Fredrik Blom
16th December 2000, 16:40
Hi,
I've asked similarquestions on various forums, but so far I haven't had much luck.
The idea is to write some things about the clothing used in the everyday budo practise, their origins and history.
Some examples on thing I'm interested in:
The judo gi; It's one of the most used Martial arts uniforms, but how did it origin? I've heard several different explanations, from being modelled after the Western jacket to being a copy of firefighter's uniforms (There was an exhibition on the lattrer in Sweden some time ago, and I can see some gorund in that statement, the fabric and cut was very similar).
The hakama; Some info I got says it stems from being used when riding a horse, and from then it became a "trademark" for the upper class hence worn by the samurai. We also have the myth that it was designed to hide the wearers feet from the enemy which would help in a fight.
The karate uniform? Origins and how it came forth. One thing I once read is that Funakoshi Gichin was about to do a demonstration with or before Kano Jigoro and wanted a similar uniform. They did only get plain cotton hence the difference.
Colour of the clothing? Why black (or dark) hakama in aikido? The Montsuke used in iaido? And so on...
Any ideas on where to find some more indepth information on these topics and other things that have to do with clothing worn in martial arts practise? I'd really like to see some references to books which I could use as source material. I got some references from Meik Skoss a while back, but they where in Japanese which really isn't my cup of tea...
Best regards,
Fredrik Blom
I've asked similarquestions on various forums, but so far I haven't had much luck.
The idea is to write some things about the clothing used in the everyday budo practise, their origins and history.
Some examples on thing I'm interested in:
The judo gi; It's one of the most used Martial arts uniforms, but how did it origin? I've heard several different explanations, from being modelled after the Western jacket to being a copy of firefighter's uniforms (There was an exhibition on the lattrer in Sweden some time ago, and I can see some gorund in that statement, the fabric and cut was very similar).
The hakama; Some info I got says it stems from being used when riding a horse, and from then it became a "trademark" for the upper class hence worn by the samurai. We also have the myth that it was designed to hide the wearers feet from the enemy which would help in a fight.
The karate uniform? Origins and how it came forth. One thing I once read is that Funakoshi Gichin was about to do a demonstration with or before Kano Jigoro and wanted a similar uniform. They did only get plain cotton hence the difference.
Colour of the clothing? Why black (or dark) hakama in aikido? The Montsuke used in iaido? And so on...
Any ideas on where to find some more indepth information on these topics and other things that have to do with clothing worn in martial arts practise? I'd really like to see some references to books which I could use as source material. I got some references from Meik Skoss a while back, but they where in Japanese which really isn't my cup of tea...
Best regards,
Fredrik Blom