| Choosing Martial Arts Clothing | | | | need to reach just above the ankle to allow the foot |
| Your child wants to begin martial arts. That is | | | | full movement. Again, the belt will reflect level of |
| wonderful! However, before you shell out cash on | | | | mastery. |
| martial arts clothing, you need to know what style of | | | | Taekwondo: |
| martial arts your child wishes to study. Each style has | | | | Jackets in Taekwondo are normally medium thickness |
| clothing unique to its form of fighting and will reflect that | | | | and are also cotton. Kicks are a main focus in |
| style. The Gi and belt do more than reflect rank. They | | | | Taekwondo, so pants need to fit properly and be |
| actually help the fighter in battle. | | | | comfortable. The pants need to be loose enough for |
| Karate: | | | | spins like the roundhouse but should be tight enough for |
| Karate jackets are cotton and are designed to absorb | | | | comfort. Pants need to be extremely durable for |
| sweat during the long training sessions. Jackets should | | | | multiple kicks and repeated blows and falls. |
| be smooth and durable. Elastic bands in the trousers | | | | Fit: |
| are not recommended as they tend to stretch out and | | | | All martial art classes will require martial art clothing to |
| break during tournaments. The pants should also be | | | | be properly fitted. The clothing needs to allow freedom |
| tough and should not tear easily. Belts will be durable | | | | of movement and should not be restricting in any way. |
| but will change to reflect level of mastery. | | | | It needs to be both comfortable and durable as falling |
| Judo: | | | | will occur in all classes. Be sure to try on all clothing to |
| Like Karate, Judo jackets are often cotton. Judo uses | | | | ensure a full range of motion before buying. |
| leverage and the jackets are used to throw | | | | Discovering your Gi is too tight or too loose in a |
| opponents. Therefore, the jackets need to be tough | | | | sparring session is never good. |
| enough to be thrown around without tearing. The pants | | | | |