Moving Gi

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[JohnH]

I had a question about my gi. I have two of them. One is a lightweight, bright white karate-gi that I had well before I started Aikido. The other is a heavy, un-bleached judo-gi that I got for Christmas. It is finally softening up so that it doesn't give me rug burns everytime I uke for the instructor. The problem is the "collar" (for lack of a better term) is still really stiff and moves a lot. I like the gi, but the ends of the collar (what is is really called?) do not seem to get along very well. They try to be as far away from each other as possible. They always stage their little revolutions when I am rolling so I can't stop them (crafty little buggers). Long story short, I spend a lot of class time trying to make sure that other people don't have to look at my belly button. My karate-gi has those little ties to keep this from happening. Is there anything I can do to keep my gi in place, or am I going to have to just live with it?

Hope that I wasn't too long-winded.
Thanks

[guest1234]

A tailor/alterations shop (perhaps as close as your neighborhood cleaners) could sew ties on if you are as inept with a sewing machine as I. Or you might get a Mom/girlfriend/wife to help.

[Erik]

I thought you meant something else. Back in my younger and less clean days, I would sometimes leave my gi in the dojo to air out. Unfortunately, it often wasn't on the same hangar I'd left it on. Yes, the gi moved all by itself. Gotta watch those things.

The sharing of sweat, a beautiful example of dojo harmony.

Yuuuuuccccckkkkkk!

[Chuck.Gordon]

Tie your belt tighter ...



;)

Chuck

[Amendes]

Chuck had the best awnser, But also it seems alot of guys at our Dojo wear white
t-shirts inside their Gi's.

And of course for the gals, that goes without saying, they don't relly have a choice.


:-P It would be more embarassing for one of their Gis to fall, Cheers

[PeterR]

Budo fashion statement - and yes I've had to take young Japanese males aside and let them know that

1) Guys never wear teeshirts under the dogi.

2) Tie your obi near if not on your hips.

The teeshirted wasp look is for girls.

What can I say - its part of the culture :D

[JohnH]

Thanks for all the advice.
I always try to tie it tighter, but it either still moves or is extremely uncomfortable.
I try to get the belt at or around my hips, but I am a skinny guy and I don't have much in the way of hips or padding in that area. If I tighten it down on top of my hip-bones it rubs and I end up fooling with it to get comforable, then it starts moving again.
I have found that if I give it a small bit of attention after each roll, I quick tug here or there, then it usually doesn't get so out of place as to require me to stop what I am doing entirely to readjust. Though, that usually isn't an option in randori.
I'm learning to live with it.
Thanks for your help

John

[PeterR]

Originally posted by JohnH
I try to get the belt at or around my hips, but I am a skinny guy and I don't have much in the way of hips or padding in that area. If I tighten it down on top of my hip-bones it rubs and I end up fooling with it to get comforable, then it starts moving again.
I have found that if I give it a small bit of attention after each roll, I quick tug here or there, then it usually doesn't get so out of place as to require me to stop what I am doing entirely to readjust. Though, that usually isn't an option in randori.

I'm pretty slim myself, I tie it around my hips but there are times, when fashion be dammed, its going higher and tighter rather than having my gi all over the place.

[Krzysiek]

If you give your Gi enough room so you can move your shoulders around without pulling it out of your belt it stays on better.

[Simone]

Hi John, hi Peter,

when I look round our dojo, many people seem to have the same problem.

I sew some ties in my judo gi and it's better.

Peter, do you have any advice for women how to make their obi staying at the hips? It's a never ending discussion between my instructor (male) and me. He tells me to wear my obi at the hips and I tell him it doesn't work for females, it will not stay there. So I'm always returning to the "t-shirted wasp look" (even if I hate t-shirts under my gi, I use a bustier instead, it has as less sex-appeal as a t-shirt, so no problem with that).

Thanks,

Simone

[PeterR]

Originally posted by Simone
Peter, do you have any advice for women how to make their obi staying at the hips? It's a never ending discussion between my instructor (male) and me. He tells me to wear my obi at the hips and I tell him it doesn't work for females, it will not stay there.
Like I said - its the occaisional young Japanese male that needs a lesson on machismo :D. The women here have a much clearer idea what's fashionably acceptable than the men.

How long before you get to wear the hakama - point is moot then.

By the way take a look at the following article - some of the women are top flight young Aikido-ists.
http://www.aikidojournal.com/articles/_article.asp?ArticleID=1106

[Simone]

Hi Peter,

my instructor insists that wearing the obi on your hips makes you feel your hara better, and I think he's possibly right.
Some of the women in the article seem to wear their obi round their waist, some on the hips......

I already wear a hakama (I'm shodan), but we still have the same discussion.... And since I wear the hakama, I do not wear light karate gi any longer because, inspite of having ties, I have John's problem of moving gi with them!

Thanks,

Simone

[PeterR]

Originally posted by Simone
my instructor insists that wearing the obi on your hips makes you feel your hara better, and I think he's possibly right.

I agree - wish I could give you some advice but in the long run the obi does not define your hara - you do. But of course you know that. Hopefully some women will respond.

Some of the women in the article seem to wear their obi round their waist, some on the hips......

Its one reason why I posted it. The other is that it is a good article on women and my style of Aikido. Seemed like a good opprotunity to mention it.

[cdwright]

Originally posted by JohnH
I had a question about my gi. I have two of them. One is a lightweight, bright white karate-gi that I had well before I started Aikido. The other is a heavy, un-bleached judo-gi that I got for Christmas. It is finally softening up so that it doesn't give me rug burns everytime I uke for the instructor. The problem is the "collar" (for lack of a better term) is still really stiff and moves a lot. I like the gi, but the ends of the collar (what is is really called?) do not seem to get along very well. They try to be as far away from each other as possible. They always stage their little revolutions when I am rolling so I can't stop them (crafty little buggers). Long story short, I spend a lot of class time trying to make sure that other people don't have to look at my belly button. My karate-gi has those little ties to keep this from happening. Is there anything I can do to keep my gi in place, or am I going to have to just live with it?

Hope that I wasn't too long-winded.
Thanks




Criminals and people that want to harm you do not care if your belly shows or not. As long as you are clothed, enjoy practice. And remember you are learning a martial art, not walking down the runway in Milan.

[paw]

A number of bjj'ers wear rash guards underneath their gis when training. (Rash Guards ---- worn by surfers underneath the wetsuit to keep the skin from getting chaffed). They tend to be very form fitting (won't get pulled or torn during lapel grabs), durable, lightweight, and usually are made from some breathable material (pulls sweat away from your skin, keeping you nice and fresh).

Local surf stores should have them a plenty during the summer, or you can find them online for a modest fee (around $20 - $35 US).

Regards,

Paul

[Bruce Baker]

As a student of practicality and not of fashion statements, I would say that the standard cotton-tie pants-strings on the gi are what you should be wearing for hard practice. It looks nice to have a Judo gi on, but overall they need a lot of tucking and adjusting for normal practice to maintain their clean fashionable look.

Somewhere around forty, my butt stopped holding up my pants up as it got flatter, and my belly got bigger ... which in turn makes it damn difficult to hold a training gi in proper attire if you don't tie it with some foresight.

With most tie pants you have the option of tieing your gi top though the strings of your pants to hold up your pants up and thereby have and interacting support system that is independent of tieing your belt tighter ... which if you were to jump on my belly, yeah I have muscles that strong, you would see why when I breath my belt gets expanded and contracted into loosening during exercises, but it doesn't matter because if the belt holds the uniform in place or not.

There are a number of fabric softners to soften the fabric of your top, but many times the water in particular areas needs to be treated to allow the detergents to work properly. Kind of, MOM's knowledge from local people who would give you a clue as to the detergents that soften the best.

I have always wanted to put ties on my judo gi, but somehow I always buy two new white gi's with tie pants and tops to replace the old ones before that happens.

As for the T-shirt thing? If it works and keeps your mind off chaffing ... go with it.

Politically correct loses to medical correctness everytime.

Don't forget to check out what type of detergents affect you, as I know two of my kids are sensitive to certain types of laundry soaps ... rashes and the like.

The criteria for social politeness is not always the same, talking about the t-shirt thing and women. Many times someone with a hairy chest is asked to please wear a t-shirt as not to affect training with women in class, at least in my experience in large groups and in my area of the world.

But consider a full cotton tie gi? It might not be stylish, but that shouldn't be why you go to train.