Donning the Keiko

Donning The Keiko (Gi training suit)

As with most Ryukyu karate practices, the donning of the Gi lies in the distant past when our masters were all monks and the Gi became a modified version of the priesthood Koromo (clothes). It consists of jacket, belt and trousers and for brown belt and above Hakama (loose trousers of the samurai).

Donning the Gi means that you are taking on new ideas and the taking off of your old clothes means that you are casting off old ideas.

Colour

The basic Gi is always white, as in the Orient it is the colour of death and mourning, in our case, white symbolises the death of ego and rebirth into a greater spiritual state, white is the colour of enlightenment and all students should keep their Gi as fresh and clean as possible.

Style

The present day Gi is modelled upon the everyday working clothes of the peasants of Okinawa, it is practical and has minimal restrictions to movement; it never has buckles or fastenings that could cause injury. The belt (obi) unites the jacket (haori) and trousers (zubon) into one unit.