The Right Fit

In case the title does not give you a clue as to what this post is about, I'll explain in a few dozen/hundred/thousand words. Or something like that. I expect that it will take the latter for me to say what I'm going to say since the subject matter tends to be something that I could definitely rant about. So here we go.

Uniforms.

Gi's.

White pj's that make you look like a giant, puffed up marshmallow.

Whatever you want to call them, I think that martial art uniforms are some of the most unflattering, worst-fitting pieces of clothing that I have ever owned. Now, before I dive headfirst into the true nature of this post, let me start off with a proper introduction.

I started a TKD class when I was 11 years old. Eventually, the youth uniform grew too small, but I was able to wear my mom's old uniform. That was fine for quite a while, but then several years after I started a new TKD class, I finally had to cave in and go buy a new uniform.

The only place in town that carried MA uniforms was Academy Sports. For a store that specializes in carrying sports uniforms and equipment, their martial arts section was lacking. I finally found the gear tucked away in one little corner. And of course the only brand they carried was Century.

One thing that I don't understand about uniforms is the sizes. No longer can I take comfort in the self-explanatory options of Small, Medium, Large, and X-Large that I have grown up with, but now I have to choose between sizes 3-9.

Eh?

Anyway, I chose a size and carried it home to try it on. The jacket part fit reasonably well, I have to say. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it's better to be a little on the roomy side than form fitting. The problem that I had was with the pants.

Ugh.

The fit around the waist was fine. Perfectly fine. But it all went downhill from there. Of course, being a unisex uniform (that is what they call it, but in reality it is made for guys) the fitting is so weird. My legs were lost in the abundance of fabric. But I really couldn't do a thing about it. The next lowest size was just a little too tight -- so this is the uniform that I am stuck with for who knows how long.

I get the Century Martial Arts catalogue in the mail every once in a while, and recently I've seen them advertising a new uniform specially made for women.

I want one. I don't care how well it fits. Anything has to be better than swimming in a yard of fabric. The only thing is the price. It comes in separates, and the gi top alone is $49.99. The pants are an additional $49.99. That's a hundred bucks without counting the price of shipping. So that would be $100+ for a uniform that is going to get sweaty, dirty, and quite possibly torn with the amount of Self Defense we do in class. And with me being a poor college student, I can't possibly afford it right now. My dad has said that when I earn my black belt, he will buy me an all black women's uniform. That's a nice incentive if I do say so. Heck, if I could just wear a pair of black pants with a white gi top I would be happy. Something just to break up the white pajama set.

But I digress.

For now I guess I'll have to be happy with what I have, for I am not the only one walking around in white pj's. You must all suffer with me! Ha ha!

This and That

So. Posting has been nonexistent for quite some time. The only way for me to quit procrastinating is to set a requirement of per month posting. Updating every Saturday sounds good to me.

I'm now in my second year of college -- a sophomore now. That thought scares me. It means that in three more years, I'll be transferring to a college about 2 and a half hours away from where I live now. Not only will I be moving out of my parents house and into the brand new territory of on my own, but I will also be a whole 2 and 1/2 hours away from my beloved Tae Kwon Do class. I don't know how I'm going to deal with that. I've been with the same school and same instructors for a little over six years. While there is our sister school about a half hour away from this other college, a sudden change like this is not something that I will adapt to very well at all. Me and change get along about as well as a cat and water.

But enough of that.

I'm still working hard toward earning my brown belt. There have been some changes for the better that I'm not going to discuss on an online blog. I'm leaving it at that. For quite a while I have felt lost as to where I am and have not felt motivated to practice. My focus has returned and I feel that I have a goal now. A goal that I'm within reach of. Just a few more inches and I'll be there.

I have some great news too! One of my instructors has begun offering a second night to workout at his workshop at home. It has been so nice and refreshing to have this second class. For years I've been wanting this. So, for the past two Thursdays, my instructor has been working with the other blue belt and I on sparring. On Tuesday nights, we haven't had as many opportunities to work on sparring, so this class is helping us gain experience and greater abilities in this area that has been a weak point for quite some time.

Now if I could just convince others that we need to add a third class per week. . .