Martial Arts Uniforms?

Question

I have been wondering, is there any particular reasons why practitioners of martial arts wear specific uniforms. The Tae Kwon Do and Karate ones are very similar is there any meaning behind them? And what about the loose fitting silk uniforms for Tai Chi Chuan, is there some meaning or is it merely to practice with? Please no answers such as "Who cares" I am looking for input from other Martial Artists and/or Martial Arts enthusiasts. So many things in the world of Martial Arts represent something, is it the same with the uniforms?

Answer 1

I am not sure what the true origins of various uniforms are, my guess is that many of them are giving honor to their heritage and students dress in manners similar to their predecessors. I do know that some forms Judo in particular use the uniform as part of their martial art. Judo relies on grabbing and controlling an opponent with their Gi so their Gi must be thicker and hold up to more abuse.

As for the belt systems I can only speak of Kung fu since that is the only one I know. In Kung fu the students wear black sashes, the black signifying a student. The instructors wear a yellow or gold sash signifying that they are either a Sifu or an Si-Hing (older Kung Fu brother and senior student).

Answer 2

well the reason why the uniform itself is white and that shape i dont know but what i do know is that your right karate and tae kwon do uniforms are light and stuff.......simply so they can easily move around........whereas a judo uniform is think and heavy if you've ever felt it.....its so that they cant rip it and so that your opponent and you can get a good grip on it while fighting....the last thing i know is about belt ranking.......back in ancient asia.....the belts only used to be white brown and black........simbolising white is a new person.......brown a person who has been practicing a lot and the belt has turned brown from the dirt on the ground and black for someone whos really been practicing a lot.......its only in north america that this belt ranking with colors came along

Answer 3

My style is Okinawan karate. I wear a heavy weight gi. It is 4x's thinker than the average pair of jeans.

The founders of our style in Okinawa wore groin clothes. ( I can only imagine how that would look now a days)
The gi as I understand it is simply the old world, Japanese equivalent of the workout outfit of today. On a side-note, the gi can be washed but the belt never should be.
A gi is loose because if it were tight it would get destroyed in several work-outs.
Mine is heavy so that as it fills with sweat it offers more resistance, this increases your strength. It is also so thick so that it does not get destroyed in training.
There are several traps and chokes that I use my gi for. You can also use your opponents gi to your advantage as well. It is wonderful to grab onto for leverage.

Answer 4

Each uniform is design and perfected over many centuries to become like a Ying and Yang with the specific martial arts/style.
Some uniforms are used as a weapon itself.

Answer 5

i went from judo to karate to tai chi over 13 years and then into hand to hand instruction and the best is the cheapest and the easiest to work in but any loose clotheing is right its just some teachers like to set the tone and the oneness for a reason of mind setting for the effort its like the belt color madness in korean arts the final belt for good kungfu is white the color of nothingness and also purity

Answer 6

Yes, differnt styles have differnt uniforms that mean differnt things, It can represent who they are, where they come from,and what they do.For instance my gi,It's all white and I hav an orange belt with a stripe, what that means in my class is that i'm an upper belt that is ready to move on, once you get to a certain point, your coloer of your gi changes from white to black showing that you are a very skilled fighter and you have self control and that you know what you are doing. I hope this helps.

Answer 7

I know that Kung Fu and Tai Chi Chuan uniforms are usually just a Chinese jacket and cotton pants. In China, they just called it a jacket, not a uniform.

Answer 8

some are thick so they cant be torn.