A Whimsical Question, Warning: Mildly Offensive

dancingalone

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I have a friend that teaches taekwondo. He's a bit chubby (well, OK, more than a bit, but he can kick like a mule)... Anyway, we've known each other so long that we have a quirky friendship where we'll talk about all kinds of oddball things we wouldn't to others.

"So, do you think I look fat in my uniform?" (He wears the v-neck type uniform.)

"Sorry, I'm married already, dude, and that's the kind of question only wives are entitled to ask."

"No, seriously, man. What do you think? I need to look professional for my school."

"Well, you could lose a few pounds..."

"No, I meant my uniform. Do you think I would look skinnier in one of your uniforms?"

"No." I use a judo gi or a crossover karate gi.

He won't let it drop and he's ordering a few uniforms of various brands to try out the different style. Anyone disagree that the uniform won't make a difference at all in terms of looks? They say black is slimming so maybe I'll suggest he try some black uniforms now that I think of it...
 

terryl965

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Actually the cross overs will make him look a little lighter, just they way they are cut. Tell him to be professional is in they way he acts not looks.
 

miguksaram

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I agree with Terry on this one. So what if he is big. If he acts professional and can move well, then it won't matter.
 

Marginal

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There should be someone marketing combat corsets in Black Belt magazine. It could be the next big thing, right next to gopher throwing.
 

celtic_crippler

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If he's worried about whether he looks fat or not, maybe he should be shopping for tread mills instead of uniforms.
 

TKD_Father

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Black uniform for sure.

We see as black as more slimming because we cannot see the shadows created by lumps and bumps on black material. It only works from the front or back, as soon as they turn to the side its impossible to hide the shape of the body.
 

bluekey88

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I wear both and am a bigger guy. The Japanese style gi's definitely make me look slimmer. The Korean dobok is just so dang baggy.

that being said, professionalism is in behavior. And looking lsimmer is better served with a change in diet and excercsie.....as others have said.

Peace,
Erik
 

Andrew Green

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Diet & Exercise

He's realizing that part of his job is a fitness instructor, as many of his clients come to him to get into shape. Not looking the part is bad for business. But changing his uniform isn't going to solve his problem.
 

Earl Weiss

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Your friend has a point. Some uniforms may look better on him than others. Have seen some that may have looked good, and probably did when the guy was 30lbs lighter.
 

Carol

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I also think a crossover uniform.

Diet and exercise are the real answer. A uniform won't solve his problem, but he's not going to drop 20, 30, 40 pounds overnight either.
 

Manny

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I have a friend that teaches taekwondo. He's a bit chubby (well, OK, more than a bit, but he can kick like a mule)... Anyway, we've known each other so long that we have a quirky friendship where we'll talk about all kinds of oddball things we wouldn't to others.

"So, do you think I look fat in my uniform?" (He wears the v-neck type uniform.)

"Sorry, I'm married already, dude, and that's the kind of question only wives are entitled to ask."

"No, seriously, man. What do you think? I need to look professional for my school."

"Well, you could lose a few pounds..."

"No, I meant my uniform. Do you think I would look skinnier in one of your uniforms?"

"No." I use a judo gi or a crossover karate gi.

He won't let it drop and he's ordering a few uniforms of various brands to try out the different style. Anyone disagree that the uniform won't make a difference at all in terms of looks? They say black is slimming so maybe I'll suggest he try some black uniforms now that I think of it...


Well I am fat and kick like mule too, not to head level but I can broke your ribs with a solid side kick.

I am takin Kenpo classes too and believe the black karategi (cross jacket) makes me look thiner, my mooto dobok makes me look fat and the kenpo black gi makes me look not fat.

So, yes black clothes favor the fat guys.

Manny
 

granfire

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I have a friend that teaches taekwondo. He's a bit chubby (well, OK, more than a bit, but he can kick like a mule)... Anyway, we've known each other so long that we have a quirky friendship where we'll talk about all kinds of oddball things we wouldn't to others.

"So, do you think I look fat in my uniform?" (He wears the v-neck type uniform.)

"Sorry, I'm married already, dude, and that's the kind of question only wives are entitled to ask."

"No, seriously, man. What do you think? I need to look professional for my school."

"Well, you could lose a few pounds..."

"No, I meant my uniform. Do you think I would look skinnier in one of your uniforms?"

"No." I use a judo gi or a crossover karate gi.

He won't let it drop and he's ordering a few uniforms of various brands to try out the different style. Anyone disagree that the uniform won't make a difference at all in terms of looks? They say black is slimming so maybe I'll suggest he try some black uniforms now that I think of it...

LMAO!! I didn't know there were girly men in MA! :lfao::redcaptur

(dunno what that guy is doing, but he is cute)


I got the 'Karate Style' flap jacket, and it makes me look boxy...and I am tiny.

but black uniforms look cool as hell anyhow, even when mellowed to a steely gray.
 

d1jinx

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for what its worth.... I have a story that might fit in with this thread.

For those of you who dont know, I Serve. Being a member of the military, I frequently move and travel.... Thus the "OPHAN" taekwondo-ist as some put it in another post. Because of who I am and How I have been Brainwashed into appearance.... I am all about appearance. (I spoke of it in the thread about raggedy BB)

But here is a classic example of how appearance can and is deceiving...

I was a 3rd Dan when i got stationed in TEXAS. I wanted a place to train because I have trained in TKD since I was 11 and it is my life...literally. (I physically hurt when I stop training, muscle cramps, soarness...) So I looked around for a school that I though would either A) be similiar to the style of training I was used too.... or B) introduce a new challenge.

I was born and raised (TKD) on WTF/KKW style forms and ALL Sparring (open, wtf, anything that involved fighting, we did). I had trained in ATA when stationed in FL (only thing there) and had done a few other types of TKD in other places.

SO I looked for any WTF style schools I could find and visited them first. I found a school that was saying exactly what I wanted to do. WTF/KKW. I went to visit and watched a class. First impressions are not always correct. When I showed up, There was this 16 year old kid (the instructors son) teaching classes, playing music during class cardio workouts, and the GM was a short "fat" guy who stood there in plain clothes watching. I stayed for the whole class watching but walked away laughing.

WHAT COULD THIS FAT GUY and teenage kid teach me. I had been doing this 10 + years and I was DAMN good, they weren't gonna teach me anything.

So I kept looking and found a Korean Guy who was very impressive and also new to town. He opened up a school and I was his first student there. I trained with him for a year, learning chun-gi, one-yo, dan-gun....etc. BuT soon I found myself paying him for classes I WAS TEACHING. I was doing all the teaching and he started showing up less and less. I had no one to train with, and that was what I wanted.

I was a competitor. And I loved to compete. I found the local tournaments coming up and tried to get him to let the students enter. HE REFUSED. But let me enter if I wanted. But he would NOT go. So I went on my own. No coach. no support. no friends or family. Just me and my girlfriend. I saw that instructor and his son there. The ones I had written off. I said hi and went about the day. When It came time for me to fight, I ended up going against one of the Lopez's friends (Jean was the coach). The whole place was for him.... and I was there alone... with no coach... but I didnt care. I wanted to fight. After the first round, I walked back to my chair and guess who was there.... you got it, the son of the GM I had blown off.

WOW.

After the fight, they invited me to their school to work out whenever I wanted. For free. His son fought next and Wow... was I impressed.

Overtime, I felt the Korean guy was ripping me off, so I left him and started training at that school I had blown off a year prior.

I learned that the Instructor was Prior Special Forces, and had suffered a Back Injury (the reason resulting in the weight) and his son was one of the BEST I had ever seen.

How I regret wasting a year without them. So I guess the moral was....

Appearance can be decieving.
 

shesulsa

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I'm going to blatantly avoid the whole fat thing because ... life happens and I'm a bit chubby too and ... because I've met some "heavy" dudes who could out-run me, out-kick me, and just plain old kick my ***.

I also learned that there are a LOT of prescription medications that put significant weight on a body ... some of them for blood sugar and heart disorders. *tangent note: how anyone is supposed to lose the weight that everyone things will solve these problems while on meds to make them heavier is beyond me*

Black Japanese-style gis. It's what I wear. Professionalism, good example and ... oh, and a little less judgement from his friends. ;)
 

Ken Morgan

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It’s like when a woman asks a man that favorite question, “Does my *** look fat in these jeans.”

Look, if you have to ask, if you need clothing to make you look slimmer, if you’re afraid some clothing will make you “look” fat, the answer is already a resounding YES.

If he’s really your buddy, swat him in the head and tell him to lose weight, for all the reasons everyone else have listed.
 

K31

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One more thing, instead of "chubby" we prefer to be called "dimensionally challenged".
 

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