grappler's friend

Meet my new friend:

This thing is great. It is a vast improvement over ice-cubes in a plastic bag. It works much better than a frozen gel-pack on places like elbows, feet, wrists etc. The gel pack is good for large flattish areas, but on joints, I find I need to bandage it down tight to get the contact I want.

The ice bag makes it much easier. I put it to good use on my dodgy right elbow this last week.

In Australia, it can be obtained from the Lecaronol website. They were very helpful.

gi pants

Every pair of traditional gi pants I own came with a drawstring made from pants material. That works ok the first couple of times, but then after a few wears and washes, the things twist.

I was soon fed up with the acrobatics and strength required to pull the strings tight. Having read that some gi pants come with cords, I bought some cord. I bought mine at the markets, because I happened to see some there, but any store selling sewing and craft stuff should have it. The stuff I bought is just the right thickness and it's soft so it doesn't cut into me if the slits at the sides of the pant top gape open during rolling.

I've replaced the material with cotton cord in all my gi pants now. To do that is very easy. Tie a knot in the end of the existing string to attach the cotton cord. Then slowly pull the cord through the pants (once along the front and twice along the back). Tie cord ends off. Wonderful.

The photo shows the simple figure eight knot I use to attach the new cord to the existing string before I pull it through.

Fuji gi

I don't like to tumble dry my gis and as as I do several BJJ classes per week, winter is a difficult time to get them dry after washing. My house mates are now used to the sight of gis hanging about the house on coathangers for drying purposes :-) Anyway, I needed another one, so after a bit of research, I ordered a Fuji gi from Grapplingstore.com. Their service was great, I ordered on Tuesday and it was in the mail on Wednesday.

I tried out my new Fuji gi in class today after giving it a quick wash at 30 degrees to see if it would shrink. Yes, there was a little shrinkage and I expect a little more in subsequent washes, but the fit is excellent for my size and shape. Having pretty long arms and legs, I ordered an A3. With shrinkage, sleeves and pant legs are perfect. It certainly felt good during class and seems much softer than my Atama gi. I like the collar and the seamless back design. And there is plenty of reinforcement on the pant legs.

There is a logo on the back and on one of the sleeves. I haven't decided yet if I'll sew on any or all of the patches that came with it. One the one hand, patches can look cool, but some gis look like advertising billboards.

Anyway, my first impressions of the gi are excellent.

Padilla & Sons gi

I received my Padilla & Sons gold weave kimono last week. What a nice piece of gear! And what nice and prompt service from Joe.

I decided on this gi after reading several lengthy reviews about the product. All agreed that these are excellent.

My only disappointment is that after a couple of washes, it has shrunk in the sleeves and pant legs. As I'm fairly tall and slight with long arms, I now realise that I should have ordered an A3 instead of an A2. I guess after my first Judo gi, which is huge, I wanted to be sure I had something better fitting, and I went too far the other way.

It's ok to wear, but it certainly isn't competition legal, which is a shame. But it's nice to wear, I love the material. Down the track I'll replace it with an A3.

Is buying a gi always such a hit and miss affair?