Anyone who has seen a student of karate (also known as a karateka) during their training sessions or at a martial arts competition has possibly had a few questions about the unique karate uniform that he or she was wearing and why it looks the way it does. Truthfully, there are more types of attire attached to this sport than most people know and many of these ensembles have special meaning and symbolism, sometimes dating back to the very beginning of the sport.
The traditional ensemble for training, dating all the way back to the start of Japanese karate, is the karategi. The karategi is formed of three separate pieces that should be pretty easily recognized, the loose fitting pants, the jacket that is doubled over and tied in the front, and the specially colored belt that is actually designed for a lot more than simply holding the jacket together.
The karate belts that are worn with the karategi are known as obis and are colored for the specific purpose of being able to identify the rank and skill level of each participating member of a dojo or martial arts school, so that the instructor and fellow students will be able to keep up with each student's progression in their training. The colors generally go from the lightest colors, like white or yellow, all the way to black, with special stripes to mark ranks between colors.
It can probably go without saying, but the reason the karategi jacket and pants are designed to fit as loosely as they do is because martial arts put a lot of emphasis into kicking, punching, and other acrobatic movies that require a very free range of motion. For the sake of having the capacity to complete a high kick, a flip, a shoulder toss, or any other such move, the student's clothing must not restrict how far they can stretch or bend their limbs and body.
Beneficially, when a student needs more range of motion than they are allotted or they are becoming overheated, the obi and the jacket can be quickly snapped off without stopping to struggle with the outfit. This is just a general idea of what some of the purpose behind the karate uniform design may be, certain attributes, such as the color of the belts, are deeply rooted in rumors that may be little more than urban legends and stories that have been passed down for generations.
The traditional ensemble for training, dating all the way back to the start of Japanese karate, is the karategi. The karategi is formed of three separate pieces that should be pretty easily recognized, the loose fitting pants, the jacket that is doubled over and tied in the front, and the specially colored belt that is actually designed for a lot more than simply holding the jacket together.
The karate belts that are worn with the karategi are known as obis and are colored for the specific purpose of being able to identify the rank and skill level of each participating member of a dojo or martial arts school, so that the instructor and fellow students will be able to keep up with each student's progression in their training. The colors generally go from the lightest colors, like white or yellow, all the way to black, with special stripes to mark ranks between colors.
It can probably go without saying, but the reason the karategi jacket and pants are designed to fit as loosely as they do is because martial arts put a lot of emphasis into kicking, punching, and other acrobatic movies that require a very free range of motion. For the sake of having the capacity to complete a high kick, a flip, a shoulder toss, or any other such move, the student's clothing must not restrict how far they can stretch or bend their limbs and body.
Beneficially, when a student needs more range of motion than they are allotted or they are becoming overheated, the obi and the jacket can be quickly snapped off without stopping to struggle with the outfit. This is just a general idea of what some of the purpose behind the karate uniform design may be, certain attributes, such as the color of the belts, are deeply rooted in rumors that may be little more than urban legends and stories that have been passed down for generations.
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