Archive for December, 2013

Aesthetic Aurora Gi Review

Posted: December 22, 2013 in Gi Review
0

Aesthetic – Aurora Review

Aesthetic_Review

Overall:

A stunning gi that has solid durability and a solid value.  A quality buy that you shouldn’t second guess if you love the design.

Measurements:

A: 7.5

B: 30

C: 20

D: 23

E: 20.5

F: 12

G: 10

H: 38

About the Aurora:

The beautifully designed Aurora by Fight Aesthetic (seemingly also known as just “Aesthetic”) is quite innovative in its assymetrical design that makes the Gi really stand out compared to other Gi’s. The Gi has what appears to me as the same exact weave as the Shoyoroll Rio Koi, which I know as “Lite Tech” Weave but they call “Hybrid”. It is extremely soft and light. If you’re a fan of the Koi then this Gi is a must have for your Gi rotation. I could probably fall asleep in this Gi, it’s that comfortable.

-Limited Run

-Two paids of pants, cotton twill & ripstop

-Signature Assymetrical Design

-Lightweight Hybrid Weave

-Preshrunk 100% Cotton

-Scratch-free: double woven trim tape

-EVA foam-padded collar

Top:

As previously mentioned the Gi is quite light and comfortable, definitely one of the more relaxing Gi’s to wear. The Gi has a very similar cut to Omega Maniacs Shaka and Shoyoroll tops I own, very form fitting but definitely not restrictive, just the way I like it.

The sunburst design is very eye catching and the yellow collar piping makes the Gi look very clean. The collar is wrapped in ripstop and is of average thickness.

I would say the cuff is around average in gap size, but leaning towards the smaller side. The inside of the cuff is lined with a unique three layer seam tape, with no scratchiness experienced.

Kanji is located on the wearers right sleeve and on the right side of the skirt. No shoddy stitching or quirky embroidery on the top whatsoever.

The Gi is reinforced at all of the normal locations, the inner armpit and the skirt slits. It’s soft, so pretty easy to grab, but it’s like wearing pajamas.

Bottom:

A delight indeed, the Aurora comes with two pairs of pants. Ripstop and Cotton. I’m not the biggest fan of Ripstop and generally like Cotton much more, hence I have a preference to the Cotton (Unlike our good friend Meerkatsu, who also review this Gi). I had no issues while rolling and experienced no saggy crotch syndrome.

 As you can see, the ripstop pants have contrast stitching on the knee reinforcements and the cotton pants do not, but still has the reinforcements as well.

The pants are slimmer in the thigh area than a lot of gi’s without sacrificing maneuverability,  they do end a bit wider than a lot of other Gi’s I own but it’s probably something most people won’t notice.

One of the only faults with the Gi itself can be seen in this picture, showing one of the labels on the pants upside-down. Luckily it’s not a very visible outside logo so they don’t lose too many points here. It didn’t happen on the ripstop pants. Aesthetic was ADAMANT about me returning the pants free of charge for a new pair but I refused because it’s not something noticeable as it’s at the waist line and I didn’t want to give up the pants for any amount of time.

The belt system, using a cord and six belt loops worked great and the pants weren’t excessively baggy in the waist which is something of a pet peeve of mine. (I’m looking at you Shoyoroll).

The crotch is reinforced with the same type of weave as the top for extra strength. And the pant cuffs have the same three layer seam tape as the wrist cuffs.

Additional:

I thought the box that the Gi came in was very neat. It had a wax seal on it that gave the Gi a very luxurious vibe to it.

I would have preferred something more tangible like a Gi bag, but I’d say an extra pair of pants makes up for that significantly to most people.

Aesthetic showed extremely good customer care qualities in my dealings with them, I have no doubt they would take care of any issue to leave their customers 100% satisfied. Knowing a company will take care of you when making such a large investment like a BJJ Gi means a lot to the average buyer, choosing the company you buy from can sometimes be much more important than the Gi you buy. At 104.99 in British Pounds(around $170.00 US) it’s not a bad deal with the second pair of pants.

Da Firma Kimono Company

Posted: December 22, 2013 in Gi Review
0

Da Firma Kimono Company Competitor Review

DFKC

Overall:

The sixth release from a lesser known company gets high marks for construction quality, fit and comfort. I’ve been seeing these Gi’s everywhere. They don’t have the same marketing presence as some other companies out there, but not a picture or video goes by without me seeing someone in one of these Gi’s.

Giphotos 001

Measurements:

A: 6.75

B: 29

C: 18.75

D: 24

E: 21

F: 13.5

G: 9.5

H: 40

About the Competidor from DFKC:

Priced at $139, the customer will receive a Gi Top and Gi Bottom.

Top:

-450gsm Pearl Weave
-100% Preshrunk Cotton
-EVA Foam Collar
-Contrasting Color Stitching
-Reinforced at Every Stress Point
-Triple stitched at all Stress Points

Trousers:

-10oz Preshrunk Ripstop
-Contrasting Color Stitching
-6 Point Belt Loop System
-Nylon Rope drawstring
-Reinforced Stress Points
-Triple Stitched Across all Stress Points

Size tested: A-3 (SHORT) 5′-5″ 5′-10″ 190-220 (My size: 5’10 195lbs)

Top:

For a guy with a bigger top and shorter bottom the A3-Short size fit me perfectly.

Giphotos 015

The gi is on the relatively louder side with it’s large, but good quality, shoulder embroidery. The soft silky seam tape on the outside of skirt adds extra flair. The back of the skirt is also decorated with the DFKC logo.

Giphotos 005

I had no issues with the durability of the Gi while rolling, there was some fraying from inside the sleeve, but didn’t seem to effect the seam tape.

The guy is in the medium range of weight from what I’m used to.

The sleeve openings are a decent width and don’t provide too much for an opponent to grip. One of my favorite features is the silk like feel to the seam taping on the inside of the sleeve. It was quite comfortable.

More companies need to use material like this. Scratchy seam tape can ruin an otherwise great Gi and fortunately DFKC came out on top in that battle.

Giphotos 004

Bottom:

Giphotos 010

Construction wise my only gripe with the pants is that the belt loops go a bit too high in the way they are designed and that the rope draw strings were not tied and secured at the tips. Otherwise the fit and length were perfect for me.

Giphotos 013

I’m not the biggest fan of ripstop for a multitude of reasons, but one of them being that it’s tough to shrink them to size. Fortunately out of the bag these pants fit me great.

I love pearl weave gussets and the crotch length didn’t limit my movement throughout rolling in anyway.

Of note again, the silky seam tape at the bottom of the pants was an absolute delight.

Additional:

DFKC get’s two very enthusiastic thumbs up from me in regards to quality customer service. Definitely a company you can trust purchasing from.

BJJ is about the Community

Posted: December 6, 2013 in Uncategorized
0

JFKBJJ

#BJJ IS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY | What are you doing to make BJJ better? What are you doing to bring more people into our sport (women and children especially) too help them learn how to protect themselves, to protect each other, and to help each other grow? BJJ is anti-selfish by design. We need each other. By making each other stronger, we make ourselves stronger. We weed out what doesn’t work amazingly quickly, because we apply it every day.

If you go to the mats only thinking about how to make yourself better, you’ll never understand what BJJ is truly about. You also probably won’t be that good. BJJ is about sharing. It’s about teamwork, support and efficiency. It’s about not alienating those who need BJJ the most.

It’s a horrible thing when disasters strike our community, but a silver lining always sticks out to me when something does happen. It allows us to see how good of humans we are in this community. Maybe it’s just 97% of us, but that’s a whole lot of people. Artists, teams/gyms, bloggers and athletes all step up to help those in need. This disaster in the Philippines is a perfect example of what we’ll do to help others. The Meerkatsu,Gawakoto and Scramble collaboration T-shirt sold out in what felt like 30 seconds on BJJhq. 100% of proceeds are going to support charities in the Philippines. Those men are true ambassadors of BJJ.

Pay attention to who is doing what for our community, and how we as individuals and companies represent ourselves inside and outside our community. The words “martial arts” have lost a lot of their meaning over the years, but I think if any community is to be prime example of who still holds onto their integrity and community driven message, it’s us. I, for one, want to keep it that way. And when I say “Ask what you can do for BJJ”, it means, ask what we can do for each other” because we ARE BJJ.

Newer Entries