Sacred Attire: The Karate Uniform

Classical karate is born and bread from spiritually. The belt and the gi are sacred. Not to be messed with, not to be mishandled, and certainly not to be disrespected.

The student starts with a white belt, which represents purity, an empty vessel. As you grow in knowledge you receive darker and darker belts until you finally receive your black belt which represents the presence of all knowledge. The presence of all knowledge is also a sign of ignorance and as such the black belt must work for the rest of their life shedding the black colour from their belt and return to a pure white state which is at that point symbolic of wisdom.

The white karate gi is again symbol of purity and transparency. Which brings me to the significance of wearing a pink gi for breast cancer awareness. The pink belt and pink gi IS NOT meant to devalue the traditions of classical karate but to truly punctuate our efforts. Our organization has just celebrated 30 years of operation and NO ONE has ever worn a pink gi…NO ONE ever will again.