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Section 2
: Uniforms
1. Why do some belts have stripes on them? And what do they mean?
2. How often am I eligible to receive a new belt or stripe?
3. What is the correct way to wear my uniform?
4. What is the correct way to tie my belt? |
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1. Why do some belts have stripes on them? What do they mean?
The road from Beginner to Expert in the martial arts is
a very challenging one. Think of what you assume about a person when they tell you that they are a
Black Belt. It's almost as if there is a universal expectation of a Black Belt. Man or woman,
tall or short, old or young, big or small, they can defend themselves confidently against at least
one attacker. Often times in the martial arts, students get discouraged when it takes a long time
to go from one rank to the next. Many commercial martial arts studios will simply promote students
every couple of months to keep them motivated and coming to class. What winds up happening is a
student is rushed through the ranks and becomes a less-than-competent Black Belt. This is evident
in the 8 or 10-year-old Black Belt. Understand, that there is a good chance that these students
have worked very hard, and know a great deal more than the average child about fitness, self defense,
and self discipline. However the 8 or 10-year-old Black Belt that can defend their self against a
willful adult assailant is quite rare. |
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Dragon Ranks
All Dragon Ranks receive "attendance stripes" for attendance. This is a piece
of colored tape that is wrapped around the tip of each flap of the student's belt. The color of
the stripe denotes the rank toward which the student is working. Little Dragons need five (5)
attendance stripes to be eligible to test for their next Dragon Rank Elite Goju Ranks
The first half of the NGK Belt System (White, Yellow,
Orange, Green, and Blue Belts,) receive stripes for attendance only. Each of these levels requires
three attendance stripes to be eligible for promotion to the next belt level. Purple Belts, Brown
Belts, and Black Belts test for the stripes worn on their belts. These stripes denote different
ranks.
White
Shodan Ho 1st degree half rank (one white stripe)
Shodan 1st Degree (one red stripe)
Nidan Ho 2nd Degree half rank (one red stripe and one white stripe above it)
Nidan 2nd Degree (two red stripes)
Sandan Ho 3rd Degree half rank (two red stripes and one white stripe above it)
Sandan 3rd Degree (three red stripes)
2. How often am I eligible to receive a new stripe or belt?
At New Generation Karate we use the "3 A's" system.
The 3 A's are as follows:
Attendance - You must attend an average of two (2) classes per week. If you have
school or work Monday through Friday, you are expected to be there every day with
relatively few exceptions.
Little Dragons:
Little Dragons receive attendance stripes every eight (8) classes.
Once a Little Dragon has five (5) stripes, he or she may test for their next Dragon rank (belt).
For students age 7 and up:
- White Belts receive Yellow attendance stripes every ten (10) classes.
Once a student has three (3) Yellow stripes, he or she is eligible to test for their Yellow Belt.
3. What is the correct way to wear my uniform?
Every aspect of New Generation Karate has discipline and wearing your uniform
correctly is part of it. (A karate uniform is called a "gi", pronounced with a hard G sound as in
"golf" and a long E sound as in "meet".) First, your gi should be clean, pressed and presentable.
Be sure to wash your gi every time you wear it; you should never wear a dirty or unwashed gi.
(Your belt, however, is a different story. You should never wash your belt!) You should avoid
using chlorine bleach when washing your gi; the chlorine will weaken the fabric and discolor your
patches. Any small rips or tears should be sewn and/or patched as quickly as possible; large
tears or overly-worn uniforms should be replaced with new ones. All patches should be correctly
placed and sewn with appropriately-colored thread (blue thread to sew the blue patch, black
thread to sew the BBC patch, etc). Students with stripes on their belt should replace stripes
if they fall off, or ask for help from your instructor or program director.
Putting on the gi is quite simple. The pants are easy enough. Be sure to tie the pants securely
so they don't slide down. Tie them a little tighter than you think is good enough; they will
loosen up as you move around, and when you start to sweat that'll only make them loosen up even
more. (And yes, you should wear underwear under your gi pants!) Male students should wear their
groin cup over the underwear, under the gi pants, all class long, at every class they attend.
The gi top is also very easy; put it on like you'd put on any other shirt. Traditionally, boys
and men do not wear a t-shirt or any undergarment under the gi top. Girls should wear a white
t-shirt underneath, while women should wear a white sports bra underneath. After it's on, take
the RIGHT side of the gi and wrap it across the front of your body (to the left). Tie that bottom
corner to the inside-left of your gi; you'll see a couple of ties sewn into the gi for just that
reason. (Look at the pictures of all the uniforms, above, and you'll see the ties sticking out
the side.) Then take the LEFT side of your gi (the side that has your red/black patch on it) and
wrap it across the front of your body (to the right) on top, then tie it down with the other
ties that are sewn there.
4. What is the correct way to tie my belt?
Fold your belt in half.
REMEMBER THE SAYING
LEFT OVER RIGHT, RIGHT OVER LEFT, TUG, TUG, TUG.
Checklist:
The belt is even all the way around the waist. (no part is twisted or sticking out.)
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