The Karate gi, or training uniform, is instantly recognizable as a widely-used martial arts training uniform. There are countless variations, but the basic design consists of a jacket with the left breast folding over the right, fastened by a belt, over loose-fitting trousers cinched by a drawstring or an elastic waistband. In many martial arts, the color of the belt denotes the wearer's training level. Other features like school patches may also appear.
Karate's Okinawan Origins
Karate, more properly Karate-do, or the way of the empty hand, originates from Okinawa. The people of Okinawa are culturally and linguistically distinct from the rest of Japan, and in fact were not a part of Japan until the 17th century. This is when a family of martial arts recognizable as Karate began to develop. At this time, there was no formal uniform for the art. In the early 20th century, Gichin Funakoshi, an Okinawan-born Japanese martial artist, introduced Karate to Japan.
The Influence of Judo
At the same time Karate was developing into its modern form, another well-known Japanese martial art was also growing. Jigoro Kano had begun learning the Japanese battlefield hand-to-hand martial art known as Jujitsu. Over time, he developed his personal style from a combat art into a ritualized combat sport, where the goal was no longer to defeat your opponent in combat, but to develop yourself in physical contests with others. This was the birth of Judo.
The Judo Gi and the Karate Gi
Jigoro Kano developed a uniformly specifically for the needs of his Judo students. This was the white uniform with thick lapels for grappling, quilted patches to absorb impact of throws, loose-fitting pants for ease of motion, and a belt to denote rank. During his time in Japan, Gichin Funakoshi adopted a modified form of the Judo gi. The jacket was lighter, without the quilted patches, to enable Karate students to move as freely as possible.
Components of the Karate Gi
The three components shared by all Karate gi are the jacket, or uwagi, the pants, or zupan, and the belt, or obi. The most traditional color is white. Black is also acceptable in certain schools. With the spread of modern Karate worldwide, other colors such as blue and red are used by some individual schools, or dojo. The weights of gi range from light, 8 oz. suits that are often stocked by dojo for beginners, to heavy 14 oz. uniforms for special occasions.
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