The traditional uniform worn when training in the Karate Dojo is a white, pajama-like garment called a ‘Gi’.

The traditional Japanese Karate, Gi, is made from cotton and allows the Martial Artist to move freely with good air circulation around the body. Karate Gi’s are predominantly white, for the purpose of symbolizing purity of mind. In Karate, to be pure in mind is to be empty of extraneous thoughts and be ready to receive new information and learning from the Sensei or Teacher.

In the case of Australian Goju Kai Karate, the patch on our Gi’s reminds us of our founder ‘Chojun Miyagi’, our affiliation with the All-Japan Karate Federation and Gogen Yamaguchi, our club peers and Chief Instructor, Sensei Bernie Haughey.

A Karate practitioner’s rank can be identified by the color of belt they wear. Degrees of achievement are formally recognized in Karate training, each represented by a cloth belt of particular color worn around the waste, the usual colors being: white, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown, and finally, black.

Qualifications for belts differ from school to school, depending upon the style and standard of Karate taught. Being closer to the generational tree of lineage to the original founder of the Martial Art style is preferred. The Black Belt, or Dan, represents the highest proficiency in the art of karate and, like the other belts, it itself is qualified into even higher degrees of honor and skill; the highest Dan being of the 9th or 10th Degree.