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| Review of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Kimonos Here at Discount Martial Arts Supplies, we offer a few high quality brands that produce jiu-jitsu uniforms. Now some of these bjj uniforms that we are about to write about may not be purchased from our website because we are not dealers for those brands, but are still going to give our opinions about the gi.
As being an employees for this company for the last 6 years and training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu for 4 years, I have about 4 jiujitsu uniforms myself and have tried out about 10 different brands. The ones i'm going to write about are the ones to me are worth it to review. Please note that this is an unofficial gi review. This review is my opinion only.
(1) First serious jiujitsu gi I owned is the Koral Classic Kimono. Still to this day I still train with this gi (of course 3rd one within 4 years). I love the cut and that it's pre-shrunk fabric. In the beginning I used to always wash cold water and hang dry this gi because I was afraid that it may still shrink. By accident my wife washed this in hot water and machined dried it for about 50 minutes. I was surprised, but this Koral only shrunk up abut 1". To me that was amazing. So from now on I always wash this bjj uniform in warm water and machine dry it. Since brand new, I would have to guess that it shrank up about 1.5-2" at most. I'm very happy with the performance of the Koral Classic Kimono. I have to admit now, compared to some of my other jiujitsu gi's, this uniform is not manufactured as well as others. Stitching is not fully reinforced in all areas. Maybe that is why this gi offers great movement and comfort ?
(2) After breaking in the Koral and training 3-4 days a week. I decided to get myself an Atama. I wanted an Atama that was a little heavier than the Koral, so I went with the Atama Mundial #7 kimono. I got it in white and it took a while for me to get used to. The weave is light but stiff. The weave is a little heavier than the Koral, but will feel much heavier due to the collar. The collar is also much thicker than the Koral. The Mundial Number 7 is a very nice looking gi on me. I felt like an advertisement when I looked at myself in the mirror. The Atama embroidery along with shoulders down the arm is done with very good craftsmanship. Atama did a great job designing this gi. What I really like about the #7 is that the pants are unique. They came with a rip stop material which are very light & comfortable. Overall this gi has a nice fit, but does shrink about 2-4" over time. This Atama jiujitsu uniform is constructed better than the Koral but does not offer the flexibility and ease of washing than the Koral. The collar on this Atama takes overnight to dry.
(3)Gameness Pearl gi - This jiu-jitsu gi is light and offers a great cut. The weave on this Pearl gi is close to the Koral. They use a treated rubber on the collar which helps absorb the sweat. Washes very well and dries fast too. The Pearl gi happens to be Gameness's best selling jiujitsu uniform. The pants are 12oz. heavy canvas material with a rope tie used for the drawstring. This uniform is not a flashy gi where you can spot over 25 feet away. The front and back are bare. Very good if you want to put your own patches on it. We sell out of this gi all the time and always have a list of backorders for the Gameness Pearl.
(4)Ouano Pearl uniform - Don't get confused with the Gameness Pearl gi. Totally different name and cut. A buddy of mine has an Ouano from 4 years ago and it's a Gold weave material and I loved it. I decided to order one and what I got in the box was Ouano single weave uniform. Decided to Keep in anyway. First off the gi is light and soft. The cut and sizing I really did not like. It reminded me of my Old Judo uniforms. The sleeve cuff is wider than my other bjj uniforms which makes it easier for my opponent to grab. The uniform in the wash shrunk up about 4-5" on me. It's suppose to be Mercerized / Sunforized cotton which means in a fashion way - PRESHRUNK. That why I washed in warm water and hung dry. I wanted to shrink this up about 2". I wound up giving this gi to my friend that just started bjj and so far he loves it. Looks better on him than I. The Gameness Pearl gi came out a few years ahead of this Ouano. Ouano should of had enough time to make this a better gi than Gameness but to failed in my opinion. The Gameness Pearl is one of the top Jiujitsu gi's out in the Tournament scene.
(5)Fuji Victory Bjj Kimonos - This gi was given to me by Discount MAS. I tested it out for about 2 weeks time and that was enough time to make a verdict. The Fuji Bjj gi is the least expensive gi that I'm going to review here, but that does not make it the cheapest quality uniform here. When I first seen this gi in the bag without opening it, it reminded me of the Ouano gi. Same light single weave material. I was a little discouraged, but after I took it out of the bag and tried it on the uniform changed my outlook. The cut and sizing on this Fuji Victory gi is excellent out of the bag. It made me want to go and compete right away. Hatashita sports that designed and manufactures this Fuji Bjj gi knows what they are doing. Fuji first of all has been manufacturing Judo uniforms for about 25 years. They know how to make a quality gi !! This gi is nicely deigned and not too much overdone with the art work. The jacket is a 1 piece single weave with a short skirt. The pants are a 10oz. light heavyweight cotton drawstring. I have this gi in Blue and the color still remains strong. For the price of this Fuji jiu-jitsu uniform, it really puts a lot of other Jiujitsu brands to shame with quality. The only thing that I can recommend for Fuji is to work on their shrinkage in cloth. The uniform does shrink a lot like the Ouano gi. I suggest that you email or call the dealer who sells this gi to confirm the size before ordering.
(6)Kikskin Kompetitor - Had this jiu-jitsu kimono for about 2 years now. This brand is one of the first companies in the U.S. making Brazilian Jiu-jitsu uniforms. Back about 2-6 years ago the heavier uniforms were more popular. That was Kikskins era. This is a one piece Gold weave weave material that offers a very thick stiff collar. This gi is manufactured very well with stitching & reinforcements, but has one bad drawback for me. The sizing is smaller than other brands & this uniform shrinks a lot !! The first 2 weeks training in this gi, I always washed cold water and hung dry. No big deal, only shrank about 1". Then 1 time I washed cold water and put in the dryer for abut 20 min on light heat, this gi came up about 2" more. It was very uncomfortable and since then it's been hanging in my closet. If I lose about another 6-10 lbs then this would be a good fit. Out of all my bjj uniforms this is my heaviest one. Since then I know Kikskin has not did any modifications on sizing or designs. I believe that if they updated their Bjj uniforms with the modern day jiu-jitsu player, then they would sell more gi's.
(7)Ronin Brand FIGHTER Kimono - I received this jiu-jitsu gi as a sample from Kinji San Martial Arts Supplies in NY which distributes Ronin Brand as well as other high quality brands. Ronin has been in the Martial Arts World for over 33 years making high end Judo & Karate uniforms. Before it came to the U.S. I rolled with it for about 3-4 months time. First off, this gi is very light weight. Little lighter than my Koral, Gameness Pearl, & Fuji gi. The weave is looks like the Fuji & Ouano weave, but has a thicker rice grain to it. The grain in the weave actually sticks out and has a little 3-D look to it. I weighed this A1 on my UPS electronic scale and it came to 3 lbs 3 oz. The pants Ronin used is a 8.5oz. Medium weight cotton with extra reinforcements done. So far these pants are my favorite jiujitsu pants. They are light weight & soft. Workmanship on this gi is done very well. The sizing on this gi is cut large. I happen to be 5'8" and weigh 170lbs. I wear a size A1 in this gi. Ronin did their homework and sized this according to how American people wash their clothing. They suggest that we wash this gi in warm/hot water to kill bacteria & germs. The uniform is meant to shrink to fit. It has a nice tapered fit and the cotton is very soft. So far I always washed this uniform in cold water and hung dry and it only has shrunk about 1". I probably will never machine dry this because this gi dries by air within 30-45 minutes. The collar is like the Koral but dries quicker. Inside the collar is EVA foam which will make the collar not get waterlogged. I learned from previous experience that once it hits the dryer, the shrinkage can get heavy. I love the artwork on this gi. The Fighter patches on the shoulders and tapping trim along the jacket and pants make this a sharp looking gi. I told Kinji san that this Ronin Fighter Jiujitsu gi will be a success when it gets in this country and that this is one of my main jiujitsu uniforms i'm using. I love it so much that I will probably get the Ronin brand INSIGNIA model in blue next time. The same uniform as the Fighter just has different artwork.
(8)The Atama Ultra Lite Kimono. Atama released this jiu-jitsu gi right before the spring. First thought when I unpacked the shipment from Atama of these uniforms, wow these are light !! The Weave Fabric looks like the Koral and Gameness Pearl weave, but much lighter in weight in braided look. The only really thing holding this gi up is the thick collar that is used in the rest of the Atama line. When you put this Atama Ultra Lite Bleached on you fell like you almost have no gi on. This bjj uniform is even a little lighter than the Ronin Brand Jiujitsu uniforms. Ok, so when I first tried them on in the store I said to my self, this gi does not look like it will hold up against bigger stronger dojo mates. If you notice that this gi does not come in sizes above A4. Maybe because it's not safe for anyone over 225 lbs to train with this gi. Well so far, I have used this gi about 6 times and washed it about 6 times as well. I really like the softness and light fabric on this gi. The uniform cloth dries fast by air, however the collar took more than 3 hours to dry itself. The gi did not shrink at all because i'm hang drying it. This would of been the perfect light gi if they used the same EVA foam in the collar like the Ronin jiu-jitsu gi's. I prefer to train with this gi over the Koral Classic and other Atama models. The gi is holding up so far, just 1 problem I notice is that the fabric is starting to fray in certain areas. I kind of thought this would happen down the line to this Atama. The weave being so thin and light mixed with plenty of sweat from hardcore training does not seem to have a great outlook. I guess the acid from 2 people combined does not mix well for the Atama Ultra Lite. I guess for reality I would tend to stay with the Koral, Gameness Pearl, & Ronin Fighter gi.
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