New with a question!

MarkW · 12-25-2006, 11:30 PM

Hey, my names Mark and I'm from Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. I just started at the MKK gym in Melbourne, which is a center that has boxing, muay thai kickboxing, Brazilian jujitsu, Arnis and, of course, Kyukushin Karate! I signed up for a membership that allows you to do as many or as little martial arts as you wish, and my focus will be on Karate and Boxing. I found this site from the fighting arts forums (someone pm'ed me the link for the site). I hope to be a regular member here!

Anyways, I also have a question or two. One, I bought a Gi last week, and I noticed it was an off white colour. I've also noticed that some people have really white uniforms. I don't mind THAT much on which color the uniform is, but I would prefer to have a really white one. Is their any way to make my off white uniform a really pure white?

Two, just wondering what 'OSU!' means exactly, as I'm fairly new to this after all. Is it more of a greeting, or a salute as a sign of respect?

Thanks,
Mark with a W

kyofighter · 12-26-2006, 03:06 AM

hi...
your gi is unbleached cotton , that's why is not white...I have one like that also , the white ones are bleached ...

Aunty Ichigeki · 12-26-2006, 03:32 AM

If you wear either one for long enough they end up virtually the same colour

**ksan** · 12-26-2006, 10:59 AM

Aunty Ichigeki and Kyofighter are right... the new ones are like a dirty kind of yellow/ or very light brown... i always wash them 2 or 3 times first then they dont shrink as much anymore and they are a bit less hard...

Sweating in the dogi, washing it, hanging it in the sun to dry all helps in it turning whiter and whiter.... We also would train in the sea or have stamina trainings in swimming pools, sauna`s & steamrooms (in our dogi`s) and that also made them whiten a lot faster....

Azimuth · 12-26-2006, 03:20 PM

Hi Mark-san with a W
Here something about Osu , It was posted before but i couldn't find it back immediately.

In order to develop a strong body and strong spirit it is necessary to undergo rigorous training. This is very demanding, because you must push yourself to what you believe to be your limit, and you want to stop; to give up. When you reach this point you must fight yourself and your weakness, and you must win.

To do this you must learn to persevere, but above all you must learn to be patient. This is OSU!

The reason you subject yourself to hard training is because you care about yourself, and to care about yourself is to respect yourself. This self respect evolves and expands to become respect for your instructor and fellow students. When you enter the dojo you bow and say "Osu" . This means you respect your dojo and the time you spend training there.

This feeling of respect is OSU!

During training you push yourself as hard as possible because you respect yourself. When you finish you bow to your instructor and fellow students and say "Osu" once more. You do this out of appreciation.

This feeling of appreciation is OSU.

Thus OSU is a very important word in Kyokushin Karate because it signifies patience, respect and appreciation. That is why we always use the word OSU; to remind ourselves of these indispensable qualities.

OSU !

Liu · 12-27-2006, 12:52 AM

For the Dogi I have the unbleached version too... I wanted to bleach my Dogi to turn it white but I wonder if it's going to damage the cotton. I'm still hesitating.

MarkW · 12-27-2006, 01:18 AM

Thanks for the reply's guys! Osu!

Just wondering, how do you pronounce 'Osu'? Is it 'os-ooh' or 'oss' or what?

Also, I have another question. When I brought the Gi, the lady sold me one that was a size too big, saying it would shrink down in the wash. What is the proper way to wash the Gi? Mine is made from cotton.

Osu!
MarkW (W being the starting letter of my last name

)

**nzproud** · 12-27-2006, 04:13 AM

Here you go. Watch and listen when it's available.

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I AGREE

MarkW · 12-27-2006, 10:42 AM

Ah...so it has a silent 'u' like 'desu'? Got it, ta.

Can anyone answer my question about washing the Gi?

Azimuth · 12-27-2006, 02:06 PM

Between 60 and 90 degrees C is ok
And yes it wil shrink the first time you wash it .
If you don't want it to shrink to much than you should wash it
the first time in cold water .
Shrinking the first time will be about 3 to 4 cm
that is 1 1/2 inch ; )

Aunty Ichigeki · 12-27-2006, 08:47 PM

We habitually use the drier for our gi - they shrink heaps but they do stop shrinking after a short while.

Don't bleach it unless you want a funny colour kanji (on the chest) - I've seen some go pink with bleach.

**ksan** · 12-27-2006, 09:16 PM

i bleached 1 once (we had a muddy training at summerkamp and i couldnt get it washed for a few days, when i got home nothing helped anymore tried 95 degrees and industrial strength soap) ... made sure the kanji stayed above the water level and left it in the bleachwater for 1 night after that i washed it. It worked great, dogi turned white again and the size label in the neck and on the pants turned light brown. The dogi was an Isami and i still use it today.

MarkW · 12-28-2006, 01:37 AM

Thanks for your replys, Osu!

Tell me, the belt seems a bit stiff, do I wash that first as well?

satanclaws · 12-28-2006, 06:12 AM

never wash the belt.
i find that that if you twist it a lot it will soften.
also it will soften after time

**blackdog** · 12-28-2006, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Tell me, the belt seems a bit stiff, do I wash that first as well?

Your belt holds all your fighting spirit, your blood, sweat, tears and pain, thats why you dont wash them.

As claws said, it will soften over time and lots of training.

MarkW · 12-28-2006, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Your belt holds all your fighting spirit, your blood, sweat, tears and pain, thats why you dont wash them.

True, but I haven't started training with it yet (I've been training in casual clothes), so am I allowed to wash it ONCE to soften it before I begin training with it?

Oh, and by the way, I see your from Geelong. Small world! I live in Melbourne! I dunno if you've heard of a place called MMACC (Melbourne Martial Arts Combat Centre)? It's in one of the vaults in banana alley, near the yarra river. It offers Kyukoshin, Boxing, Kickboxing, BJJ, Muay Thai and Arnis. Its a really good place, search google and 'melbourne martial arts' to find their website.

Where in geelong do you train? And more importantly, do you go for the cats?

**ksan** · 12-28-2006, 01:22 PM

You can also rub some laundry softener into it...

Groucho · 12-28-2006, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkW

True, but I haven't started training with it yet (I've been training in casual clothes), so am I allowed to wash it ONCE to soften it before I begin training with it?

Nope, never wash the belt...all kinds of bad karma will follow...just tie it aound yourself regularly, it will soften.

As for "Osu", I was told that it's a contraction for the Japanese equivalent of "I will strive"...

Bloke and I decided a while back that it's just easier than saying "thank you Sensei, may I have another?"...

Seriously, though, welcome to the fold, MarkW

Bloke · 01-02-2007, 12:59 PM

MarkW has a point - if he hasnt worn the belt yet its brand new so it contains no spirit whatsoever - in which case I have been advised in the past to soak a new belt in a basin of hot water to soften it.

As regards washing a belt you have had for some time I vaguely recall that there was some cermony where you could wash it in the sea. Does anyone else know anything about this?

**ksan** · 01-02-2007, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bloke

I vaguely recall that there was some cermony where you could wash it in the sea. Does anyone else know anything about this?

Osu Bloke,

Do you mean a beach training/ in the sea with the belt on ?

Or an actuall washing in the sea without a training ?

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