Breaking in a new gi

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[Arianah]

Does anyone know a good meathod for breaking in a new gi? I just got one and it is so stiff I can barely move in it. I have heard people say that using fabric softner is bad for it. I can't really just wear it to class to break it in gradually since I can hardly bend my arms (as if my technique doesn't suffer enough :D ). Any suggestions?

Arianah

[joan]

Where do you think unbendable arm comes from?

Depending on how much shrinkage you can tolerate, washing it in hot water and drying it in a hot dryer works pretty well.

And then (of course) there's practice, practice, practice...

[aikifish]

:) Fabric softener.

If you bleach it once that will help too. I've also noticed that my gi's feel good if I don't overdo it on the soap when washing them.

[willy_lee]

Originally posted by aikifish
:) Fabric softener.

If you bleach it once that will help too. I've also noticed that my gi's feel good if I don't overdo it on the soap when washing them.

I heard somewhere that fabric softener actually reduces the absorption of the fabric... so you may want to check on this before doing that.

Don't know about the bleach -- I would think that would make it less durable? Probably once wouldn't make too much difference, gi's are pretty tough....

=wl