Greetings everyone! I still being a relative newbie to Aikido, I am grateful to this MAP forum for I being able to submit a few different questions here over the last few months pertaining to this wonderful martial art. Please allow me to state upfront, before I ask my 3 questions below, that I of course understand that I do not have complete knowledge of Aikido, and that I realize that I perhaps do not have a global perspective on why we do certain things while at the same time refrain from doing other things, but that the longer I practice our art, I will perhaps grasp and understand more and more. That being said, I do not completely appreciate the practice in Aikido of Shodan, and above, wearing the hakama pants. I think that I have heard in the past that blackbelts wear the hakama in order to, I am paraphrasing, conceal their footwork. OK. I can sort of understand this. However, ... 1. Is this the only reason? Or, is this perhaps considered the main reason of perhaps several other smaller reasons? If so, what are all the reasons? 2. That being said, why not sometime the black belts, for instance, refrain from wearing their hakama and have a go at it with each other in this scenario, albeit, without the hakama? I have been wondering, analogous to within the grappling or Jiu Jitsu universe, where they, for instance, train alternately between “gi” and “no gi”, likewise, I would think that, in order to be a true, flexible martial art (I am referring to Aikido), that it needs to have options, that it needs to exercise within itself a variety of different scenarios, i.e. hakama vs. no hakama. 3. I understand that it is not 100% across the board, that is, that it is not absolutely all Aikido schools that require their black belts to wear the hakama. Therefore, I would like to ask, just roughly, because I know that it would be very difficult to be exact, what do you think is the percentage of Aikido schools that do not require their black belts to wear the hakama? I have heard that there are some schools out there, it of course being a minority. Still, I would just be curious as to approximately what is this percentage. I can accept that the blackbelts, when practicing amongst themselves, wear their hakama if they deem this to be important. However, I am not understanding why they insist on wearing the hakama when they are attempting to teach other students, such as for instance myself, a white belt. Quite often when I have a particular question for my sensei about a technique, for instance, regarding the positioning or placement of footwork, what ultimately happens is that the instructor has to lift up his hakama, so that I can more clearly see and comprehend the placement of his feet, as he then proceeds to demonstrate the technique for me again. Thus, I am then thinking to myself, “Why doesn’t he just take off the hakama as he proceeds to work with we whitebelts, and then afterward put the hakama back on (if he still feels that it’s important) as he works with the other black belts?” Please allow me to state that my instructor is very congenial, approachable and informative. Still, I would prefer not to ask my above questions to my sensei in the very slight off chance that he may misinterpret it that I am being remotely condescending toward he wearing the hakama pants. Thank you very much for any responses. The best to all, Greetings!
They were it because a) it looks bad-ass and b) it's traditional. No different from wearing a gi or bowing before class. From a BJJ perspective, you don't need them to be so baggy for flexibility, and I would grab them so easy ;D
hakama take a while to put on and for me even longer to take off and fold properly. Even if they were to take them off and put them back on, that might not be very practical. I think the answer is to wear kilts. :evil: I don't know the percentage but I would think it is almost all traditional Aikido schools. Even the ones that do wear street clothes to train, probably wear hakama when not "training for the street." My advice is to watch different parts of the body for learning. When the hakama is lifted and working on footwork, just work on the foot work. When the feet are hard to see, concentrate on watching the upper body movements. Don't know if this helps.
Neither do I, first for the reason that we're prone to trip over them, and second because it's silly to wear two pairs of pants at the same time. A dogi/gi is practical. I get it. I have a no problem with a gi. The hakama, though, is a costume, really, and wearing a costume (except for Halloween) is not my thing. At the moment I'm not wearing my hakama in class, and I'm very grateful that the instructors :love: are not bothering me about it.
Conversely , I've heard of kyu grades wearing hakama and nearly getting quite badly hurt , as my instructors have always said that anyone wearing a hakama should be attacked at 110 % , and any techniques should be applied the same.
Chadderz, bro, you don't even understand the mad setups from the hakama. You thought no-gi was an evolution? Take a step back and get ready for double gi. A hakama and a second jacket over the original gi. It's straight science. Got many setups from the gi? Add another layer for more set ups. You've never SEEN subs like these! It's the next evolution and I'm the next level of BJJ scientists. I think I'll call it 11th planet :evil:
Yoshinkan aikido generally don't wear hokama until mid-high level black belt. This was due to the lack of instructors when the style of aikido was formed. Yoshinkan founder Gozo Shioda was directed by aikido founder Ueshiba to participate in the first official martial arts demonstration allowed after WWII. Shioda won first place, and with that, contracts for teaching martial arts to many governmental and police agencies. Due to the limited number of instructors at the time, only senior level black belts wore hokama so junior students could easily pick out who could help them. Hakama is worn for traditional purposes and as a symbol of that training. It was originally a garment often dorned to protect horse riders from burs, bushes, and the like....basically riding chaps. The folds in the hakama also have symbolical value serving as reminders to the wearer of ideals they should uphold. All it takes to train without hakama or dogi is to decide to. I often don't wear one, but I trained for awhile in an aikido style where most people didn't wear one. Every now and again we'll train in street clothes just for fun Depending on who I'm training with, some freestyle aikido training often ends up in newaza and we incorporate hakama into rolling newaza.
Generally, speaking, hakama fell out of use during and after the war because of cloth shortages. Before that it was...clothing, that's all. I went back and read both Kisshomaru's and Shioda's accounts of the demonstration in 1954 (not the first demonstration, but probably the first national demonstration) and I couldn't find anything in either one about Shioda having been directed to participate. Actually, some time before that Shioda had left Iwama and fallen out of contact with the Ueshiba family. He reappeared in the demonstration (in which Tohei represented the Aikikai) and then established the Yoshinkan. Best, Chris
People trip over their feet. Let me fetch my hacksaw. :fight2: A dogi or gi are just clothing. The pants are effectively underwear. So in that respect the hakama is no more or less a costume. So far as I know, you're not Japanese and you're not living in Japan. Why wear traditional Japanese clothing? Aikido can be practised just as easily in any other style of clothing. Like kilts for example.
Dear Chadderz, Rebel Wado, Aiki Mac, bassai, SWC Sifu Ben, Rebel Wado, afhuss, Phantom Power, Chris Li, & aikiwolfie, Thank you very much for your responses. The best to all, Greetings!
Our school(Yoseikan Aikido ) generally don't use them and the reason I was told (newbie)was because we use sutemi waza and they get in the way.
