The Black Uniform

[Doc]

From the Tracys Website

"The full use of the "Black Gi" was actually instituted by Sijo Emperado and used by all Kajukenbo stylists of all ranks.

The first Black Uniforms imported to the United States were so thin and flimsy, they were torn with the first hard grab or throw.

Originally most Kenpo practitioners had to use unbleached Judo uniforms (bleaching to make them WHITE weakened the material) to hold up to the grabbing and throwing. Early Kenpo as taught in the 50's was very much Kenpo-Jiu Jitsu: realistic grabs and hard throws.

This is where the main break would come between "Traditional Kenpo" and "American Kenpo." When quality black uniforms became available (usually from one of the Kajukenbo sources), black uniforms became the accepted standard for all students.

Ed Parker and American Kenpo took another path: Only instructors were allowed to wear a "Black Gi."

"he wearing of a "Black Gi" also had a great "psychological" effect. I remember reading a article by Chuck Norris when he related that as a "brown belt" what concern him most were those "Kenpo fighters in black uniforms" . . . if they wore a beard, as Ralph Castellanos did, it was even worse!

For over 30 years the "Black Uniform" gave Kenpo its unique identity; Kenpo and Kajukenbo were the only styles wearing the "Black Gi'! Today so many are wearing "Black Gi's" you can't tell if they are Kenpo or Kajukenbo stylists, until you see them fight! (We are the ones disqualified for excessive contact). Just wearing a "Black Gi" does not make you a fighter.

The Black Gi is part of our Kenpo/Kempo/Kajukenbo heritage and distinguishes us from all other Martial Arts. It states to the entire world: "We are a fighting art"!

Correct as usual John. Despite what others may claim, Parker took the tradition from Kajukenbo right around the time he began wearing belt ranking stripes. Previously he only wore white with a single patch and no rank stripes. A lot of it had to do with the Kenpo business model. With black uniforms being instructors and asst instructors, it not only provided an incentive for students to at least reach brown belt, but it also gave the illusion of more "teachers" than there really were.

Chuck's statement was not so much a comment on the uniform but of the Kajukenbo fighters that wore them. During the competition wars of the 50's and 60's, Kenpo fighters like Sanders and Castellanos always wore white while Kajukenbo fighters like Bunda were always in black. Later in the seventies Sanders with others following, switched to the white top black bottom. The first memoriable time I saw that combination was when Sea Oh Choi introduced HapKiDo to L.A. in 1964.

 

[Mark Weiser]

I have two GI's one is black( for classes and training) and the other is all red for Seminars and Competitions.

 

[Shogun]

In response to Master Bishop's posting about Gi's:

Like Bishop-san said, The Black Gi you see today, is not traditional japanese, but there is more.
The Kimono is a long jacket (robe-ish). it is traditional wear in older Japan. Uwagi (what we call a gi) was/is a thick training jacket, developed for hard work such as horseback, archery, and labor in the cold. Zubon is pants worn for the same purposes.
Haori is a thick jacket that came before the Keikogi, and looks similar. Ninja used an outfit similar to the Haori and Keikogi called the Shinobi-Shozoku. So technically, Ninjutsu was first in using the black Gi. Kinda.

Cheers,
Shogun