Hi again everyone , I’m looking at purchasing my very first karate gi , and would like some advice on brand , sizing , weight , and where to get from in the uk etc . I am 184cm tall and weigh 13stone 9 if that helps .
Your club/instructor may have very specific requirements when it comes to their Gi - Have you spoken to them? Travess
First port of call should always be your instructor. There may be club or association requirements, badges, specific brands etc. They can also often get them "trade" price and while some will pass that saving on some will charge you regular price and make a little profit (no judgement on that...both are fine). At the very least if the instructor doesn't sell them themselves they will probably be best placed to point yuo in the right direction for one that will suit what the club is about. For example a karate club with a strong grappling component might require a stronger weight gi.
As far as I am aware it’s pretty relaxed , but I will certainly check with him , the most common in class seem to be blitz and Adidas
I can only talk about Judo-Gi in this regard, but with Adidas you seem to pay a lot for the name alone. My Karate coach gifted me his old Adidas Uwagi and yes it is solid - but the same are my own Gi from another firm (Ju-Sports; I don't know if they are in the UK so, sorry). My point being: Personally I wouldn't aim at Adidas and was strongly advised against it from my Judo teacher, when we were just talking about Gi in general. I was advised to get the Tokaido Bujin Shiro for Karate and was about to order it next month, but can't talk of own experience here. And I probably won't be able to, as another teacher made sure to order another Gi for me.
The Blitz gis seem well made from the ones I've had. Buy big to allow for some shrinkage, so look at a 190cm I would think. There are many brands out there, and some are very good but very expensive, so for your first one I think Blitz would be a good choice. As everyone has said though, check with your Instructor first. He/she may have particular requirements.
I have just received my new karate gi , however it seems quite large , is this normal , and any advice?
It should be loose of course, but depending on the brand it may be that it shrinks significantly when first washed. Many brands tell you to buy a size or half size bigger to allow for this.
Funny enough, I mainly had that problem with my Judo-Gi Three are essentially to small now; when I wear them, even the parents of the children kid, that I look like one of them, that had just a grow spurt My Karate-Gi (or canvas-Gi in general) hardly ever shrank - and with some of them I had counted on them doing that
When I was still training ( ) I swore by these Adult White Diamond Karate Suit They're a good trade off on price versus quality. They do shrink a bit, though, so, as Mitch said, buy big.
I am always looking for a bit more exotic brands rather than the obvious ones. My personal choice is Hayashi for the past 10 years. They make some great gis. I like the way they snap. They were sold at the Nationals in Reno this summer. Here is the one that I use: Hayashi Karate uniform Legend.