Karate gi (a.k.a Karate Robe) consists of two words that are taken from Japanese language. The word “Karate” refers to a form of martial art that originated from Japan. Meanwhile, the word “gi” in karate gi is a Japanese word that means cloth or uniform. Karate gi is a term commonly used to refer to the robe used for Karate training or competition.

Origin of Karate Gi

Japanese term of karate-gi components (source http://isshindo.blogspot.com)

As opposed to the other martial art uniforms, karate gi is designed to facilitate free movement of a karate practitioner. Karate uniform or karate gi is normally made of light materials with slightly shorten sleeves or pants. Many believe that the first form of karate gi or karate uniform is originally invented by the fisherman or farmers of Okinawa, a location in Japan.

Another theory gives a reason to the colour and shape of a karate gi. Due to the implementation of law that prohibited possession or usage of weapons, people train Karate in secret, mostly at night. The white colour robe (traditional karate gi) is said to resemble the sleeping robe and prevent the authority from spotting the illegal activities. The current karate gi is a thicker version of the robe (old karate gi) that was used during the banned period.

Components of Karate Gi

There are three basic component of a karate gi or karate uniform, namely: half body robe, pants and a belt.

Mostly, karate gi will be in white colour, though in modern days, some karate dojo accept different colour of the martial art uniform, such as: black, red or blue. There are no standard materials for making a karate gi. However light weight materials such as cotton or cotton-polyester is preferred as the material for karate gi for traditional karate trainees meanwhile a heavier and more durable type of fabric will be preferred by karate expert for competition and heavy duty training.