gi or no gi?
 

Please forgive they way Im going to ask this. I study another korean art, and we wear a dobok in there. Its much thinner than my judo gi, but allows for quicker movements. (not very heavy). Am I right in thinking, it would be more traditional to where my judo gi in Aikido? Or, is there another gi that would be better suited? I know this may sound like a dumb question, and my sensei has never brought this up, but I would like to follow the traditional side of training more if I can.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Gary

Re: gi or no gi?
 

At our dojo, we wear a judo gi.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

99.9% of people in my dojo wear a judo gi. We have one guy who wears his old tae kwon do gi/dobak. It is quite thin and I am sure it would wear out if he were able to come to class on a regular basis. If you like the lighter one, then ask your sensei if you can wear it.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

Gi all the way. The thick judo ones! The thin stuff tears too much easily. The lighter ones are good for striking arts-- light weight easy to bounce in, and your fists can't get stuck in the material. But anything jujitsu based-- go with thick judo gi. Those shoulder grabs with wreck karate gi.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

I wear lighter karate type gi in warm weather and never have a problem with them.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

Thick judo gi's don't really work too well in the summer in Florida with no A.C. Gi type tends to be a personal preference. In our dojo, the owner/head instructor isn't too picky so long as you don't show up with a gi with a huge advertisement across the back for some other dojo/style. Our instructor feels it's a bit much to ask someone to pay the registration fee, first month dues, then ask the student to acquire a training uniform all for something they may only show up once for. If you already have uniforms that will work and aren't too outlandish, they are probably fine, but everyone's opinion is a little different and it's really up to your instructor, so you should just ask him/her.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

If you have one, I'd wear a judogi in preference to a WTF-style dobok (with the v-neck).

Re: gi or no gi?
 

Thanks for all the fast responses!!
I will start wearing my Judo gi tonight.

Gary

Re: gi or no gi?
 

ya know, over the years I've found that judo gi (for me at least) tend to wear out about as quickly as so-called "karate gi" (assuming you're buying decent quality of both -- I've had cheap gi of both type that fall apart quickly). It might be that I sweat so much I look like I went swimming sometimes. So virtually every time I train I also have to wash them. What I find is that the looser weave of the judo gi starts to give up somewhat randomly while the seams of the karate gi gives up the ghost when it's time for it to die. It could just be me or my perception is off, but I've never really noticed much difference in "lifespans".

So I have to agree with Janet -- I have no problem with either. I've heard people say the judo gi last longer but as a person who kinda alternates, well, that's just not been my experience. Maybe it does, but for me it is at best only marginally longer. But then again karate gi tend to be less expensive too. So... Shrug.

YMMV

Re: gi or no gi?
 

Compared to the karate heavyweight gis that you're probably thinking of, the typical taekwondo dobok is pretty flimsy IME. Also, this is what a typical dobok looks like, with a v-neck rather than open down the front.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

Ah, I see, nevermind...

Re: gi or no gi?
 

HAHA... World Tae Kwon Do Federation is not what came to mind when I first read that statement. HAHA. I was like... WOW... never thought Mary would say that. HAHA. :rolleyes:

Re: gi or no gi?
 

I wear a heavy weight Karate gi, students have Judo gi or karate although I suggest the judo gi for students as that is easier to care for. I don't like the look of the light weight Karate gi for some reason.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

I only wear the double-weave judo gi and find them comfortable in both winter and summer. I did recently buy a lightweight karate gi for travel though. When I'm out of town on business or pleasure I like to visit local dojo and my regular gi are simply too bulky to pack. The karate gi takes up less space than a pair of jeans and I can wash it in the hotel room if necessary.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

Are you kidding? I deal with customers. I say it all the time.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

from the subject line, i thought the question was gi or no gi for aikido practice. i vote for the "no gi" meself. who needs all the covering of gi. just a hakama and nothing else would be just fine. now if i can find a Velcro hakama, then i am in business. :D

Re: gi or no gi?
 

But stitching the patch on your shoulder is a pain...

Re: gi or no gi?
 

lol, I live in Florida. I love to wear the heavy judo gi in the dead of summer... it makes my ki leak though :uch: : ...

Re: gi or no gi?
 

YESSS!!
rock it all Duke Nukem like :cool:

Re: gi or no gi?
 

hmmm...I knew it was only a matter of time before this sort of response came out.....

there are just some places it is really really not desirable, or good, to have mat burn. I vote Gi. :)

On a more serious note. I sweat.. a lot....I like my Karate gi just fine. I can only imagine what wearing a heavy gi would be like considering how much I heat up already. I'm the one who is wanting to crack open the windows when its 19* outside...

In my dojo its personal preference as long as its plain and white. If your sensei has not brought it up you know it is ok to bring it up to him... or to one of the other more senior students who might have the answer for you.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

I thought that was what tattoos were for!

We wear heavy judo gi in our dojo and we don't have AC. Granted, we don't have the humidity out here like the east coast. HOWEVER, my old dojo back in DE didn't have AC either and I wore a heavy karate gi and had no problem. Was it hot? Sure, but I like the weight of it and at least my gi wasn't all ucky sweaty like those flimsy ones were. Plus the heavy gi's get that nice snapping sound when you do punches and kicks. :D

Bottom line is what is your preference and what is allowed in your dojo. Good luck!

Re: gi or no gi?
 

Gi. You're not showing up at a basket ball game in swim shorts either.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

I wear a medium weight Aikido gi from Bu Jin. It's a lot cooler than my very heavy woven judo gi, but still designed to hold up to Aikido, including double thickness at the knees, and CoolMax-lined shoulder area. The weight of the fabric feels kind of like a very solid lab coat - smooth, crisp, but not flimsy, so it doesn't cling when you get sweaty.

Re: gi or no gi?
 

In reality, a gi is technically underwear traditionally :-D the Victoria Secret of ancient Japan.... who doesn't love rollin' in their skivvies! It's a privilege if you ask me!!!

Re: gi or no gi?
 

Real men (ladies have more sense) wear (mixed modern style) olive oil and fundoshi - this helps prevent grappling attacks!

Traditionalists wear judo keikogi - this invites attacks of all kinds and it is not underwear (more like jammies/burial garments, on account of all the invited attacks).

Those of a classical bent wear geta, kimono (fundoshi underneath) and haori perhaps also a bowler hat (reformed classical) - presents an aura of sophistication and indominability - maybe the daisho help here.

The ancients had no access to olive oil so they just wore fundoshi. Of course they trained by grappling with large boulders and goblins.