Hakama Etiquette?

[Tenchu]

When I was taking Aikido, my Sensei required you be a Sho-dan, befor you can wear a Hakama. Is this just a personal dojo "houserule" (Please forgive the analogy) or is this true for all martial arts. I'm looking at starting to take Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu (I know hakama's are not worn for that martial art), and then starting Iaido, when I buy my Gi, do I need to buy a Hakama also, or as I'm asking, is the Hakama only worn by black belts?

And if I do need to purchase one, how do I determine my size? I'm 6'2", and weigh about 195.

Thanks a lot,
Sincerly, from one Martial artist to another,

Tenchu

[Wookiesmurf]

You'll find that hakama usage varies from art to art, and sometimes from dojo to dojo. I believe the practise in aikikan hombu is shodan for men and right away for women. For kendo, there's no grade requirement. Don't know about iaido. Best thing is to just start and worry about buying gear later. Your sensei will tell you what you need and how to determine size.

[Tenchu]

Thank's, much apreciated Wookiesmurf.

[ArcticBlizzard]

It depends on the dojo, but the dojo's where I trained everyone except the beginners wear hakama, although one did have restrictions on the colour you were allowed to wear (didn't have anything to do with grade). Beginners most often start out in normal clothes because a lot of them quit and it would be a shame that you had to makes extra costs on things not a lot of people use/want, people who do kendo and start doing iaido wear hakama since they already own a set.

[b8amack]

When I was taking Aikido, my Sensei required you be a Sho-dan, befor you can wear a Hakama. Is this just a personal dojo "houserule" (Please forgive the analogy) or is this true for all martial arts. I'm looking at starting to take Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu (I know hakama's are not worn for that martial art), and then starting Iaido, when I buy my Gi, do I need to buy a Hakama also, or as I'm asking, is the Hakama only worn by black belts?

And if I do need to purchase one, how do I determine my size? I'm 6'2", and weigh about 195.

Thanks a lot,
Sincerly, from one Martial artist to another,

Tenchu

Your new sensei will doubtless know how he wants things in his dojo, and will let you know. If you've never owned a hakama before, that's another good reason to let him help you there. The sizing may be confusing for you.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Another issue is that typically in aikido, they wear hakama over a judogi. In iaido you would normally wear a different style jacket called a uwagi, a different belt designed to help support the saya, and the hakama, with no pants underneath. So yes, let your teachers guide you.