Other country's flag on your gi... NO

[Allen_Wrench]

I know that this may sound like I'm nit picking here, but wearing OTHER countries flags on your gi is pretty stupid and disrespectful to your respective country. In this case I’m talking about people that are USA citizens that are cruising around with Brazilian flags on their judo / jiu jitsu gis.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a judo guy, but I’ve also got a background in BJJ. And I also know that the whole Brazilian thing is very cool. Except for the poverty and mega high crime areas, the country rocks! The girls are super hot and the people are very cool and there’s pot everywhere. The whole god damn place is a party! But if you’re an American citizen, don’t wear the Brazilian flag on your ****ing gi.

There’s nothing wrong with it as long as it’s a part of the manufacturers actual logo. And there’s nothing wrong with wearing the flag if you were a citizen form Brazil. But these Americans that are wearing gis with the Brazilian flag, as if it were the country they were representing are out of line. In the same breath here, if you’re a citizen of another country, you shouldn’t have the USA flag on your gi.

For me, being annoyed at this stupidity started with tae kwon do people. At their clubs or schools, they’ve often got the Korean flag displyed only, or they're displaying a Korean flag that is larger than the American flag. And not only that, this happens all the time in clubs or schools that are owned or run by Americans! That is totally out of line. Even if you immigrated to the USA from some other country, YOUR flag is the USA flag, not the flag of the country you were able to escape from.

I love judo, but I would never wear a Japanese flag on my gi, or allow a Japanese flag to be displayed higher, or bigger than the American flag in a judo club I was working out at. But then agian, you would never see that at a judo club.

Also, I don’t think there is anything wrong with the Brazilian flag being displayed at a club owned by an actual Brazilian… as long as they were a Brazilian citizen. I also don't think that there is anything wrong with diplaying a multitude of flags, as long as the flag of the USA is also displayed and of equal size, or preferrably... LARGER than all other flags.

I know a lot of people may not be aware of flag thing, but I think it would be something to seriously consider. And don’t forget, there’s nothing wrong with being and American.

I’m interested in everyone’s comments.

[eXcessiveForce]

not real sure about the brazilian flag on a uniform but I imagine it is similar to the use of the Korean flag in TKD.

In TKD the korean flag is placed in schools and on uniforms out of respect to the birth place of TKD. Same way all forms in TKD are traditionally begun facing east. As far as different size flags sometimes that is just due to not being able to get the right size flags at a decent price.

I would assume the brazillian flag serves the same purpose. To honor the birth place of BJJ.

Or maybe they just think it looks cool.

Personally I don't care what people put on their uniforms,Sometimes it makes it easier to figure out what they will try to use in competition.

[MrPoopy]

I don't mind seeing this kind of stuff on peoples gis, just as long as they've had some actual training. I don't like seeing people sporting brazilian flags or logos when they don't even know what an armbar is.

[dkm]

This is why I keep saying that everyone should train nude, but no one listens to me!

[platinum_angel]

its ok dkm i believe you

yes it is because the martia art originated from brazil and so to respect those who mad the martial art you wear their flag.

[Allen_Wrench]

Not to be a dick or anything... but I do believe jiu jitsu came from Japan. The Brazilians did put their own emphasis on certain things. SOOOOO if we were going to pay tribute, then shouldn't we all be wearing Japanese flags? As far as I know, I haven't seen any Gracies wearing Japanese flags on their gis. And by the way, I DO believe that the Brazilian strain is the most effective style of jiu jitsu out there, and I am a fan of EVERY Gracie and Machado family member.

My perspective regarding this flag thing is that people are mistakenly overlooking the importance of representing one's own country.

[eXcessiveForce]

Yeah, I also have wondered about the Japan connection. But i guess every system could have different points of origin

Gracies can claim brazil because that is where they started their system.

And someone else could claim USA


I guess it just depends on where someone wishes to trace their origins to.

Otherwise everyone would have some flag from Asia on it. Or
africa if you go along with the belief that martial arts originated in africa

Personally I don't care much. My martial arts started with me and it will end with me. My students will all start with them and end with them.

[mike]

Allen wrench,

There’s nothing wrong with it as long as it’s a part of the manufacturers actual logo. And there’s nothing wrong with wearing the flag if you were a citizen form Brazil. But these Americans that are wearing gis with the Brazilian flag, as if it were the country they were representing are out of line

there is NOTHING wrong with doing any damn thing you want as long as you hurt no one but yourself. This IS America and its ok if I want to sew a garbage pail kid to my gi as long as my instructor doesnt mind. and even if he does I have the option of finding another school where they dont get hung up over pieces of cloth.

I completely disagree with your line of thought.

thanks,

Mike

[MrPoopy]

Even if Jiu-Jitsu came from Japan, it's not like every technique was invented in Japan.

If I became a black belt and all around expert in BJJ, I could start my own system and call it American Jiu-Jitsu and there's not much anyone can do about it. It's not like the Gracies own the moves.

[JaredExtreme]

When I first started doing grappling I was doing BJJ and some basic judo. All I had was a $hitty karate gi, so I hand-sewed a japanese flag on one shoulder and a brazilian flag on the other.

Those are the countries of origin of BJJ/Judo and wearing those flags by themselves doesn't make me any less American. I have traveled abroad and can tell you with 100% certainty that the United States is the greatest country on the earth. Wearing patches of flags just shows my appreciation of other countries' cultures and while a few people like Allen may interpret the patches incorrectly, the vast majority of people wear them for the same reasons I do.

[nasigoreng]

Martial arts embody a country's culture. The Chinese have kung-fu. The Japanese have Kendo, and Sumo. The Malay/Indonesians have silat variations. The Fillippino's have Escrima/Arnis/Kali. Capoeira and BJJ are Brazilian.

I think sincere students of these martial arts (or any martial art) cannot help but be attracted to the culture of the country from where their art (or arts) originates.

I would be interesting to hear what Brazilians think about Americans wearing the Brazilian flag on the gi.

I don't have a problem if someone wants to ADD new flags to their gi/uniform but if they put on an Indonesian flag I'm going to assume they KNOW SOMETHING about Indonesia.
like, I'll say:

Apa Khabar? Dari mana mas? Masakan Indonesia paling enak ya?

[Bau13]

hmmm yeah that is kinda weird... the art we practice is called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu..

hell, this forum is the Brazilian jiu jitsu forum...

I cant seem to figure out why anyone practicing BJJ would have the Brazilian flag on their gi's....

seriously...its just giving props to the country and the art...

why so crazy about this? If other people doing this is pissing you off then go rip the flags off their gi's then - and see what happens afterwards........

troll.....

[akja]

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"Not to be a dick or anything... but I do believe jiu jitsu came from Japan. The Brazilians did put their own emphasis on certain things. SOOOOO if we were going to pay tribute, then shouldn't we all be wearing Japanese flags? As far as I know, I haven't seen any Gracies wearing Japanese flags on their gis. And by the way, I DO believe that the Brazilian strain is the most effective style of jiu jitsu out there, and I am a fan of EVERY Gracie and Machado family member."
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Jujitsu did come from Japan and in "most" Judo, Jujitsu and Aikido schools you will see very few patches on the Gi's. They usually are related to the school or federation and thats it. Why they choose not to where a Japanese flag is because it is tradional not to.

In BJJ they where the patches, no big thing. If you have a flag that represents the arts country, no problem. BJJ's country of origin is Brazil! During the time following Jujitsu going to Brazil, Jujitsu in Japan became nearly extinct because of the popularity of Judo. This comes out of the mouths of "Japanese" citizens.

The Gracies gave new blood to Jujitsu and deserve their due credit. It was changed by them and it is theirs.

Also most Traditional Japanese based arts refrain from patches in general. I think the point is that the patch reflects the art.

[aseepish]

What pisses me off are Americans who sew Canadian flags on their backpacks when they go overseas in order to get better treatment from the locals!

Seriously, I agree with Mike. In a free country, you should be able to do anything that doesn't hurt anyone else.

And if Nasigoreng were to say "Apa Khabar?" I would of course reply "Khabar baik lah," but that would pretty much be the extent of my Bahasa!

Salamat,

T.

[Porky_the_Pig]

I smell pork.