WING CHUN

YIP MAN

Wing Chun also romanized as Ving Tsun or Wing Tsun (also known as Snake-Crane style); is a concept-based Chinese martial art and form of self-defense utilizing both striking and grappling while specializing in close-range combat.

DONNIE YEN

Donnie Yen, through the film Ip Man has also caused trememdous impact in the martial arts world. Yen is widely credited by many as the person responsible in popularizing the traditional martial arts style known as Wing Chun. Donnie Yen played the role of Wing Chun Grandmaster in the 2008 movie, Ip Man, which was a huge box office success, re-defining the genre of action films. This has led to a tremendous increase in amounts of people taking up Wing Chun, allowing hundreds of new Wing Chun schools to be opened up in Mainland China and other notable parts of Asia. Ip Chun, the eldest son of Ip Man even mentioned that he is grateful to Donnie Yen for making his family art popular and allowing his father's legacy to be remembered

KUNG FU

Kung fu or gongfu or gung fu is a Chinese term often used in the West to refer to Chinese martial arts. Its original meaning is somewhat different, referring to one's expertise in any skill achieved through hard work and practice, not necessarily martial.

BANDO THAING

Bando is a defensive style of thaing focusing on animal-based techniques. The earliest meanings of the word were self-discipline, self-development and self-improvement. Later, it came to mean self-protection or self-defense. Bando is sometimes mistakenly used as a generic word for all Burmese martial arts but it is actually just one system.

TAE KWON DO

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "art". Thus, taekwondo may be loosely translated as "the art of the foot and fist" or "the art of kicking and punching."

It combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and in some cases meditation and philosophy. In 1989, Taekwondo was claimed as the world's most popular martial art in terms of number of practitioners. Gyeorugi  a type of sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000.

judogi

Judogi is the formal Japanese name for the traditional uniform used for Judo practice and competition. It is actually derived from traditional articles of Japanese clothing. Jigoro Kano derived the original judogi from the kimono and other Japanese garments around the turn of the 20th century, and as such the judogi was the first modern martial arts training uniform. Over the years the length of the pants and sleeves grew longer, changes were made in the material and fit, the traditional unbleached cotton is now a bleached white, and blue judogi have become available, but today they are still very close to the same practice uniform used 100 years ago. Other martial arts, notably karate, later adopted the style of training uniform used in judo

A judogi comprises three parts usually cut from different styles of fabric, a very heavy uwagi or jacket, a lighter canvas style shitabaki or pants, and a cotton obi or belt. Though similar to the shorter styles of kimono, a uwagi will invariably be made from cotton or a cotton blend and be of a very heavy weight fabric. All but the cheapest and most lightweight uwagi are cut from a woven cotton cloth, similar to, but much more tightly woven than terrycloth, and more expensive competition and hand-made judogi will often weigh several kilograms when finished. Due to the nature of Judo practice they commonly have heavier stitching and double layer kneepatches to provide durability. The obi comes in different colors to denote the wearer's rank in judo.

In competition, Judogi sizes and fit are strictly defined by the IJF rules of Judo (see below) in order to prevent a competitor from using an improperly sized judogi for advantage. These rules define how long the sleeves and legs must be as well as how loose fitting the judogi must be; in competition, the referee can disqualify a competitor for wearing a non-fitting judogi. In addition various organizations and events define such matters as allowing for commercial and team/national patches and competitor's names to be attached to the judogi. All judogi used in competition must be clean and free of holes, tears or excessive wear.

In official national or international competition only white or blue judogi are allowed. Competitors must have available both colors because one contestant in each match is designated to wear a blue gi while the other wears a white gi. Most judo classes will permit students to wear either color, although white is the traditional color that is often preferred and white fits in better with the traditions of judo and Japanese culture. Less common colors, including red and black, can be found in less formal or specialized situations.

 The left side of the gi must cross over the right one.

Judogi weights

Judogi are sold in many thicknesses, which can be generally grouped together in the two classes: single-weave and double-weave. Single-weave judogi are thinner and weigh less (upper jacket textile fabric weight usually 300–550 g/m²). The thinner judogi are less durable, although some judoka (judo practitioners) may prefer them for long practices as they are less likely to foster overheating. Double-weave judogi are thicker and weigh more (fabric weight usually 650–1050 g/m²). They are harder to grab than single-weave gis, which is considered an advantage in competition. Double-weave gis shrink less and those of high quality are often sold entirely pre-shrunk, this is important to know when comparing the fit of the gi. Double-weave gis generally cost considerably more than single-weave gis of comparable quality.

Pants by themselves should not be classified as single-weave or double-weave as the name only refers to the weaving style used for the upper section of the jacket. However, pants sold together with double-weave jackets will also tend to be heavier than normal due to stronger fabric or large reinforced sections.
Double-weave jackets designed for competition usually display a prominent seam that runs down the back of the jacket, joining two halves of fabric. Starting in the late nineties, some manufacturers made this overlapping part very wide, in effect doubling the fabric thickness for a large section of the back. This blocked the opponent from gripping there, which in 2005 caused the International Judo Federation to ban fighting in international competitions using a judogi with back seam area wider than 3 cm (a little more than one inch). Wider designs could still be permitted in local competitions depending on national rules. Single-weave jackets usually have no back seam, or a narrow one which only joins two fabric sections without interfering with grips.

KARATE GI

Karategi is the Japanese name for the karate training uniform. A karategi is somewhat similar to a judogi (Judo uniform) as it shares a common origin, however the material and cut of the uniform is generally much lighter and looser fitting. The heaviest of Karategi are only 16 oz compared to some judogi at 35 oz. Due to the nature of Karate training which emphasizes striking, kicking and a more limited range of standing throws compared to Judo the karategi has evolved in a manner that maximizes mobility and speed without the extremely coarse and strong fabric required for grappling and throwing found in Judo. They are made from smooth cotton which may be brushed or ribbed for unrestricted movement and added comfort. Reinforced stitching is common, as to compensate for the stresses put on the gi.

Inferior karategi are often cut from a light fabric similar to that of a summer shirt. These karategi are easily ripped, and tend to adhere to the practitioner's skin, creating some discomfort after any extensive perspiration is experienced. Such materials yield a karategi no heavier than the 8 oz..
Most quality karategi are cut from a light canvas style cloth because of its ability to stand up to considerable amounts of rigorous application and abuse without restricting the mobility of the karateka. Typically, such karategi weigh at least a 10 oz.

The weight of the material helps Karateka determine how rigid the suit will be. 12 or 14 oz cotton canvas is standard, although some manufacturers offer 16 oz materials. It is not unusual for a martial artist to feel better cooled when using a heavier karategi, compared to the cheaper karategi. Naturally, heavier suits will be more rigid. This rigidity increases ventilation within the suit. The heavier gi also has a more pronounced sound when a move is executed. Despite the extra weight of the heavier fabrics, most experienced practitioners prefer them due to their durability, and the ability of the thicker fabric to wick away perspiration.

The three main cuts of karate gi are Kata, European and Japanese. The Japanese cut has short sleeves and trousers for lest restriction. This cut also has a longer lapel that prevents it from riding up over the belt(obi). The Kata cut is very rare. It has even shorter sleeves and is chosen more for aesthetic appeal. European Cut has longer sleeves and trouser. The lapel is shorter. This cut again is chosen for aesthetic appeal. Karate uniforms come in a wide array of colours. Most Karateka still wear white. Some clubs use a system of differing colours to differentiate students from instructors.

Different styles of Karate have slightly different uniforms though all share the same basic design, differing only in the lengths of sleeves, legs and the skirt of the uwagi (jacket). Many karateka tend to wear their obi (belt) much longer than judoka and other martial artists.

Karategi are sometimes worn to practice other arts, such as jujutsu, when the practitioners are young and can expect to grow out of the gi in a few years; in this case, their reduced durability in comparison to judogi is less of a factor, and buying karategi until the practitioner stops growing is more cost-effective.
The karate gi appears to have been developed from the Judo uniform. When Gichin Funakoshi demonstrated karate in Japan at the Kodokan, he still wore a traditional judo gi.

JUDO

Judo or Jūdō means Gentle Way. Judo is many things to different people. It is a fun sport, an art, a discipline, a recreational or social activity, a fitness program, a means of self-defense or combat, and a way of life. It is all of these and more. Judo is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Kano Jigoro. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an opponent to submit by joint locking or by executing a strangle hold or choke. Strikes and thrusts by hands and feet as well as weapons defences are a part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms (kata) and are not allowed in judo competition or free practice (randori).

ORIGIN OF KARATE

Okinawa was also called Ryukyu, or 琉球 and was once a small kingdom free from Japanese and Chinese occupation. Since this small tropical island is located right between Japan and southern part of China, it consequently experienced severe political trauma in its history, especially when a southern end Japanese clan Satsuma, or 薩摩 invaded Okinawa in 1607 and occupied its administration by force. No islanders except the authorized royal class members were allowed to arm in their daily life. Prior to the Satsuma invasion, the islanders had similar experiences by their own King at the end of the Civil War in 1422. In both occasions, the islanders learned to train, in secret, the hand to hand combat tactics which developed into the art of Karate later.

At this time, the art lacked its Chinese sophistication and offered more practical application of the system by using bare hands and legs. For example, the hands were trained on finger's tip, the knuckle and at both sides and at the tail of the palm by pounding against hard objects daily. Likewise the elbow knuckle, toes and the ridge of the foot were also trained as for to use them like weapons. Japanese instructors now eliminated such an old training system due to its risk to damaging the hands.

At the beginning in Okinawa the system was called 'Te', or 手, meaning 'hand'. The arts of Te, however, appeared to differ its system depending upon geographical locations and instructors. The islanders therefore distinguished its school by identifying a name of city such as Naha-Te, or 那覇手, Shuri-Te, or 首里手, Tomari-Te, or 泊手 and so on. Naha and Tomari were known to be the popular port cities. Shuri once was a capital city where the king resided. Other than that, there was the systems called To-De or Tote that was written as 唐手 of which alternative pronunciation is "Karate"; meaning Chinese hand. Of the local historians appeared to distinguish To-De and Te as for different form. However, Japanese called the art, in general, 'Karate' and wrote it 唐手.

During this transitional period of time when the art was becoming more popular in main land Japan, the art was called "Karate Kempou" or 唐手拳法 which meant Chinese Hand Fist System. Later during 1930s Japanese practitioners changed the written characters to 空手. First word "空" means vacant, absent or empty and second word "手" means hand. Its implication is to symbolize a pair of bare hands combat for the sake of self defense against the armed hands. However, it was Japanese political attempt to transform the body of the art with metaphysical insinuation so that the name can eliminate its national identity.

There existed in Japan for fifteen to twenty century an incorporated field of martial arts as for a traditional institution named 'Budo', or 武道. Ever since Okinawa was forced to become one of the provinces of Japan in 1871, there had been a political upraising by both the Japanese and the local citizens to promote the art to be recognized in the field of Budo.

Hence, the practitioners of the art started to call it Karate-Do by applying the suffix -do to Karate. "Do" or 道 literally means "way" as for "a way of life." One of the branch doctrine from Confucianism, or 朱子学 once strongly influenced the Japanese intellects and Samurai class during the feudal time in the tenth century. The concept of -do or way of life came from the doctrine. All of the arts categorized in the Martial Arts, thus, are named with -do, like Judo, Kendo, Aikido and so on.

The Art of Karate-Do, or 空手道 is what the official name was during the 1930's in the mainland Japan. Traditionally, all the martial arts that were recognized among the field offered to claim their specific name of school or style in order to identify their lineage within the art. Unlike its custom, the art of Karate-Do in Okinawa thus started claim to its name of style such as Goju-Ryu, or 剛柔流, and Shito-Ryu, or 糸東流. Ryu, or 流 literally means stream which indicates lineage of branch. Among the various styles of Karate originally practiced on Okinawa island, Goju-Ryu is known as the earliest institute of Karate that named its school by its specific style.

MARTIAL ARTS

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development. In other words the term martial arts refers to all of the various systems of training for combat that have been arranged or systematized.

The term "martial arts" today has become heavily associated with the fighting arts of eastern Asia, but the term's origin is distinctly western. It is from the Latin that we actually derive the English term, "martial arts" - from "arts of Mars," the Roman god of war. The term "martial art" was used in regard to the sophisticated combat systems of Europe as early as the 1550s, and an English fencing manual of 1639 used it in reference specifically to the science and art of swordplay.

Some martial arts are considered "traditional" and tied to an ethnic, cultural or religious background, while others are modern systems developed either by a founder, or by an association.

KARATE

KARATE means Empty Hands. or in other words KARATE means Open Hand, which means Fighting Without Weapons. KARATE is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called TE (literally "hand"; Tii in Okinawan)