A well-deserved public holiday here today which could only mean one thing (maybe 2) - solo training and more house decluttering. In the process, I stumbled across an old dogi I was using when I had an extra chin for a friend and was about 40kgs chunkier. Tried it on and the sleeves and pant cuffs made me feel like an inflatable air dancer balloon man. Rolled up the sleeves for a bit of shadow boxing action and thought maybe I could wear this bad boy again. The wife asked if I needed it altered, but I thought it wasn’t worth the effort since it was rather battered – Just a nice super comfy worn in gi I could use when training alone. So I went back in the dojo, pants now rolled up too like a short fat bastard who has to wear 10 sizes up. As ridiculous as I looked, it was comfortable.
I remember back in the old Ossssu Sensei karate days as a kid, my instructor at the time talked about how you should never roll your sleeves past your elbows as it was a sign of disrespect. Fact or myth? Who really knows. On a different occasion in Okinawa only 2 years back, I had Mr OGKK Gold Medal Man approach me to tell me to unroll my sleeves as it wasn’t good manners – Sorry mate, I can't help losing weight and having to roll my sleeve up only once. Fark a duck I thought, it was only 1 subtle roll – not a 5ft 6 120kg 20x roll over level (Yeah Sean – I’m talking about you).
Maybe there is some truth to over-rolling up sleeves or the actual length which maybe impolite. Please, somebody enlighten me. Different dojos different rules? Well maybe it's the perfect time to set some uniform rules for my own dojo: -
Smells putrid? Don't wear it
Look like a clown 🤡? Save it for Halloween
Tripping over your own feet or wanna show off your sexy legs? Join a style that welcomes it.
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