My Search for the Perfect GI.... The Never Ending Saga

Since 4 / 27 / 2009 when I took my first Jiu Jitsu class I knew I had found something that I would enjoying doing more than just going to the closet LA Fitness and "go to the Gym." As a matter of fact, for almost 2 years prior to walking into GB Orlando, I was locked into a Gym Membership at LA fitness. I consistently thought that if I would cancel the membership I would not go, but the joke was on me because I did not go even though every month $42.00 was being debited from my bank account.

Sometime in June of 2009 I was injured, I took a heel to the back of my knee.This is where all my knee problems started I believe.  It was pretty bad so I took a couple of months off and started training again and I was in constant pain so I would ice it and continue training. It was sometime in January of 2010 when I made the decision I should not train anymore because my knee was getting worse, and I wanted time to heal properly. During that same time Maria and I were preparing for the upcoming arrival of our son, Urijah. When Urijah was born in May, I found out very quickly that BJJ had to immediately be put on hold until the correct time. 

It was until late and I mean late in 2011, December to be exact where I began searching to join another BJJ school. I started training at Alliance Orlando under the tutelage of the likes  Michael Langhi and Bruno Malfacine. In June 2012 I landed in the hospital with Diverticulitis which had me out for Six weeks. Then when I returned in July, I was given the news that I had to stop training because of a torn meniscus. I had the required knee surgery on 8/14, recovered up until  December 1 when I decide my knee had recovered and I would go back to light training. Crazy thin my Doctor said I would have been able to return in October but I wanted to make sure I was healed and not risk injuring myself again. Throughout all this time one thing has been elusive, the perfect Gi.

I have spent so much money looking for the perfect Gi in the past several years that if I told my wife, well lets just say I would have some explaining to do. Let me go on saying that I AM NOT being compensated at all by ANY GI company. If they feel they want to send me a Gi to talk about fit I would be glad to but up until writing this no one has "sent" me a Gi.  I have had many experiences buying Gis, some extremely pleasant and some not so pleasant. Here are the two extremes of my experiences, I will praise one company in particular but I refuse to bad mouth the other. Before I purchased my most recent Gi, The Origin BJJ Gi, I exchanged upwards of 20 emails between myself and them. The customer service was great and they wanted to make sure that if I bought there Gi not only would I be happy but they wanted me to let them know about the fit and if I wasn't happy we would work out a solution. They were very helpful and I do recommend buying there Gis I will expand on that later. Now the worst of my Gi buying experiences was when I emailed a company advising them that their Gi did not fit me I was told "Looks like you need to LOSE WEIGHT or stop doing JIU JITSU!" I understand I am a "BIG" guy and I am build like a Silverback but  there are some things you do not say to a customer, or at least that is what I was taught way back in the day when I was in retail. I am not advocating for political correctness but I just think as a consumer I deserve a little bit of respect since I am funding your dream of selling Gis, or is that to much too ask for.

Now onto the GI REVIEWS (the whole reason why you are here!)

Before we go on here are some thing about my build so that you can take that into consideration on why thing fit me the way they do. I am the epitome of endomoprh, I am 5'9" Tall, I tip the scale at over 300 lbs, from shoulder to shoulder I am 25" wide. Let me discuss the Gis that I have or have had in the past so that my fellow Big Guy could put it all into perspective and so you  wont have to spend the money or time researching Gi companies like I have had to. I am note here to compete with BJJWEKLY Gi Review, GiReviews.Net, Seth From BJJGEARJUNKIE, or even the likes of MEERKATSU all of these guys can buy a Gi from almost anywhere and it will fit, right now that is not me and there is many guys out there like me so hopefully if I can at least help one other BJJ Practioner then my work here is done.

Here are the Gis I own The GB Freebee, A5 Fuji, Ouano Alliance Academy, Gorilla Gear A5XX, Shoyoroll Batch 17 A2H, Origin BJJ 2011 Comp550.

THE GRACIE BARRA FREEBEE                                  $0

This Gi was given to me when I originally signed my 1 year contract. It appears to be a very entry level Single Weave Pakistan made Gi. Its a size A7. When I trained at Gracie I used this Gi in rotation but it never quite fit right and the pants never fit. During my time at Gracie, I purchased white scrub pants and would use that as Gi pants. If this is the only way that you find pants that fits do it but I highly suggest buying more that just one, because they are not made for the constant torture that Jiu Jitsu would but on them so eventually they will rip and you do not want to be mid warm up with a rip running down your crotch. NO PICTURES

FUJI A5 "All Around Gi"                                          $94.00

I purchased my first Blue Fuji A5 Gi weeks after starting BJJ because I soon realized that if you are going to be training on a daily basis Gis need time to dry. The Gi is a mid weight gi and the jacket is very durable. The Gi top although it doesn't close correctly it works for training purposes. You can buy a FUJI GI at there website http://www.fujisports.com/category.aspx?categoryid=7

The A5 pants did not fit me however the A6 pants do. here is a size chart for the pants. 

Pictured with FUJI GI Top and Gorilla GI Pants (Yes I am wearing socks. Its so cold in the D!)

OUANO ALLIANCE ACADEMY GI        Around 100 I think

Fits almost like the Fuji. Its a great Gi a little rough but if you were a rash guard you will be fine.

Pictured with Ouano GI Top and Gorilla GI Pants (Yes I am wearing socks. Its so cold in the D!)

GORILLA GEAR A5XX                         $199.99 + 20 Shipping

It appears that Gorilla Gear has since changed there website and no offer the ability to purchase a GI top and GI Pants as different sizes. The GI I have was one of the Silverback Gi and its cut big for guys like me.

Their sizing chart is also now different but when I purchased the original gi it was a A5XX and I had to have a seamstress remove about 4 inches from each sleeve because it was so long.  THIS IS IMPORTANT: I DON'T KNOW IF THEY HAVE CHANGE THE GI COLLARS, BUT BECAUSE MY SILVER BACK GI HAS A VERY THICK COLLAR I WAS UNABLE TO USE IT AT THE IBJJF CHICAGO OPEN. So if you do plan on competing in IBJJF you might want to verify that there new batch of Gis are legal, otherwise you will have to use another GI top.

I really like like this Gi it is 650gr PearlWeave and it was Rash guard material sewn into it. Even though I live in Florida and train during the warmest parts of the day I prefer using a heavier Gi knowing that it may not rip as easily. The Pants 12oz cotton Pants and they are my go to set of Gi pants. The have Pearl Weave material  as part of the gusset. These pants were also crazy long so once I had them hemmed they were perfect. I use them constantly.

My son really wanted to be in this picture.

Pictured with Gorilla GI (Yes I am wearing socks. Its so cold in the D!)

SHOYOROLL A2H                                       $183.15 Shipped

I am a sucker for a beautiful Gi, and as must of you know Shoyoroll does make some sexy looking GIs.

Now I dont know if it is all part of Shoyoroll's business plan but they apparently only make limited number of there Gi per batch release and they sell faster than a bottle of whiskey at an AA meeting. So it was just dumb look that I stumbled upon the release of there  BATCH 17 COMPETITOR it was already sold out in blue so I opted of the white in the hopes that it would fit.When  I received this Gi, I was happier than a pig in mud, the jacket almost fit like a really Gi. The skirt is not too long I loved the stitching, the tap and all the good looking patches. But of course the pants did not fit but that what happen when you are built like Khloe Kardashian. 

I will actually be selling this Gi in the hopes that someone can use it and does not collect dust in my closet .

Notice how the pants don't go all the way.

Pictured with Shoyoroll GI Top and Gorilla GI Pants (Yes I am wearing socks. Its so cold in the D!)

ORIGIN BJJ COMP 550                           $174.95 + 20 Shipping

Here we are to the crown jewel of my Gi closet. The GI top fits like a GI top is suppose to. The skirt length of the top is on point and this Gi close (almost brought a tear to my eye). The pants still don't quite fit but it was explained to me why. On most of you A2H/A2Big the manufacturers take an ordinary A2(regular) pants widen the waist about 4-5 inches and call it a day. The problem lies not in the size of the waist but they do not make the size of the hips or even thighs any bigger, so they pants will work if you have really skinny legs and most of your body weight is up top. So endomorph's we get the shaft once again So earlier I spoke about Origin and why i would recommend them 10 time out of 10 and its not only because of their great customer service but because they are setting up to become the FIRST GI Company to be made right here in the good ole US of A. BUY AMERICAN! Not only are they going to be made in America but they are going to be offering 24 different sizes in pants. Yes 24.  Check it out directly from them ! Also with every Gi you buy you get a sweet looking Rash Guard to match.

Pictured with Origin GI Top and Fuji A6 GI Pants (Yes I am wearing socks. Its so cold in the D!)

Notice hips to wide for pants.

 Matching Origin Rash Guard

Zombie Kimonos 550 (1.0)                                $180 Shipped

I bought this Gi and while it fits very similar to the Origin Gi at the time I was angry about it so I returned it for a full refund (except I still paid for the shipping to and from) So in essence it cost me money to "try" on a Gi. I received my refund almost a week after the Kimono arrived back to them but that was many due to A holiday on a Monday and Debit cards have this thing were the always take forever to process a refund, but debits are immediate.