Unit 2 · Jacket and Belt

Kanō Jigorō started judo in Tokyo, Japan, in 1882. His school was called the Kodokan. His students needed strong clothes for class.

They wore a thick cotton jacket and loose pants. This outfit is called a judogi. Gi means clothes. The jacket is heavy so it does not rip easily.

Karate grew on the island of Okinawa. In the 1920s, karate teachers brought it to Tokyo. One teacher was Funakoshi Gichin.

In Tokyo, karate students began to wear a white jacket, pants and belt. It looked a lot like judo clothes. Today it is called a karategi. It is often lighter than a judogi.

In the 1880s, Kanō Jigorō gave his students ranks. He called the top ranks dan. Students with a dan rank wore a black belt. New students wore white.

A belt shows a rank. A rank is a step in a school. The belt does not give power. It shows what the teacher says the student has learned.

At first, judo had few belt colors. In the 1930s, a judo teacher in Paris used more colors. His name was Mikinosuke Kawaishi. He wanted students to see each step.

Many schools now use a color belt for each step. Yellow, orange, green and blue are common. But the order is not the same everywhere. Each school or group picks its own.

Sumo wrestlers in Japan wear a wide belt called a mawashi. It wraps around the waist. Wrestlers wear it in every match.

The top rank in sumo is yokozuna. At special times, a yokozuna wears a thick white rope around his waist. The rope shows everyone his rank.

Wrestlers at school do not wear a jacket or belt. They wear a singlet. A singlet is a tight suit made in one piece. It is easy for a referee to see.

In Illinois, high school wrestling is run by the IHSA. Boys first had state champions in 1937. Girls had their first state finals in 2022.

Fencing grew in Europe. Fencers wear white jackets and pants. They also wear a mask. It has a metal screen over the face.

Long ago, judges watched for touches with their eyes. White clothes helped them see. Later, electric wires helped judges score. They were used at the Olympics in 1936.

Judo is a Japanese word. Ju means gentle. Do means way. So judo means the gentle way.

Kanō Jigorō chose the name in 1882 in Tokyo. Many other arts also end in do. Karate-do and taekwondo end with a word for way.

Okinawa is an island south of Japan’s main islands. It was once part of a kingdom called Ryukyu. Japan took over the kingdom in 1879.

People in Okinawa practiced an art often just called te, or hand. In the 1930s, teachers chose to write karate as empty hand. Kara means empty. Te means hand.

Taekwondo comes from Korea. The name was chosen in 1955. Tae means foot. Kwon means fist. Do means way.

Taekwondo students wear a white uniform called a dobok. Its home office, the Kukkiwon, is in Seoul. Seoul is the capital of South Korea.

Karate and taekwondo both use white uniforms and belts. So people sometimes mix them up. But they are two different arts.

Karate grew in Okinawa. Its room is called a dojo. Taekwondo comes from Korea. Its room is called a dojang. Each word comes from its own language.

China is a very big country. It has many martial arts, not just one. In English, people often call them all kung fu.

In Chinese, kung fu means skill that comes from hard work and time. A cook or a painter can have kung fu too. Another Chinese word for martial arts is wushu.

Muay Thai comes from Thailand. Muay means boxing. So Muay Thai means Thai boxing. It is a national sport there.

Fighters in Muay Thai often wear a headband called a mongkon. They take it off before the match begins. Music plays during a match in Thailand.

Fencing grew in Europe. Many of its words are French. Piste means the strip. Touché means touched.

In 1913, fencing groups met in Paris. They made a world group called the FIE. Its rule words are often still in French.

The Olympics bring sports from many countries together. Fencing was in the first modern Games in 1896. Judo joined in 1964 in Tokyo.

Taekwondo became an Olympic medal sport in 2000 in Sydney. Karate was in the Games held in Tokyo in 2021. Each name joined in its own year.

Martial arts classes start the same way. First the body gets warm. Then everyone checks the space.

1. Ask a grown-up to stay near you.

2. Hold your arms out wide. Turn around slowly. Touch nothing? Then you have space.

3. March in place. Roll your shoulders. Count to twenty.

4. Open the Dojo. Watch the move first. Then try it slowly.

What helps: go slow. Slow is how everyone learns.

Stay safe: hands and feet go into the air, never at a person. Stop if something hurts. Tell a grown-up.

Kung fu, karate and taekwondo all use horse stance. In Chinese it is called mabu, horse step.

1. Step your feet wide apart.

2. Point your toes forward.

3. Bend your knees, like sitting on a horse.

4. Keep your back tall. Hold for five slow breaths.

What helps: bend only as low as feels good. Higher is fine.

Stay safe: knees point the same way as your toes. Stand up if your legs feel shaky.

Karate and taekwondo use a rising block. The arm rises to guard the space above your head.

1. Start in your ready stance.

2. Make a soft fist with one hand.

3. Raise that arm slowly above your forehead. Keep it bent, like a roof.

4. Bring it back down. Switch arms.

What helps: say "up" as the arm rises. Move like a slow robot.

Stay safe: block the air above you. Never block a friend’s arm.

Karate and taekwondo use a downward block too. It guards the space low in front of you.

1. Bring one fist up near the other shoulder.

2. Sweep it down and out slowly.

3. Stop above your knee, one fist away.

4. Bring it back. Switch arms.

What helps: say "down" as the arm sweeps. Keep it slow.

Stay safe: sweep only the air. Keep the space around you clear.