Got me a new gi...

[kravi]

So I changed my diet almost two months ago, on the advice of my physician, and have accordingly (though this was not the purpose), dropped my weight and waste size significantly. I felt it was time for a new gi, as my old gi's pants were being pulled in so tight they they accordianed all over the place, and the jacket was, what's the word, voluminous?

My last gi, which was great (and a size 6), was a Ronin Shiai red label. Good heavy weight gi, got it on sale for like $85 when I bought it. So naturally I ordered the same thing, in size 5.

But the company I ordered from was out of the size 5 and would be for "a few months". Ugh. So I bit the bullet and ordered the "black label". Why am I thinking of cruddy scotch? Anyway, the black label, while still put together in Pakistan, uses that blue no. 10 duck canvas stuff from Japan.

And boy did it arrive blue! Not sure if it is no. 10 duck canvas, or regular canvas died blue, but I like the gi, and after I pre-shrunk it, it fits perfectly. What a difference not having a heavy balloon strapped about you. Yay!

--Me

EDIT: Just to point out, it's not blue like a BJJ or Judo gi, but blue as in turquiose, baby blue ,whatever. Hope that fades soon, though, it's kinda awkward.

 

[shima]

Are you going to post some photos of your new gi? Congrats on losing the weight!

 

[Steve]

Hey congrats on the weight loss.

How does Karate feel about colored gis? I've seen black.

 

[kravi]

Hey congrats on the weight loss.

How does Karate feel about colored gis? I've seen black.

Well, this turqoise/babyblue/whatever is officially a "white gi". The "good ones" apparently come blueish, and that is supposed to fade. But boy is this more blue than I anticipated...

--Me

 

[Steve]

I have never heard of that.

I've heard of "bluing" white laundry, but that doesn't sound like what you're talking about. Can you point me to an explanation of why "good" karate gis come blueish? I'm curious now.

 

[kravi]

Can try, I've heard a few things.

From Shureido site, they talk about it a bit in FAQ #1.
http://www.shureidousa.com/faqs.html


From livestrong (not, as far as I know, an authorative source), look under the Shureido paragraph
http://www.livestrong.com/article/417086-top-10-karate-uniforms/

This is all I could really find that is relevant. I am certainly no expert, though, and my inquiries were made before I posted here as I couldn't really find enough info.

--Me

 

[Steve]

Okay. So it looks like they blue the fabric. I guess that makes sense.

Blue is a complementary color to yellow. While it's a bit old fashioned now, the idea is that if you take a slightly dingy white (that's a bit on the yellow side) and add a slight blue to it, you'll actually get a truer white color. This works, but I've never heard of a garment being sold like that. Interesting.

If you're interested, I put together a list of 10 tips for washing a gi. I'm a big fan of using white vinegar in every load.

http://www.stevebjj.com/2009/07/washing-the-bjj-gi/

 

[kravi]

That's a very handy article on cleaning. I knew about the vinegar (and preshrinking), but hadn't heard about the baking soda idea. Granted, I've never noticed an "acidic" smell.

Generally I just wash my gi with detergent and oxy, then hang dry it (because it gets less wrinkled that way). Didn't think about the vinegar getting rid of the excess soap thus softening it.

--Me

 

[OldKarateGuy]

The heavyweight Tokaido gi's (SAW - used to be called "Ultimate", not sure what the current name is) are white canvas, with a slightly blue tint when new. The tint would eventually wash out to pure whiteover a few months or more. I had always heard the same, that is, the light blue tint meant quality in the fabric.

And the blue was barely visible, unless you stood next to someone with a white gi. The uniforms are called "white", but they look like perhaps you washed your gi with a blue towel or something.

 

[kravi]

The heavyweight Tokaido gi's (SAW - used to be called "Ultimate", not sure what the current name is) are white canvas, with a slightly blue tint when new. The tint would eventually wash out to pure whiteover a few months or more. I had always heard the same, that is, the light blue tint meant quality in the fabric.

And the blue was barely visible, unless you stood next to someone with a white gi. The uniforms are called "white", but they look like perhaps you washed your gi with a blue towel or something.

Same blue. Advertised as sea foam. But in fact, it looks like I had a light blue towel in the laundry with the gi.

--Me

 

[Grenadier]

Nice choice on the gi.

Don't worry about that "robin egg" color. It will fade with a few washings. Just bear with the jokes for a week or so...

 

[Steve]

Nice choice on the gi.

Don't worry about that "robin egg" color. It will fade with a few washings. Just bear with the jokes for a week or so...

As a mildly relevant aside, in BJJ, if you wear a blue gi out of the bag without washing it, the sweat will sometimes cause the color to bleed a bit onto a sparring partner's white gi. I don't know about anyone else, but we typically call this "smurfing" your partner. It washes out, but it's fun to give the new guy a hard time when his gi bleeds out.

 

[kravi]

Wow, this was a bit of a resurrection of the dead!

Funny about the smurfing. I guess it would be the same for judo folks too.

--Me

 

[Steve]

Every once in a while, it's good to bring out some old threads and dust them off.

I actually first heard the term from a judoka.

 

[lma]

Gett sweaty in iy a few times will conteract the blue in notime.
Smurfing lol I like it!