In this video Mrs Sarah and Mr Hakan discuss Martial Arts Uniforms. Its significance, use and representation. They explain the different types of uniforms worn at the Academy as well what to do if you forget a part of uniform at home.
Hakan: Hi, I’m Hakan.

Sarah: And I’m Sarah.

Hakan: And we’re both head instructors and managers here at the Australian Martial Arts Academy. Today we’re excited to talk to you about the importance of uniform within the martial arts classes.

Sarah: So traditionally, people who did martial arts have always worn uniforms. And so what we want to see today is how do uniforms fit in the Australian Martial Arts Academy. So we’re going to take you through the different types of uniforms, why we wear uniforms and also what the procedure is if you forget your uniform or for some reason you’re not able to wear that during your class.

Hakan: So what does the uniform represent? A uniform is a piece of clothing that helps us prepare for our martial arts class both physically and mentally. It reminds us to leave everything at the door, once we put that uniform on and tie that belt around our waist, we’re ready to get in to the class, making sure we’re giving it 100% to reap the rewards of that martial arts lesson.

Sarah: I guess it teaches us or shows everyone we’re committed to what we’re doing, we’re ready to have some fun and it makes sure that we’re able to do any activities that we put through in that class safely. So if we’re needed to grab or jump or run, we don’t have to worry about it getting dirty or anything like that because it’s made for it.

Hakan: Absolutely, yeah. It is quite comfortable and it is not restrictive at all. It might feel a little different wearing it at the start, but once you’re in it, you feel that special powers coming along.

Sarah: Yeah, it’s always great seeing someone in their uniform for the first time. It’s almost like before they were just pretending or trying martial arts and they walk out in their uniform and you can see, ‘hey, I’m a martial artists’ or ‘I’m a ninja’

Hakan: Especially with the younger kids. You see their faces light up once they put their uniform on and they feel like they’re superhero, whatever if it’s a ninja turtles or whatever they’re into. They really feel like that special character Superman and so on. So here at the Australian Martial Arts Academy, we have a different variety of uniforms. We have the introductory one which is the traditional white taekwondo uniform, which is my personal favourite. And that’s the uniform that we encourage while grading and training in class.

Sarah: So that uniform is what anyone from a white belt can wear and higher. We also have three other types of uniforms. We have our Leadership Program uniform. We have that Black Belt Club uniform and we have the Masters Club uniform. And so for people in the blue uniform, that’s our Leadership uniform, this the opportunity for them to showcase that they’re the people who have great leadership skills, are open to helping other people and committed to learning how to help others and possibly even being instructors one day if they want to be.

Hakan: Yes, fantastic Ms. Sarah. And we also have our black uniform for the Black Belt Club classes and in this class we do the next level of training including weapons, acrobatics, patterns and some high level kicking as well. We have our Masters Club uniform which only our black belts are eligible to wear the Masters Club uniform which is the black with the red strip down the middle. And it’s a reward for them to be able to show their dedication that have shown in order to get to that point in their training.

Sarah: Fantastic. It’s always nice when someone is able to achieve that uniform and feel like ‘I’m definitely part of the team and part of a club now that’s special’. And that’s what we really love to see from our members when they can recognise ‘I’m not just starting out. I’m doing it, I’m actually getting really good at this now.’ So I guess Hakan we need to look what happens if for some reason we can’t bring the uniform or why we can’t come in to our class.

Hakan: So yeah, it’s a great point. When training in class, you’re definitely allowed to train in the full uniform with the long sleeve, your martial arts training pants and your martial arts belt. However, we do have t-shirts that we allow our students to wear especially during the summer time. But there are some occasions, some important occasions where the full uniform is a necessity. These include special events such as tournaments, black belt practice sessions and definitely gradings or belt promotions.

Sarah: Exactly right. When you’re start to where your uniform it might be a bit tricky for you to learn how to tie the belt. That’s completely normal. So feel free to just keep on asking the instructors to show you how to tie the belt and then just practice each step at a time. It’s quite simple once you’ve got it, but learning it a first few times can be a bit tricky.

Hakan: So Ms. Sarah, sometimes we may forget part of our uniform at home. Sometimes the kids tell us that their parents forgot to wash it or it’s still hanging out the back, what do we do in that instance?

Sarah: Okay, so it’s really simple. We never want anyone not to come to class just because they forgot their belt or their parents didn’t wash their uniform or whatever the excuse might be. What we want you to do is we want you to recognise that it’s important that you wear your uniform to class. It shows unity, it shows commitment, it shows your dedication and it shows that you’re hoping to make sure that everyone else knows that you want to be there. And so when you and/or your child come in full uniform, it’s ideal. But if they don’t, all we need to do is recognise, ‘I know it’s important. I’m sorry I don’t have my uniform today. Is there a possibility I could train like this today?’ And the teacher is always going to say yes. But it is really important that acknowledgement that ‘Is it okay? Can I train without my full uniform on today?’ So you need to do that if you’ve got the t-shirt, the Club t-shirt and the pants and the belt. But if for some reason, they don’t have the correct pants, you don’t have your belt on or you’ve forgotten your top and it’s a random non-club t-shirt.

Hakan: Sorry to cut you off there Ms. Sarah. We encourage all training gear to be worn within the Australian Martial Arts supplied uniform, we provide everything here at the pro shop so everything can be purchased from here. The occasional instance may happen but be sure to be training in your martial arts outfit. Now again, it looks really, really cool and to have those different uniforms helps provide our youngsters or our students to really aim and exert as a new goal for them to achieve; being invited into the Black Belt Club class or the Leadership Elite or the Young Masters Club classes as well.

Sarah: And it’s a great way for the instructors to differentiate the difference with who’s going to which class so that’s something we want to see, everyone enjoying wearing their proper uniform and having a little pride you earn in that uniform and being part of a great academy.

Hakan: Yeah, one uniform we forgot to mention here is our Instructing Team uniform which is the people you see wearing red. And for those students that do aspire to be an instructor one day, we do have a leadership development and instructor development program within the academy that we’re always looking to develop. So all the instructors will be wearing red and feel free to approach any one of them in any point in time.

Sarah: Excellent. I hope that’s helped you understand how the uniforms work in Australian Martial Arts Academy. We’re excited to see you looking sharp and being fast in your uniforms and we look forward to seeing in your classes soon.

Hakan: Thank you guys.