Judogis – Don’t be thick

Judo4Parents has a great entry giving advice on How and when to buy your child a Judo suit (Judogi).

This got me thinking on my ‘adventures’ with Judogis over the years leading to my current preference on thickness.

I started off with a ‘cheap as chips’ beginners’ gi from Blitz Sport. This served me well but it was so thin that it suffered from terrible shrinkage. The gi top, in particular, ended up looking like I was wearing a t-shirt.

I then moved to heavyweight gis. The likes of the Dax Moskito and Adidas Champion. I’ve used them for both training and competing. Great quality but definitely incredibly thick.

I’ve now switched to a compromise. I love gis now which are lightweight but have enough material to be solid and therefore not suffer too much from shrinkage. Examples are the Fighting Films Master Gi (Re-branded Tagoya) and Mizuno Ichiban.

Upon consideration, here are some reasons as to why you really should be using the more lightweight sort of gi:

1. Be kind to your Uke. In training, the heavyweight gis are hard to grip (and are designed to be this way). This is no fun for anyone.
2. The fact that your gi is harder to grip should not be the reason you win in shiai. If this is part of your shiai strategy then think more about what competition is all about. Besides, your gi shouldn’t be saving you from strangles: Your technique should.
3. The lightweight gis are more comfortable and promote quicker movement than lumbering around in a thick gi. If you want to get more of a ‘sweat on’ then consider an underlayer (I know, not very traditional) or just train harder!
   

4. Thicker gis take much longer to dry! Certainly don’t be tempted to ever stick a gi in the dryer.

Any thoughts?