There is a real air of disrespect in the martial arts community for those who do not wear the traditional martial arts uniform and a belt. I didn't really entirely realize it until recently when I was watching a Dan Inosanto video and he talked about his early martial arts experiences. One of the notes he made was that when he was first learning kali he thought that "these people can't teach me anything" because of how they were dressed. Traditionally most kalistas don't wear anything special unlike many other martial arts. Does a uniform have anything to do with an art? Are those who do not wear uniforms and belts experiencing discrimination? The uniform shows more than meets the eye.
The lack of a uniform is pretty uncommon in martial arts as it is known to westerners - and as it should be. There are many many popular arts in which you will almost never find practicioners outside of uniform. Arts such as aikido, karate, judo and tae kwon do are good examples. There are not many arts where a real uniform is not worn. The two that first come to my mind are systema and kali/arnis/escrima. These two arts just happen to be the ones I respect the most and I believe have the greatest potential for teaching all-around good and useful fighting skill in the lest amount of time. Another art that comes to mind is krav maga, also a very useful and quick-to-teach art.
In being beltless or uniformless many other martial artists will not consider you a serious martial artist.
I didn't really think about textile discrimination until I heard Inosanto say what he did. It was then that I finally realized that I had personally been discriminated against on many occassions and hadn't really realized it. People have asked me before "where's your belt?" "don't you have a uniform?". Since I thought about it I also realized that people have also just instantly discounted my abilities as a martial artist because I was not what they had normally seen and was certainly not what came to mind when they thought of "martial arts". Sometimes I wear a uniform just to blend in; I like to be invisible and unassuming many times when I'm in other people's schools. I'll wear a white belt and the traditional gi top. I might as well be watching on the sidelines sometimes though. Even at multi-art events people treat you like you don't know anything. That would be fine normally; I don't care if people don't know that I know =) But it presents a problem when you're trying to learn something new and instructors thoughtlessly patronize you.
This discrimination seems really strange to me especially since most martial arts uniforms are typically.. well.. silly. They are generally quite impractical by today's textile standards and have little utility to them. Some aid movement and many times will be very durable, but almost all of them are impractical. They are generally quite cumbersome; you'll often see those wearing such uniforms adjusting them very frequently.. the belts come loose, ties come undone and the flaps of the jacket are easily dislodged. When was the last time you went outside and chose to wear a bright white jacket that can stay together with only a thick, colored, cotton belt tied in a knot? Most of these systems also promote shoelessness - possibly the most unrealistic thing you could do in today's society.
Conversely, in watching practicioners of krav maga, kali, systema or even mixed martial arts systems one will often find quite a bit of practicality in clothing. Many wear tshirts, loose pants without ties that can come undone and they all wear shoes.. sometimes even boots. You'll see jeans, sweat pants, shorts.. In systema I have seen people train in tshirts, suits and quite often - fatigues.
I really think that what is worn by practicioners of an art tells a lot about the art itself.
I write this because I'm tired of the discrimination and I think everyone should know that not all martial artists wear white robes and belts around their waists. All arts have their reasons for doing things the way they do. Personally I don't believe that maintaining tradition and that "look" is reason enough though.
January 12th, 2006 at 21:20
"Most of these systems also promote shoelessness - possibly the most unrealistic thing you could do in today's society."
I wouldn't go quite so far... I have several good friends at Truman who went shoeless for almost the entirety of the fall semester. The only times they really put shoes on were when they went into the dining hall (where wearing shoes is required) and when it started snowing (reason obvious).
January 12th, 2006 at 22:08
Hey, great post. Although obviously I fall into the barefoot, goofy-belted, bright-white do bok wearing category, I can definitely see your points.
Also, great point on the shoeless arts, though I understand the tradition behind it. (Plus, it would tear up most mats). I would really like to see some street clothes fighting classes.
January 13th, 2006 at 22:40
I think the main reason uniforms are typically worn is tradition, flexability, and durability. I don't see any reason not to wear them, save in occasions at perhaps a street fighting seminar, but it largely depends on the type of art. Judo, Hapkido, and Tae Kwon Do have a lot to do with tradition and the ways its always been done (save for a recent large amount in form changes in the USNTF), not neccasarily effectivness in today's society. Wherever you train, you're learning the art, not neccasarily street self defense.
January 16th, 2006 at 23:45
A point you seem to have overlooked: Once you wear a uniform you enter a frame of mind suitable that allows you to 'leave' the normal world and be free to focus on whatever it is you need to do. Conversely, once you finish your session and stop wearing your uniform you find it a lot easier to stop concentrating to such a degree, and allow your mind to 'absorb' what you have just learnt.
In the case of martial arts this seems to be not only safe (due to higher awareness) but also very practical and helpful to your development.
January 22nd, 2006 at 00:37
"Plus, it would tear up most mats"
I definitely agree with this point.. I think that's really the only reason why I put up with the idea all through my training.
January 25th, 2006 at 03:55
I don't really agree with the majority of what jesse said nor most of the comments. The main reasons you wear special uniforms is so that you don't hurt the mats, and for some arts, like judo, the uniform helps with the impact since the supirior ones are mostly quilted because you do falls and grapples or allow for more movement. Other than that, there are only a few reasons we have uniforms like that of which we have today in the west. 1. Americans are stupid and want something to believe in. 2. when you take martial arts, you are going to a private institution to learn them i.e. you abide by their rules and it is to promote unity. 3. belt systems originally were not that much used unless by the serious student who spent years in that one belt's disipline untill mastered or as in judo, you wear a white belt untill you have mastered the art and then only wear a black belt. 4. white uniforms became common for some training outsite so as to know where your injuries are and where you are hitting te ground or where the impacts are occuring. 5. I agree that in real life those uniforms are usless but if you have already mastered the art it doesn't mater what you are wearing when you use your skills, they are etching in your muscel memory. 6. the reason you don't want to use shoes is because they hurt the mat, but more importantly they hurt your partner. 7. If you really need to defend yourself and chooseing to learn a more mainstream martial art in america it is like going to a university and spending 4 years and a butt ton of money for a useless scicology degree because you thought it was interesting, and not because you liked it or thought about why and how knowing it would help you in any way. In other countries it is some serious stuff to say "I want to learn a Martial art" the crappy schools litterally get forced by the better ones. By forced out I mean mob-style the good martial art school sends a couple of the most competent students over to the other dojo to say hey you arn't good enough and not to practice in the area unless they are under such and such master. They then proceed to beat them up untill they concced.
Pretty much what I have siad goes for most main stream martial arts. some of the lesser known ones have such an eccentric following that the students are obsessed with it and want to do nothing else other than become better wich is how it should be since it an ART! others are designed to be combative in the most simple and effective ways and thus taught directly but with a lot of vigor, however some times the students are ill-equipt to handle someone else who is trained with martial abilities. You also must understand that today's military combat hand-to-hand is ment to be more effective with a weapon like a gun. As general Patton put it "It isn't your job as a soldier to die for your country, it is to make the other poor bastard die for his." If a soldier has a hand to hand situation and they have a chance to shoot at any part of the body they are trianed to take the shot and the good ones do and keep shooting since it is faster and more efficient then to strangle someone to death. I mean the most effective fighting system I have ever seen was taught to a friend of mine who entered the navy seals. These guys are trined to be tactical with a gun, meaning that when they are in hand to hand situations they know how to get the other party in a position where the seal pulls the trigger and it is a single shot kill, they don't even waste time with punching.
Overall, we are all human so we all are limited in what our bodys can do. so if you decide to reall learn an art it doesn't matter what you wear so long as you become proficient at it since in the end all martial arts force the body to move in the same way toward its eventual limits of movement.
February 2nd, 2006 at 19:26
i think many people who read this (commenters and non-commenters) completely missed the point of this article.. the point being that non-uniformed arts are often discriminated against for rather stupid reasons. the article isnt about whether or not uniforms should be worn or not.
i made the jabs at uniformed arts to emphasize the idea that it's rather ridiculous to view non-uniformed arts as lesser or not true arts since their textile ideas are the truest and most practical for a martial situation today.