Yeah I know…. I wear them! Why in the world would anyone deliberately tailor their perfectly good Gi bottoms to a mid-shin length? OK here we go…. Be completely honest now… How many of you, during open kumite (especially kyu ranks) have the tendency of consciously or unconsciously tugging on your Gi bottoms (usually just above the knee) right before you kick? The more developed your legs become, typically, the larger and more defined the calf muscles also become. In a game where milliseconds can determine who gets there first, the foot/ankle length Gi bottom can often catch on the calf muscle. Especially true, with the heavy seam (6-8 stitch) bottom of the “Heavyweight Gi”. If you are not training in a Heavyweight… Shame on you…. Get serious about your training and get one! The old Okinawan Masters knew this about the calf muscle and typically wore the mid-shin gi bottom. There has been a lot of debate on this site as to the effectiveness of head kicks. Full range of motion, unrestricted kicks are extremely effective. Believe it or not… your Gi might be the problem not your technique if you have difficulty performing effective head kicks. (or… it might be poor technique – grin) Years ago, as a young Okinawan Brown Belt, I might have been 18 or 19 I entered an annual traditional Shotokan Tournament (one of the largest and oldest running in the States). Almost every clash I was scoring first with a front leg mawashi-geri to the head, or so I thought… Each time the ref informed me “no power – no point” … the third or forth clash I was disqualified for knocking out my opponent with that same technique. I contested my disqualification by repeating the ref’s “no power – no point” argument. It was then that I realized that the Okinawans and Japanese really don’t get along all that well. (grin) Anyway… back to the mid-shin Gi…. Those of you (especially Yudansha) who have more than 15 or 20 years in your art… you know who I’m talking about… you go shin to shin with your students…. They hobble away hopping up and down rubbing their shin… and really you didn’t feel a thing. The mid shin Gi is also a psychological tool. From time to time I still like to compete, I no longer play full contact… but I will occasionally jump in the point game. The organization that I belong too allows quite a lot of contact in the Black Belt divisions. Walking into a division wearing mid shin cut Gi… you can just see the look on some of the younger “greener” competitors’… “Oh GAWD those shins look like they are gonna hurt” I pulled this topic from another thread… the comment was made about “Ridiculously Short Gi Bottoms” Now you know!
I kinda see what you are saying about short gis make for easier kicking but there is no way that your calf muscle will ever be big enough to catch on your pants.
I see the problem arises more with kicking when people wear the bottoms too low on their hips. Im forever telling the kids to pull their trousers up higher as too low can limit their kicks and ability toset them up. In fact my younger sister is the worst for it.
Wow.... I'm not even sure how to reply to this one.... Hmmmmmm.... Well, I beg to differ... 19" calf muscles and I've lost a couple of inches from my younger days... Wow...
Unless the gi's you have been buying are business cut, I am not seeing you have your calf caught on a gi. Maybe I just buy ridiculous gis.
I dont know... I used to know a guy that wore really short tight ones, like short to the knees..... I was slightly disturbed
