White Keikogi, and Hakama.

[Taisaburo]

I was curious about this. Or have been. What color is white for? I always thought it was reserved for high ranking Budoka, but i see many women wearing them. Could any of you tell me what it is exactly for? Any input on this will be very appreicated.

[JSchmidt]

Ah, they're white and not blue...I think that's about it..

Jakob

[Taisaburo]

Ah, they're white and not blue...I think that's about it..

Jakob

No, thats not it. Otherwise, you'd probably have load's of other Budoka using it. Because, i've only seen few outside of Kendo who wear it like Hikitsuchi for one, a tenth dan in Aikido. And i can recall being told that White was actually only allowed for high ranking Budoka. Yet, i've seen lot's of women wearing them...

[KenShi_JoB]

I think that depend on which art, which ryu, which dojo. But for kendo, it just as JSchmidt said.

[Optomitrist]

It depends on what martial art, in which country you train and if youre a male or female.

[crabbi]

No, thats not it. Otherwise, you'd probably have load's of other Budoka using it. Because, i've only seen few outside of Kendo who wear it like Hikitsuchi for one, a tenth dan in Aikido. And i can recall being told that White was actually only allowed for high ranking Budoka. Yet, i've seen lot's of women wearing them...

Hi Taisaburo-San

As with so many Budo questions, the answer is 'It depends.."

You are sure to get a whole raft of different responses on this one!

Within Traditional Aikido it is usual for higher grades to wear a white Aikidogi and Black Hakama. Lower grades wear an Aikidogi with standard white trousers (almost like a Karategi but with a thicker top).

In other Aikido styles, especially Tomiki, they tend to wear the normal Martial Arts white Gi with the Aikidogi top... especially in those styles that spar a lot... But even in these styles, the senior grades will often wear Hakama as it accentuates the fluid movements of Aikido...

The general choice in Kendo is Indigo top and Indigo Hakama. Black Hakama are also worn, and some Kendoka also wear Black Keikogi.

Many women do wear white. Some wear white Keikogi with indigo Hakama; some wear white Keikogi with White or off-white Hakama. Some wear white bogu, while others use indigo...

Increasingly, female Kendoka are using Indigo Tops and Hakama to reduce any differentiation with Male Kendoka.

Children, especially in Japan, wear the White Keikogi with the black 'Musashi' pattern. This is now being adopted by some adults as well.

Just to confuse the issue, some Kendo organisations specify White Keikogi and Indigo Hakama for Male and female Kyu grades and indigo top and bottom for Shodan and above.

At the international competition level, the Korean teams tend to wear White keikogi and they have white Hakama with a black stripe down the sides...

Some very senior Kendo instructors wear white or off-white top and bottom. The Emperor's Imperial Guard in Japan wear white... but there are other Kendoka at Senior and Junior grades who wear white or off-white when their organisations permit this choice.

For formal demonstrations of Kata etc... Kendoka (especially very senior sensei) can be seen wearing Grey or Brown clothing (sometimes others too)... generally very subtle, traditional shades, nothing outlandish.

I am not sure if there are any regulations regarding the coloure of Do-Gi and Hakama in Iaido... perhaps someone could let us know...

So...as I mentioned at the beginning... there are no hard and fast rules across the board... ith just depends on local regulations, guidelines and preferences...

Hope this helps...

Cheers

crabbi

[JSchmidt]

No, thats not it. Otherwise, you'd probably have load's of other Budoka using it.

Tradition and a tendency to hit the nail that sticks out is a very strong trendsetter. While a few dojo's got their own rules about what colours you can wear, there is no rules as such about wearing white or not.

Jakob

[Taisaburo]

Thank you. I knoew about the others, i was just curious as to Kendo. Now i know.

[DCPan]

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2962&highlight=unbleached+white

[Taisaburo]

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2962&highlight=unbleached+white

I know that the Dogi is traditionally white for beginner's. It is symbolic of a new begining. (Pure New Begining = White) But, i was curious about the White Keikogi, and Hakama; an that was answered above.

[DCPan]

I know that the Dogi is traditionally white for beginner's. It is symbolic of a new begining. (Pure New Begining = White) But, i was curious about the White Keikogi, and Hakama; an that was answered above.

If you read the whole thread, the hakama was also addressed.

Also, just wanted to point out the difference between bleached and unbleached white.

[Taisaburo]

Oh, thank you. But, i pretty much get the general idea now.

[Kendoka]

At Summer School in Saitama last July, probably a good place to look for good examples, there were three instances when Japanese kendoka wore white.

1. At the welcome training, with heaps of 7 and 8 dans, the only peson in white was the President of the AJKF/IKF, he is not graded higher than most of them.

2. Later in the week, the President wasn't there, but the Secretary-General was and he was the only sesnsei who wore white, he is a 7 dan.

3. The local kids kendo class came for training. The younger kids (6-9) all wore white and the kids over about 10yo all wore indigo.

There were a few white gi's worn by the foreigners on the odd occasion.

Despite my avatar, I never wear white.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/marsicoe/album?.dir=/4308&.src=ph&.tok=phzImjBBa5syBxc6

[tokon]

I was curious about this. Or have been. What color is white for? I always thought it was reserved for high ranking Budoka, but i see many women wearing them. Could any of you tell me what it is exactly for? Any input on this will be very appreicated.

I guess your question is about Kendo and nor other budo disciplines! you know every budo discipline can have it´s own rules.

i was told, that in former times the white combination (kendogi + hakama) was only used by female kendoka, and the male mates were using the traditional indigo blue combination. but there is no written rule for this "tradition" and like everything in life there is an exception e.g. the male members of the dojo of the royal palace guards are wearing the traditional white combination.
well, it depends on your dojo and your sensei what he is expecting. we have one rule in our dojo. if your are participating at a tournament, you have to wear the traditional indigo blue combination (female + male)
and i´m thinking about using white kendogi instead of blue one during training. wearing white gi you haven´t the problem with bleaching out.

[Bruce Mitchell]

This thread got me to thinking about the standardization of gendai budo, and its accourtrements. When we talk about "traditional indigo hakama", just how old is that tradition? Most woodblock prints (usualy Edo-jidai) that I have seen depicting training halls show a broad spectrum of dress. I would guess that our indigo wear comes from either Meiji-jidai or Showa-jidai.

I think that white hakama look nice, but who wants to have to keep the thing looking nice and clean. :)

[EzzzE]

hm i personally waer blue+blue, or white+white in train... sometimes also indigo hakama + white gi.
we have a member who only wears black+black in our dojo....
our sensei (5dan) wears white+white or blue+blue... i simply guess it is a matter of : u need enough clean uniform if you train 4 times a week....

if i go to gradings etc... i only wear blue+blue, as one doesn't want to stand out from the crowd..... but in dojo? come one everyone knows you, so no one will think
"oh he's hachidan with 19 years, cause he wears white" ;)

i have to concur with crabbi for interpretation of colours....