Do any of you wear kendogi for your uniform?

[Matt300ZXT9 3]

I'm looking to get something a little lighter with weapon use in mind for training in, as well as empty hand stuff, rather than these uber heavy/stiffer BJJ gis I've used for years. I see where the Yasuragi Dojo with Jinenkan uses single layer kendogis. While much of my "getting grabbed and thrown a ton" days are behind me, I do still have my heavier gis for that if I know I'm going to a seminar where I'll need that. I'm just curious if you guys have some insight on how long they last with lighter grappling while you're teaching beginners or just doing ukemi drills outside in the grass.

I had a cheap 7.5 oz or so karate gi when I first started Bujinkan and the small stitched on ties held up great for years; the only reason the uniform got replaced was because the pants would droop just a bit during class and eventually my heels wore out the lower half of the pants from where just the hem area would get under my heel, as I usually train barefoot.

Is a typical single layer kendogi usually sufficient or should I step up to double layer? Or are double layers typically just as stiff and "heavy" as an average BJJ or judo gi?

 

[Chris Parker1]

Hi Matt,

I've used a number of forms of keikogi over the years, so here's some things to consider.

Firstly, the design difference between a karate-gi/judogi and a kendo-gi/keiko-gi is probably something to give some thought to, as they are actually designed and made differently to each other. The kendo-gi/keiko-gi is typically longer in the "skirt", and shorter in the sleeves, with a split in the rear of the skirt portion, as well as having two fairly light ties, one inside and one outside on the right chest. A judogi style top, on the other hand, is shorter in the skirt, longer in the sleeves, and has the splits on the sides. The reason for the difference in split placement is all to do with legs and stances/footwork, as the rear split is designed to not hinder forward steps (as in kendo), whereas the side-splits are designed to allow lateral stances as found in karate, and as the legs move for a range of throws in judo. Additionally, the ties on the judo-gi (if utilised... a senior of mine used to remove them as soon as he got his uniform, as he said they always broke pretty much straight away!) are lower on the hips, where the obi holds the jacket together, meaning that there is less stress and strain when pulling actions are applied (as in throws).

When I used a kendo-gi style top, I had some velcro patches put inside the jacket to help provide a little more structural support for the grappling... a teacher of Hontai Yoshin Ryu here does the same thing with his keiko-gi... so you may want to consider doing the same if you go this way.

That said, if all you're after is a lighter jacket, there are plenty of light-weight karate-style jackets, which will be far more commonly available in black (for Bujinkan), whereas I don't think I've ever seen a kendo-gi jacket being offered in black at all. White (which is what I had, and the Hontai Yoshin Ryu teacher uses), a few sashiko designs, and navy blue, with very few pastel options often for female practitioners and kids.

I'm not entirely sure why Manaka-s decided to go with a kendo-style jacket for the Jinenkan... it offers no benefits for the jujutsu portion of the study at all, as they aren't designed for it, and don't tend to last all that long once you start pushing and pulling them around. The main reason I can think of is to provide better coverage on your thighs when wearing a hakama (the reason for the longer skirt is to cover below the side-vents of a hakama, whereas a karate-style top opens there as well, leaving your upper thighs exposed, which is an odd look), but you'd need to check with him on that.

If you do go this way (I wear a few different kendo-gi tops for my koryu studies, which are all weaponry), the main difference between single and double layers will be how warm they are... in summer, or in warmer climates, stick to single layer... in colder months, or colder regions, double is the way to go. Here in Melbourne, the weather is notoriously varies, even in a single day, so I have a range of both.

Hope this helps!