Post by AngelaG on Nov 18, 2004 10:40:19 GMT
On another thread Shotopants wrote:
I'm interested in people's opinions on this.
There have been times when I have trained in normal sports wear. It's not something I would choose to do on a daily basis. I find that most modern sportswear is unable to cope with the stresses and strains put on it in a martial arts class. I have had to throw out a couple of pairs of jogging bottoms after the stitching decided to call it day - these weren't even old trousers. If you buy brand name sports clothes it could turn into an expensive enterprise. Since I have started karate I have only had to chuck out one pair of trousers - and they were a very cheap brand anyway. I still have a medium weight gi I bought 2 years ago and there is plenty of life left in it. Karate gi are good for what they have to do, they can put up with the extended low stances, they can deal with grappling and thowing and because they are made of cotton they don't tend to stink like the new man-made fibre sportswear.
In addition to this I think there is something to be said for everyone in a karate class wearing a uniform. Karate is a serious sport not a fashion show. Even if you get a top of the range gi the tags are fairly small and discreet and most people would not notice them without specifically looking. As a lot of children do MA it is nice that they can buy a cheap gi and go to class without worrying about being bullied because they don't have the latest Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Kappa etc. gear on. In MA we supposedly practice humility, what better way to do this then to stick us all in the same clothes?
Finally a small point but I lead a fairly busy life. It's nice to know that i have a set uniform for karate because all I need to know is that I have a clean gi for next lesson. They are easy to spot so I come home and bung a white wash on and voila next lesson sorted, no messing about diggin out stuff to wear. My only complaint would be why are they so DAMNED hard to iron??
My second part of the post is about calling the instructor Sensei. Although odd when you first start yeah it does feel really odd but soon it slips off the tongue easily enough. Is there anything wrong with keeping a little bit of respect. Going back to what I said before about children making up a huge population of martial artists, it is very hard to get shildren to respect anyone in authority, if you can get them to respect any responsible adult surely that can only be a good thing?
Karate is a potentially leathal art. Keeping boundaries of respect mean that people don't get blase about what they are doing. When the Sensei shouts "Yame" everyone should know to stop straight away. By keeping formal boundaries this is made possible. There is a danger of people abusing these boundaries and I have heard stories about students practically being the slave of their Instructor, but in every walk of life there will always be people ready to abuse situations, more fool anyone that is prepared to put up with that.
Finally most of karate is based on tradition. Would it be right to throw out these traditions if there is nothing wrong with them? If it ain't broke we don't need to fix it? I think if we throw out too many of the old ways we risk our martial art losing all the art part and becoming all martial - in that case does it stop being karate and start being street fighting? Is it possible that these things are kept in to stop us looking like mindless thugs?
Anyway a few of my thoughts on this. What do other people think? Do you think I'm way off base with this or do you agree?
Dojo are great aren't they.
The best dojo that I have trained at don't wear a gi and don't call the teacher "Sensei".
The best dojo that I have trained at don't wear a gi and don't call the teacher "Sensei".
I'm interested in people's opinions on this.
There have been times when I have trained in normal sports wear. It's not something I would choose to do on a daily basis. I find that most modern sportswear is unable to cope with the stresses and strains put on it in a martial arts class. I have had to throw out a couple of pairs of jogging bottoms after the stitching decided to call it day - these weren't even old trousers. If you buy brand name sports clothes it could turn into an expensive enterprise. Since I have started karate I have only had to chuck out one pair of trousers - and they were a very cheap brand anyway. I still have a medium weight gi I bought 2 years ago and there is plenty of life left in it. Karate gi are good for what they have to do, they can put up with the extended low stances, they can deal with grappling and thowing and because they are made of cotton they don't tend to stink like the new man-made fibre sportswear.
In addition to this I think there is something to be said for everyone in a karate class wearing a uniform. Karate is a serious sport not a fashion show. Even if you get a top of the range gi the tags are fairly small and discreet and most people would not notice them without specifically looking. As a lot of children do MA it is nice that they can buy a cheap gi and go to class without worrying about being bullied because they don't have the latest Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Kappa etc. gear on. In MA we supposedly practice humility, what better way to do this then to stick us all in the same clothes?
Finally a small point but I lead a fairly busy life. It's nice to know that i have a set uniform for karate because all I need to know is that I have a clean gi for next lesson. They are easy to spot so I come home and bung a white wash on and voila next lesson sorted, no messing about diggin out stuff to wear. My only complaint would be why are they so DAMNED hard to iron??
My second part of the post is about calling the instructor Sensei. Although odd when you first start yeah it does feel really odd but soon it slips off the tongue easily enough. Is there anything wrong with keeping a little bit of respect. Going back to what I said before about children making up a huge population of martial artists, it is very hard to get shildren to respect anyone in authority, if you can get them to respect any responsible adult surely that can only be a good thing?
Karate is a potentially leathal art. Keeping boundaries of respect mean that people don't get blase about what they are doing. When the Sensei shouts "Yame" everyone should know to stop straight away. By keeping formal boundaries this is made possible. There is a danger of people abusing these boundaries and I have heard stories about students practically being the slave of their Instructor, but in every walk of life there will always be people ready to abuse situations, more fool anyone that is prepared to put up with that.
Finally most of karate is based on tradition. Would it be right to throw out these traditions if there is nothing wrong with them? If it ain't broke we don't need to fix it? I think if we throw out too many of the old ways we risk our martial art losing all the art part and becoming all martial - in that case does it stop being karate and start being street fighting? Is it possible that these things are kept in to stop us looking like mindless thugs?
Anyway a few of my thoughts on this. What do other people think? Do you think I'm way off base with this or do you agree?
) clothing and do defense work. It's interesting to see how easy or difficult certain techniques become when you perform them wearing jeans and trainers or even a skirt (and that's just the guys... 
).
