Fashion Statement

[Szczepankiewicz]

When you go out and about before or after training/competitions, are you sporting the appropriate gear?

Do you have your Gracie T-shirts, or your JKD Baseball cap? How about a nice Bruce Lee print ironed on? Do you carry weapons in plain view in your back pocket?

How about roaming around a gas station (a family of 4) everyone sportin' a nice white Karate Gi with a pretty belt.

I think it would be easier to print out a sign that says "I dare you to kick my ass" and wear it around your neck.

Thoughts?

SZ

[likuid]

WHAT UP

i happen to agree, and generally don't wear any of that stuff in public only because i think some people feel very uncomfortable when they see something like that...namely other guys who DON'T train.

i'm glad you posted this because i've been meaning to ask something. i also do a lot of running, when it's cooler outside i like to wear a sweatshirt. Since i have a million martial arts sweatshirts i usually just use one of those. Does that fall into the 'hey look at me i'm a bad ass' category? it's more out of practicallity than anything else.

[jhinds]

Good Topic.

When I come out of class, I still have my gi pants on, with a T-shirt. I never wear my gi top/belt out in public. Even just having gi pants on purposely makes me more aware of my surroundings for just that reason. Someone wanting to try on a "Kay-Rot-Tee" guy is likely. Although most people probably mistake me for a painter

At any other time, I wear nothing associated with martial arts and don't discuss it with anyone but my closest friends. I do however carry an Emerson or Ken Onion knife in my pocket at all times. Sometimes, its clipped on my pocket, sometimes its inside. As long as the blade length is under 4 inches, its legal to carry here in Texas.

BJJ made me want to do that. After rolling with Carlos Machado and several of his guys, I decided it wasn't a good idea to judge a small guy on the street as somone I could easily handle just because I am much larger than them and have trained in striking/standing grappling arts over the years. I then started to understand the inherent weaknesses in BJJ and similar styles. A simple, one hand opening, pocket knife is a very easy way to negate most any close quarter grappling advantage someone might have over you. I am not saying I a proficient knife fighter by any means. I have been shown a little Tantojutsu and Arnis here and there. I think that coupled with some basic common sense and adrenal stress training, a pocket knife becomes a major asset on the street.

For example, a few years ago here in Texas a kid was attacked by a another kid who was a high school wrestler. The wrestler mounted him and gouged his eyes badly. The kid is now blind in one eye and can see shadows in the other, if I remember correctly. Having a pocket knife and the mindset to use it might have saved his sight.


Sorry to ramble on, just kinda got going there.


-Jarrett

[Szczepankiewicz]

Concerning sweatshirts. It depends on what you're doing and what part of the public you interact with.

To me, any logo of any sort is an advertisement. Depending on the social situation you are in, even a simple logo can be an invitation undesired attention. See also: bumper stickers.

I wear my gi pants a lot, because I am lazy and they are comfortable. You would never catch me wearing advertisements unless I was totally comfortable in the situation. I am an avid Denver Broncos fan. But I am not silly enough to go to Oakland sporting any gear...

To me, anything can cause a provocation and single you out from a crowd. In a self defense situation, that is the last thing you want. I'm not paranoid, but why stand out if you can be invisible?

SZ

[Bau]

hehe..yeah!

kinda like when I was 15 ( NO game)wearing a BULLS 23 jersey to the playground...

I can still hear the guys chanting..."JORDAN! JORDAN! JORDAN!"

[edro]

1234567890

[JaredExtreme]

I have one "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu" shirt that I feel comfortable wearing. Most of the population doesn't know what jiu-jitsu is, so it's kind of like an inside-thing.

I was wearing the shirt last year while waiting in my dorm's cafeteria line when one of the servers asked if my shirt was related to the guy who fought in the UFC. I was pretty surprised she knew that, but she then told me her uncle was KIMO !!!

[MrPoopy]

Aikido uniform?

This post reminded me of a guy I saw in a local park. I was just driving by so I didn't get a good look at him, but he was doing some sword forms or something. He was wearing what looked like very large baggy pants, and a normal gi top. Does that sound like an aikido uniform?
For some reason, I feel like going out to that park and challenging the guy

[Flash]

Re: Aikido uniform?

Originally posted by MrPoopy
This post reminded me of a guy I saw in a local park. I was just driving by so I didn't get a good look at him, but he was doing some sword forms or something. He was wearing what looked like very large baggy pants, and a normal gi top. Does that sound like an aikido uniform?
For some reason, I feel like going out to that park and challenging the guy

Yeah, the baggy "Homie-G" pants are actually the "hakama". You basically wear gi pants and then wear those over the pants - although some guys I knew would just wear their briefs or shorts under the hakama.

I used to wear my school shirts around but then I realized that they'd basically be a magnet for any wacko who wanted to prove what a bad-ass he was. So I only wear them in class or when I'm working out at the gym.

[MercuryTurrent]

i wore mt school's karate shirt once on the bus home after practice. it never occured to me to cover it up with my school shrit (some golf shirt), and i had my Gi pants on too. it didn't occur to me that someone who say "hey, lets pick a fight", though that is enitrely possible. i dunno if im confident enough to wear it all the time (or prehaps im just not that big of a show-off), but my friends do know im a martial artist, as well as most of my school (concerning a fight earlier in the year, as well as on of the security guards being my shidoshi). i guess being a martial artist means you're going to be challenged. avoiding the challenge depends on the type of person you are.