I bought my first gi though my school, Boulder Grappling Academy, for a decent price when everything was new to me – including advantages and disadvantages each type of gi. Since then I have done my research – via friends at the dojo and online – and I now feel pretty educated about the topic. Now it is time for me to buy a new gi – but this time I want to get something a little more tailored to my requirements and preferences.
Jiu Jitsu – and many other martial arts in general – are still niche enough that supplies and gear are usually purchased through the students’ school – or possibly more common, online.
When I make a purchase for something major (like a gi) I am methodical about research and finding out everything I can about the product and the various options out there. I want to be an educated consumer. For mainstream products – like most things sold at Amazon – this is fairly easy. Descriptions and reviews abound and a general consensus usually develops around the product in question.
But not so for a gi. Buying and researching gis online has been an arduous, frustrating process so far. Here’s why:
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Relatively low number of gi reviews
Sure, there are reviews online, but compared to other products, there are just not that many. I expect that to change for the better as Jiu Jitsu becomes more popular. Two sources I have consulted are Joker’s Jiu-jitsu Kimono & Gi Reviews and Sherdog’s MMA forums – specifically the gear sub forum. These are two good resources, but overall, the quantity of reviews is still small.
Some online sellers have product reviews – such as Budovideos – but usually they are small, one or two sentences at most. These can be helpful but usually don’t provide enough insight or information for me to make a good buying decision.
I hope to help out the community a bit in this regard – I plan on posting reviews of every gi I get my hands on.
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Lack of consistent reviews
It is often hard to figure out what a gi is really like when looking at a review – and even harder when other reviews on the same product contradict each other. True, a review is only an opinion, and everyone’s opinion will be different, but I have seen opinions on gis that are fairly irreconcilable. For example, most reviews I have seen say Keiko Raca gis are good for trim people with longer arms; but I’ve also found a couple reviews that say their tops are baggy.
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Lack of measurements
There is no question about it: the biggest downer of trying to buy a gi online is the lack of measurements. Size is extremely important when considering a new gi -so why it is so hard to find detailed measurements of gis online?
The typical size chart does not really cut it for me – height and weight only tell so much. I want to know length of the sleeves, length from the shoulder to the bottom of the garment, cuff width, etc. Imagine if measurements provided details like this page does.
The Solution
Thankfully we are bound to be eternally annoyed with finding the perfect gi to buy online. An instructor at my school, Jason, had a great idea for working around this issue: try on other students gis at your academy with a similar or identical size.
pic credit(s): Via Flickr, by PK Kool at http://www.flickr.com/photos/hwanung/1976533885/.