Breaking in a new gi
 

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

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...

:) 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