one as a teenager when I first began karate back in the 1980’s, so I should be good as long as I can figure out my wife’s new-fangled sewing machine!

And I had to look up the Arawaza supplier out of curiosity.  
Holy cow!  
$545 for a karate gi!!!🥋
I think I will stick with the $84 Mugen for now at least, since ANY gi I’d  wear right now would fit me as well as Steven Segal’s gi fits him! 😄

[Zaine]

On 1/23/2026 at 9:31 PM, gspell68 said:

Yeah.  
I live near a military installation which generally has cheap and fast alteration services, but a karate gi might be a little too weird even for them.  

You might be surprised. Anyway, it shouldn't be so weird that they don't know what to do. That said, if you're good to do it yourself, you will save money.

[Furinkazan]

On 1/23/2026 at 10:31 PM, gspell68 said:

And I had to look up the Arawaza supplier out of curiosity.  
Holy cow!  
$545 for a karate gi!!!🥋
I think I will stick with the $84 Mugen for now at least, since ANY gi I’d  wear right now would fit me as well as Steven Segal’s gi fits him! 😄

I think that's the WKF combo kit where you get both the red and blue trimmed tops.  The single Black Diamond gi is $325 (and that's STILL alot).

[Furinkazan]

5 hours ago, Zaine said:

You might be surprised. Anyway, it shouldn't be so weird that they don't know what to do. That said, if you're good to do it yourself, you will save money.

I live near a military base, and can confirm that not all alteration shops know how to duplicate the manufacturer's hem on a karate gi.  Best thing to do is ask around the dojo for a shop that can.  And the closest one to the military housing for the base I live near charges for $40 just for the pants OR sleeves.  So if you have to get both hemmed, you're looking at $80 (I hope that's not considered cheap because if it is, people who live further away from miltary bases are in big trouble).

That's why I recommend Shureido or Tokyodo (Tokyodo is the cheaper of the two) since they hem for free, and have baggier fit that's better for the big boys.

Higher end non-Japanese gis like Mugen and Kamikaze are good deals IF you don't need anything hemmed.

I'll admit I'm considering getting that Arawaza Black Diamond and having it hemmed anyway.  Because by the time you spend $325 on it, what's another $80?

[Zaine]

2 hours ago, Furinkazan said:

I live near a military base, and can confirm that not all alteration shops know how to duplicate the manufacturer's hem on a karate gi.

Perhaps this is a gap in my knowledge, but does the hem have significant meaning outside of its use? I know enough about tailoring clothes to understand that a gi would need multiple rows using a sturdy thread due to the stress of use, but it seems to me that an experienced tailor would know how to duplicate the hem.