I feel compelled to comment on what I see as a growing trend in the Martial Arts and that is the the use of the gi as a costume instead of a traditional uniform. I see students around the area in which I live who, after their training sessions, walk around town and in and out of stores with their uniforms still on including their belt tied snugly around their waists. What is up with that?
It's one thing to be proud of the fact that you train in the Martial Arts but quite another to flaunt that fact as to be so arrogant as to walk around disrespecting the tradition of the arts and the traditional uniform. I see students who wear their gi's like they would wear a Halloween costume. The sad part is...some of them actually do wear their gi's at Halloween! What's worse is that the parents think nothing of this and apparently, neither do the instructors. The main reason I see for this trend is that people who are "training" in the arts are students in the literal sense of the word but not really "students" of the tradition of the arts. By that I mean they train in class but they haven't availed themselves of the knowledge and history behind the Martial Arts enough to know that what they are doing is just plain wrong.
The biggest offenders in my area are from a local Tae Kwon Do school near where I live. Now, before anyone goes off on me for bagging on TKD, I am not. I am just stating a fact from first hand knowledge. That being said, every student I see from that school who walks around after training with their gi's and belts still on do so in a fashion that is embarrassing to me as a Black Belt and a Martial Artist. The thumbs tucked neatly in their belts while they strut through the stores only suggests ego and arrogance, two things anyone would consider to be undesirable qualities in any form of Martial Arts. That fact that these uniforms are white only makes it worse as we all know that white shows everything in the way of dirt and grime. Where is the sense in all of this?
I actually observed a family in a Mexican restaurant one night having dinner after their two boys had finished their training at this particular TKD school. They were in full uniform complete with their belts and proceeded to spill salsa, cheese sauce, green sauce, etc. on their gi's while eating. The parents, who witnessed this, could have cared less. One would think that after seeing this mess on what is supposed to be an integral part of Martial Arts training, they would have at least taken the gi top off. Instead it remained a "catch-all" for that night's meal.
The reason I am so up in arms about this is because this represents a lack of integrity, respect and overall knowledge of the tradition of the arts. A true Martial Artist doesn't just show respect in one aspect of the training and fore go that respect in other areas. In my classes, we, the students and instructors, put our gi tops on after arriving for class. Then, we all tie our belts together before class commences and at the end, remove our belts together in a fashion befitting the tradition of and respect for the roots of our training. I insist that my students learn right from the start that the training and everything from their gi and belt right down to tying their belt properly have a place in the tradition of the arts and that this tradition must be respected every step of the way.
I know this may seem trivial to a lot of you out there but to me, it is the essence of what Martial Arts training is all about...integrity, honor and respect. There is no integrity, honor or respect in trashing your uniform just for the sake of "looking cool". We must adhere to what has gone before us. We, as martial artists, have an obligation to uphold and maintain that which has existed for centuries. I feel it is absolutely necessary for the survival of the arts.
Let me hear from you and your thoughts on this subject.
Until next time,
Sensei Tim