Thursday 19 February 2009
Martial Mutterings...
As much as I love martial arts it does have its down side - the Gi wash! Today I have 6 gis to wash. Washing them is not too bad, the washing machine does that, it's drying and ironing them that is the problem. It's too damp to hang them outside so they are draped all over the radiators in the house. I know this is not wise because they will dry to a crisp and be even harder to iron but I have no where else to dry them. They can't be tumble tried because they'll shrink. Fortunately my husband shares the ironing of gis with me. Why do we need so many gis anyway? My husband and eldest son have two each (one for jujitsu, one for karate) and my younger son and I have one each, though I do have a second 'kata' gi for competitions. And that's another thing - why do we need different gis for different things? Take my husband's jujitsu gi for instance - it's twice as thick as my karate training gi. It has a life of its own, its so thick it can virtually stand up on its own; I have to wrestle with it to get it in the washing machine and then it takes up 2 whole radiators to dry. It is a selfish gi! But then my kata gi is thicker than my training gi. Why does a kata gi have to be thick? It's also a 'ladies' gi which means it has a longer jacket. Why do I need a longer jacket? Am I expected to cover my bum? Gis are clearly specialists! And my final mutter on gis: How do you make a gi crack? (Sounds like a joke, perhaps you could come up with a punchline). When my sensei demonstrates kata his gi makes distinctive cracking sounds when he does sharp clean blocks and strikes. It doesn't matter how sharp I try and make my moves my gi remains silent - it is a mute gi! Does your gi have personality?
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2 comments:
You iron your gi??? Does your school require that or do you just prefer it that way? Never ever occurred to me to iron my gi. Maybe I'm just a slob.
As far as making it pop, my gi is super heavyweight duck canvas and it pops real nice when you do your moves pepper on them. The lighter gis just won't do it. I hated my gi at first because it was so stiff the pants could stand up by themselves but now I love it. Yes it is hotter and stiffer but it'll last forever and I think they actually look better as they get older. They get a nice, weathered look to them. They also rpovide a little more protection to your knees when you're being thrown. I've never gotten a rug burn or mat burn through them like I have through other pants. And you can beat having that thing popping with each move when you're testing. The kids in class ask me how I do it and I tell them its a secret. My teacher thinks that's funny and he's the best I've seen/heard at making a gi pop during a kata.
You don't iron your gi? What, never? I definately think they look better ironed. My sensei's gi is always pristine so I suppose he sets the standard. The thing that suprised even me though was the first time I entered a competition and people were arriving with their ironed gis draped over their arms in clear plastic sleeves (like from the dry cleaners). I just folded mine and put it in my sports bag!
P.s - my sensei has revealed to me the secret of gi cracking/popping!
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