The Kano Gi by Scramble is designed to commemorate jiujitsu’s roots in judo. The name is inspired by Kanō Jigorō , the founder of judo. His way of thinking strongly impacted combat sports, removing the so-called deadly techniques in favour of sporting techniques, and thus greatly improving the efficacy of those techniques by allowing the fighter to become an athlete and train as hard as possible. His team of judo experts famously defeated the previous generation of traditional jiujitsu athletes, despite having what appeared to be a more limited set of techniques. The key was that those ‘less deadly’ techniques were honed to such a high degree that they were much more effective than the deadly techniques of jiujitsu, which were hard to practice properly.

The gi is a jiujitsu gi, make no mistake. The cut, fit and feel is the Scramble gi that you are familiar with, but it has nods to judo. Firstly in the traditional construction, with a sashiko weave panel around the skirt, which is a staple of a judo gi. There is also the large printed back patch, designed in the style of judo back patches. This back patch is screen printed and designed to gently fade with each wash, giving the gi a worn-in look the more it is, well, worn in. The gi is also understated in its design, allowing the story of the gi and the subtle details to speak for themselves, in the stoic judo style.