Aikido Gi

In the past few years, Aikido, the modern Japanese martial art, has been successfully creating its own space amongst the practitioners. Morihei Ueshiba developed it with a motto of combining his martial arts with philosophy and religious beliefs. The Aikido practitioners wear a special uniform called the Aikido Gi. It consists of simple baggy trousers with a wrap jacket (similar to a robe) that has short sleeves and a belt called obi. Short sleeves make it easy for the participants to practice wrist locks whereas the loose-fitting let the aikidoka to move swiftly while performing the moves.

The practitioners should always keep their gi clean. However, according to traditional views, the obi should never be washed. Some people also prefer wearing dark pleated pants hakama, which has a particular tying pattern and is hard to fold too. The Aikido gi was crafted back in the 60s by one of the major Japanese brands. These brands crafted it after the consultation with Hombu Dojo teachers of that time. The uniform resembles widely the training uniform (keikogi) of other modern martial arts. The belt has significant importance and represents the practitioner’s grade. 

Types of Aikido Gi

• Lightweight or ultra-lightweight Gi: These uniforms are ideal for performing in hot regions with temperatures up to 40-degree Celsius and humidity level of 90%. These are light weighted with lesser fabric thickness which further absorbs very little sweat and dries out quickly too. 
• Standard or Classic Gi: The standard gi is manufactured with "rice grain weaving" (sashiko) fabric and the lower part composed of single-layered (Hitoe) "diamond weaving" (Hishisashi) fabric. The gi isn’t bound to any specific weight and is neither very light nor heavy and is versatile in nature. These uniforms are therefore recommended to the beginners and widely worn by Japanese practitioners.
• Heavyweight or super-heavyweight Gi: This type of gi is also made with “rice grain weaving” (sashiko) fabric along with “diamond weaving” (Hashisashi) fabric with a double layer (Futae) for manufacturing the lower part. The heavy-weighted gi is generally referred to as "Senshuyo" (opponent) or "shihanyo" (teacher). The “Shihan” models, however, are excessively thick and bulky with a vertical back-seam.

Evolution of Aikido Gi

Historically, the traditional aikido-gi cut was based on the Judogi cut that was very wide. This gi featured longer sleeves covering the wrists and a shorter jacket length. The modern Aikido gi has the "new Aikido cut" with shorter sleeves, longer jacket length and without a back seam (if possible).