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.

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)