By Gavin Mulholland
Along with a lot of our symbols, practices, and principles, the poor old karate Gi has come in for a lot of stick in recent years. However, perhaps unsurprisingly, I think our detractors are wrong, and their views are based on a series of misunderstandings. Having said that, we all share in creating those misconceptions and it seems as if these misunderstandings are as rife within the Karate community as they are outside of it.
Misconceptions & Controversies
Let’s start by looking at some of the comments and misconceptions surrounding our use of coloured belts and of course, the ever-controversial use of the Black Belt.
A quick trawl of some ‘Reality Based’ websites turned up the following comments:
“We don’t wear fancy belts or clothes…”
“You don’t need a strip of material to tell you how good you are”
“It’s the man, not the belt that counts…”
The thing that gets me is that it’s said in such a way as to imply that we wouldn’t agree with them, while of course, we do. Of course it’s the man that counts and not the belt; of course you don’t need a piece of material to tell you how good you are – although try telling one of Her Majesty’s Paratroopers the same thing about his maroon beret and see how well that goes down.
While these statements may be true, I think it says more about their obsession with what we do, than it does about what they do. If they really don’t care, why mention it at all?
The truth is that is shows a very ‘traditional’ misunderstanding about what a Black Belt represents – and it’s as much a problem inside Karate circles as it is elsewhere. Contrary to popular opinion, the Black Belt does not represent a ‘Master’; it represents a ‘Beginner’. That’s why the term is ‘Shodan’ and not ‘Ichidan’ – Sho means ‘to begin’, Dan means level – so a Shodan is at the beginning level. It’s actually in the title…
It is the Black Belt that represents ‘no belt’, not the white one. It is the one that indicates that we have graduated past novice status – and what on earth is wrong with that? Many professions do the same; so do schools, so do the police, so does the military. Progressive levels are a very well established, tried and tested method, of graduation people through the early stages of any long-term training programme.
Fancy Coloured Belts?
Which brings us onto those so called ‘fancy’ belts – presumably the coloured ones that we use for our novice students. Yes, that’s right, for our novice students. Up until the graduation ceremony of the Black Belt, all students are novices and the belt system is in place to help shape, direct, motivate, and indicate level to others in the dojo.
In 40 – 50 years of training, you will perhaps wear a coloured belt for 4 or 5 of those years. What is the obsession?
Getting rid of them just means you have to reinvent the wheel and a lot of other systems have had to do just that. A great many of today’s kick-boxing classes use coloured belts to indicate and facilitate progression. An increasing number of ring-combat systems now indicate a students’ progress through a series of coloured gloves. Some Jeet Kun Do schools now choose to denote rank and progression through a series of coloured shirts and recently I even saw a Krav Maga class wearing coloured belts. And why do they do this? They do it because it works, and the positive affects of a grading system have been proven time and time again.
Because of the belt system, I can walk into an unfamiliar dojo and immediately know roughly what each student should know, what they should be working on, and most importantly, the level of contact each student should be able to take. That means that I can get straight on with things without the need for a discussion with everyone there to find out how long they have trained, what they have trained in, what they are good /bad at etc., etc. Also, when the time comes for kumite, people know immediately who to partner up with. I don’t have to waste time trying to put people of similar levels together, and the students are immediately able to pair up with people of similar(ish) levels. Sure, the levels and standards are sometimes different but it’s a start. In this respect the grading system works well as a safety mechanism.
Why a Japanese Peasant’s Outfit?
So, what about the Gi? A Japanese peasant’s outfit that has no place on the streets of Britain surely. Quite right, of course it doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good bit of kit to train in.
Unless you buy one of those lightweight things made of paper, it is simply strong and functional. What else is up to the task of surviving months and even years of hard rigorous training? A t-shirt just won’t do that for you. In most dojo a t-shirt will generally last about half a session before it is ripped from someone’s back, pulled up over their head, and used to strangle them. Which I accept is a good thing.
Once a month we train in street clothes to help emulate a more likely scenario and understand the limitations (and tactical advantages) of what we actually wear. But if it’s reality you’re after, those clothes should be in tatters by the end of a session.
Far from being a symbol of ‘reality training’ if you are able to train long term in a t-shirt, you just aren’t training hard enough.
Simple Leveller?
The other thing that any uniform seeks to do is eliminate individuality and break everyone down to the same level. This is the first step in reducing people’s ego – a fundamental aspect of martial arts training. It is also crucial when you are seeking to teach people from scratch.
When a new recruit signs up for a stint in the French Foreign Legion in Paris, he will quickly find himself stuffed into the oldest, dirtiest, smelliest, set of fatigues he has ever seen. He’ll then be put into a cheap train with the other hopefuls (all similarly dressed), and sent South to Marseilles to join the regiment. This is the start of a process deemed critical to shaping the new recruit into something other than he was when he walked into the recruiting office in Lille.
A dojo seeks to make similar changes to an individual and the uniform of the Gi serves exactly the same purpose as the uniform of the military. Everyone starts again; everyone starts from scratch; no one is dressed any better than anyone else; no style, no brands, no fashion; everyone is equal. There are some very high moral traits in such a concept and some genuine fighting benefit in terms of mindset and preparedness to learn. Of course, once you have got the students mentally prepared you still need to have something of worth to teach them and, while I accept that some Karate fails people in this respect, so do a lot of other martial arts or ‘reality’ systems.
Anti-Gi League?
I’ve seen a lot of systems trying to make something of the fact that they don’t wear Gis, but again, if they really don’t care, why mention it at all? I’ve yet to see one Karate website that makes a conscious statement about what they don’t wear.
Having said that, it is my personal opinion that we are seeing less and less of the anti-Gi league. As more people move away from what claims to be ‘reality’ and towards what actually is reality; there is an increasing need to wear something sturdy – like a Gi. Of course, you could take the MMA route and train in next to nothing but that is combat-sport specific and has nothing to do with reality. Which is more ‘real’ – training in something loosely approximating trousers and a jacket, or training in your underpants?
There is also no point in claiming ‘reality’ and then training in track suit bottoms and a t-shirt (all increasingly matching and uniform interestingly enough). If it’s really reality you seek you have to train in what you actually wear. That is to say, if you wear a suit to work, you need to train in a suit. If you go out wearing a dress, you need to train in a dress. If you wear your jeans hanging off your arse, you need to train like that (and good luck with that!).
To Gi or Not To Gi?
Otherwise, forget the ill-informed criticism, forget the hype, be proud of what you do, be proud of what you have earned, and be proud of your traditions, practices and symbols. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing – just stick on a Gi, get on with it, and train hard.
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Gavin Mulholland is a 7th Dan Black Belt and Chief Instructor for Daigaku Karate Kai (Okinawan Goju Ryu) in London, DKK can be contacted via www.goju-karate.co.uk
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