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Old 09-06-2013, 12:35 PM   #9
Linda Eskin
 
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Dojo: Aikido of San Diego, San Diego, California
Location: San Diego County, California
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 335
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Unhappy Re: Problems with the new Bujin....

I ordered 3 women's gi about a year ago (?) from the "new Bujin" after having 3 from the "old Bujin." It's possible they have changed things since my order - and I would be glad to hear if that's the case, but I'm not happy with the new ones and would like to find a new source.

Here are the problems I've had:

They say the pants are "unisex" but they are designed for men.
  • The knee patches on the pants are placed too high, so that the bottom edge of the patch is across your knee (or not even that far down) when doing suwari-waza. It's a thigh patch, essentially, for women. It might work for men who wear their pants lower, but I wear the waistband at my waist.
  • The drawstrings a long enough to tie easily once the pants are on, but if you have hips the drawstrings are so short that pulling the pants on without sucking the drawstrings into their holes is difficult. I have to hold the ends in one hand while pulling the pants on/off to keep from losing them.
  • I wish they were longer. I'm 5'8" and these fit like capri pants, coming to my lower-mid calf. Again, I suppose for guys who might wear them lower, that wouldn't be a problem.

The women's jackets...
  • The sleeves are too long for Aikido. All my old ones has shorter sleeves, which I didn't have to roll up. I have to fold the sleeves back at least 3" on the new ones.
  • The bottom hem folds back up on itself every time I wash them. This didn't happen with the old ones. Now I have to spray them with water and flatten the hems out before folding the jackets.
  • The side splits are failing. One tore recently when a partner knelt on it (fair enough), and I had to have it mended. But they are weak/failing on all 3, and I really should reinforce them before they get worse.

If anyone knows a decent supplier of women's gi, please share. I tried ordering men's (before ordering from Bujin), and they were either really tight around the hips, or fit like a tent. At best I could consider the larger men's ones to be a starting point, and have them tailored, but I'd rather find a source that are designed to fit women in the first place.

Last edited by Linda Eskin : 09-06-2013 at 12:36 PM. Reason: Poor word choice / overuse.

Linda Eskin - Facebook | My Aikido blog: Grab My Wrist

"Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train." - Morihei Ueshiba
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