Should woman wear brassiere under they gi?

When I visited one aikido page I read that gi was originally underwear I got thinking why woman wear brassiere under they gi. The same applies to men. Why we wear underwear wehen we already wear it?

Some of the aikidoka's in our club don't wear anything besides their gi (and hakama). Even my sensei says that he likes it better without underwear..

When I get my hakama I think I'll give it a try without my underwear .

Yup they should - because they don't wear anything ON it. Real womens uhm... overwear? kimono is quite uncomfortable to train with as far as I know it... and it's hot in there. Of course I'm no lady so I don't get to decide:P

I wonder weather in Japan they did/do that...

Jorgen

Well, hmm, there is one lady yudansha at our dojo who sometimes forgets to wear a t-shirt under the gi. She spends most of her time trying to arrange her gi after every ukemi. I never could find out whether she wears a bra or not.....

But now as I see that you go to the same dojo with me I've could've told you that in person

Welcome to the forums and don't forget to reade the "quote of the day" from the main page...

Jorgen

This is not the thread you're looking for.
Move along...

I recently made the switch to not wearing underwear (a midday class that I constantly forgot to bring a change of underwear to). It does feel nicer (it's that silk gi thing again).

As for bras etc. The vote around here seems to be sports bra for the bigger ladies (and then no need for a T-shirt), or T-shirt and no bra for the more 'petite' ladies. Back in the UK people tended to wear normal bras or nothing (at least in my local class).

Many years ago in England I knew a couple of lasses in a judo class who didn't wear anything under their gi's. They both had a special move with men - they would tussle, and wait for the men to look down as their gi opened, then BAM!. Not easy to keep centre...

Tim

At the dojo where I train men as well as women wear a round-neck T-shirt under their gi tops, but then it's not an aikidojo. The more "endowed" one is (male or female) perhaps the more necessity for underwear designed to provide the needed support.

Since hakama are outerwear, there is actually knee-length underwear for use under the hakama.

While I understand that modesty is culturally defined, if one is training in a traditional Japanese martial art, I believe one should attempt to maintain an air of decorum in the dojo which dissuades the type of speculation regarding one's training partner articulated earlier in this thread. It keeps everyone's mind on the purpose for being there - training!
janet dtantirojanarat
www.warriorwoman.org

I'm all for the hotter, better built ladies not wearing anything under their gi!

I, OTOH, just do not like "free balling". I take lots of breakfalls and I prefer the support when my 190 pounds comes crashing to our rather thin mat.

Best Regards,

That`s a hell of a boast Greg

Originally posted by batemanb That`s a hell of a boast Greg

Doh! 190 pounds total body mass, you dolt! <grin>

Embarrassed,

Hi there!

Where I train, most men don't wear a t-shirt. With the women there is the group of "t-shirt wearers" and the other of "sports bra wearers" (which I belong to). As I have heard the gi is the traditional japanese MALE underwear. And imagine that wearing a kimono (as a female) you do not have much freedom of moving. I tried a seven layered kimono. I wasn't almost able to walk. So Aikidoka (male as well as female) wear male clothing.
I think that makes the difference.
When I started in Tae Kwon Do first and put my gi on for the first time, in this dojo only men (there were no advanced women) had gi's (with nothing under). So I tried this, too. And I spent most of the time adjusting my gi. Otherwise it would have been a nice technique (only working with male partners) as previously suggested.......

Since then I always wear something under my gi. And I reduced it to the min: a very comfortable sports bra. That's my philosophy.

Yours, Simone

There is nothing more distracting than having a body part that shouldn't flop out, flop out. This is true for both parties involved.

Everyone should remember that and behave accordingly.

Originally posted by jdalton51 There is nothing more distracting than having a body part that shouldn't flop out, flop out. This is true for both parties involved.

I guess I'm going to have to start importing water from Salt Lake City!

Not much chance of distracting any of the ladies here with what we're growing now.

Best,

For the sports bra without a T-shirt, it's a good idea that the gi is wide enough over the hips so it covers the front well... showing your belly below the sports bra does not look right to me.

What do you think about the two ribbons that can be sewed onto the front of the gi, to keep it together? It is often supposed to be a woman's thing, but I've seen pictures of O-sensei wearing this kind of gi jacket. And Nishio Sensei, I think.

Even with ties, and my female-cut Gi top, the top tends ot pull open more than I'd want to share with others when I work out... I wear a sports bra AND a T shirt, but I'm frumpy and old, and I have enough trouble getting guys to notice my atemi coming straight for their face without adding any distractions.

Health issues aside (not only do we not want to see any body parts flop out, but all that flopping can't be good for it), this isn't a fashion show... dress seriously if you want to be taken seriously. If you have to stop to adjust something after every roll, then fix it before you get on the mat next time, too much time is being wasted adjusting.

Just one frumpy old woman opinion...

I'm well-endowed (38D) and that last thing I want while training is guys gawking at my cleavage. I practice aikido to learn aikido not to pick up guys. I'll go elsewhere for that -- where it is appropriate.

I've had one male partner, during seated kokyu, go "wow!" It happened unintentionally, and he seemed surprised as to the size of my breasts. I started wearing t-shirts after that as I was already wearing the workout sports bra since I wasn't aware that people could accidently look down and see more than I would like. I don't think all women have to wear a t-shirt as long as their sport's bra appropriately covers them. My sport's bra don't so I wear a t-shirt.

The top female instructor at my dojo told me that while visiting Japan she was told by a Japanese woman to wear a plain white tee-shirt under her gi. She was told that it was not appropriate for women to wear only a sports bra, danskin like top, or bright colored tee-shirt under the gi.

I could care less whether the gi was initially "underware." I have never seen it as underware in aikido so I will wear bra and t-shirt.

Sort of an unwritten fashion statement in our dojo. Men don't wear tee-shirts. They also don't adopt the wasp look with the obi. Women are cut some slack.

Yes I've had to take a few young Japanese males aside and educate them.

As for flopping body parts, 190 lbs no, but I am very carefull about choosing proper support. Breakfalls have a habit of making slight imperfections known.

Well...

Every time I've worn a standard strappy-buckly bra to the dojo I wind up with painful little bruises on my back and shoulders. Who needs tiny metal points absorbing all the impact of that fall and smooshing it directly into your flesh? Besides, my dojo can get awfully warm and my gi is hot enough without a bunchy t-shirt too.

So for issues that have little to do with decorum, I'm firmly in the sports bra camp. I haven't had to adjust myself too much and it seems that most of the other women in my dojo are happy with the sports bra or tank top.

Peace,
Deb

Originally posted by giriasis I could care less whether the gi was initially "underware."

The Judo gi, which most of us wear, was originally invented by Kano (yes??) to approximate street clothing which was the normal practice attire. I guess too many suits were being torn. I always assumed that when you were talking about underware it was the pants portion not the upper part. So the hakama covers some modesty.

Even the pants bottom does not look like Japanese underware - it has long adapted. Just take a look at the old picis.

As I said we don't wear no hakama but then we all know that Tomiki folk are uncultured brutes.

Originally posted by PeterR Sort of an unwritten fashion statement in our dojo. Men don't wear tee-shirts. They also don't adopt the wasp look with the obi. Women are cut some slack.

Wasp look? I've seen belts outside of the hakama. I've seen hakama tied to the side, in bow ties and others ways. But I've not seen the wasp look. Whazisit?

In our dojo, I have no idea whether the ladies wear a bra or not, or what type. That is really their personal preference. However, all females, regardless, wear white T-shirts under their gi top, and they also have tie straps on the front. Recently, many of the guys have been sporting these tie tops too, maybe they are secretly wearing bras underneath?

Speaking of the guys, many of them go "commando" under their gi trousers, whether they wear a hakama or not. Have tried it myself and it is quite liberating, quite practical too considering the amount of sweating we do in the summer here, but I tend to prefer a more packaged package, just have to ensure that you take a fresh pair to change into after otherwise you have to go home "commando"

I don't claim to be an expert, but I've been to 4 different dojo here in Japan in Tokyo and neighboring Chiba, including the Honbu-dojo (World HQ) in Shinjuku, and without fail all women have worn a white t-shirt underneath their gi. Most also wore a sports-bra underneath that.
Most women also wore gi that tied mid-lapel and a most women above a given kyu rank wore hakama.

Originally posted by Erik Wasp look? I've seen belts outside of the hakama. I've seen hakama tied to the side, in bow ties and others ways. But I've not seen the wasp look. Whazisit?

Seen only with young skinny teenage males and some females. Obi pulled tight against the waist rather than on the hips. Very un-macho looking.

My suggestion, Joff, is that you "go commando," and then perform some serious aerial breakfalls. You may, unless you do flawless breakfalls, notice some bits and pieces jingle-jangling about, accompanied by a bit of pain. I suspect this might also be the case for some women who choose not to wear sports bras. That's why I wear a leotard underneath my dogi... Just kidding...

Hey ren, slow work day for you too, huh?

Regards,