Mata Leon Kimonos is a new company and the first BJJ Gi manifacturer from Turkey. They are the sponsors of Turkish BJJ/ MMA fighter Ertan Balaban. I was contacted by Ertan and Emre, the owner of Mata Leon, and they sent me a gi to try. I was exited to try it out as it was the first gi that I would roll in that came from the region which we cover on our website. For the moment they offer 2 kimono models, white and black. Emre sent me the white “The Gentleman” model. It took about 5 days to arrive from Turkey to Serbia where I live. When the mailman gave the me the package I was seriously confused by the weight. It felt more like a couple of T-Shirts than a BJJ gi! When I opened the package and tried the gi on, it really felt like possibly the lightest gi that I had ever tried on. It has the same weight as a Vulkan (1,5 kgs for a A3).

Sensei Julio Rivera, owner of Omni Martial Arts NYC and an affiliate member of Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, wearing his “The Gentleman” suit!!

Here are the specs:

1. Durable cotton double thick pants with reinforced knees
2.350 gram Pearl Weave Jacket.
3. Extra thick lapel.
4. Loaded with reinforcements at the key stress areas
5. Fully IBJJF legal

Weight for the A3: 1,5 kgs

Sizing and shrinking:

I’m 1m85, 86 kilos so I ordered the A3 size. When the gi arrived and I tried it on it was already at the right size so I had to wash it cold (30 degrees) to keep it at that size. Shrinkage is minimal if you follow the directions. After about 3 weeks of training everyday in the gi, it hasn’t shrank and perfectly fits me as you can see on the photo.

Material and durability:

The jacket is made from high quality cotton. It feels really light and is perfect for summer training. I was a bit concerned by the durability but after 1 month of daily training with the Gi with my heavyweight training partners, the top has done very well with all the pulling and tugging. The lapel is medium thick.
Pants are strong rip stop with reinforced knees, which makes them perfect for everyday training.
This gi is loaded with reinforcements at the key stress areas. The Gi has the same weight as a Vulkan but with proper strong pants which will last years. Vulkan’s pants are like pyjamas (from my own experience owning one)…

Look:
The thing I like the most with this gi is the simple design. The red lining looks really cool too and reminds me of one of the old Keiko Raca gis that Roger Gracie wore a few Mundials ago.

Feeling when rolling:
Training: I wore the kimono every day for a month. The gi is very comfortable to roll in. The fact that it is so hot at the moment where I live (38 degrees celsius) meant that this lightweight gi was truly a blessing to roll in.  It’s great for everyday rolling and also practical for competitions for those who need to make weight as it is so light.

In Conclusion
“The Gentleman” gi retails at around 105 euros which places it in the lower- mid price range for gis.It is a great quality lightweight gi with durable pants and simple design.
8,5/10