You arrive at training, pull out your training uniform and dress for class. Often without much thought about the clothing you are putting on, how things are done, and why.
Understanding Chakuso in the context of Martial Arts practice will hopefully change this for you.
The Kanji
As with many of the things you will learn relating to the Japanese Martial Arts, or to Japanese culture in general, looking at the Kanji can give you a deeper insight into the subject matter.
Chakuso can be written in different ways, looking at these together gives a broader meaning than a simple translation will portray:
Chakuso (着装)when written with these Kanji (as are most commonly used in a Martial Art context) can have the meaning of putting on, or correcting attire.
着 Don, wear
装 Attire
Chakuso (着想)when written with these Kanji however, can have the meaning of a concept or idea.
着 Don, wear
想 Concept, think, idea, thought
So in the context of how this applies to our Martial Arts practice, we can consider both the literal physical meaning of ‘wearing attire,’ the conceptual ideas attached to this, and how the two are intrinsically connected.
Physical Considerations
The physical aspects relating to Chakuso centre around wearing your attire correctly, but extend out to other aspects of your appearance and bearing.
Good Hygiene
Your training uniform should kept clean for training, without any unpleasant odour.
The same applies to your body, you should be clean when attending class, with trimmed finger and toe nails. Your hair should be tied back if long.
There are practical reasons for these:
Unpleasant smells are not nice for your training partners to to experience, it can be very off-putting and may result in others being reluctant to practice with you.
In addition, an unwashed and sweaty uniform is a hotbed for bacteria, fungus, and (depending on where and how it is kept) even mould. These things can be present even when they are not visible to the eye. During practice you will come into contact with training partners, the mats in the Dojo, etc, and so will spread anything living on your clothing.
Keeping your finger nails trimmed reduces the risk of accident, both to your partner and also yourself, through scratching, breaking nails, or having them catch in clothing and tear, etc.
Keeping your hair tied back reduces the risk of accident or inury through accidental grabbing, or getting caught during practice. Also keeping your hair free from your eyes ensures you can see clearly and avoid unnecessary distractions.
Wearing correctly
When worn correctly your training uniform will look smart, which is important to your overall bearing.
Your jacket and trousers (hakama if applicable) should be tied correctly and you should have no accessories such as jewellery, watches, fit-bits, etc. Glasses may be worn, but should be secure to prevent any potential accident.
Your belt should be tied correctly.
This is important for safety of course, but there are also a number of cultural connotations to this, wearing clothing a certain way, the direction of ties, can present the idea of death, or being dressed for funeral for example.
Bearing
In addition to the clothing you wear, and your own personal hygiene, your bearing and how you carry yourself are very important in the Dojo.
You should stand/sit straight without slouching, you should not lean on the walls or lounge on the mats. You should be engaged and aware of what is going on.
As well as the image of yourself you are presenting there are again safety considerations, by standing and sitting correctly you are reducing the risk of injury by having limbs spread out. Not touching the walls avoids the risk of knocking anything down. Remaining aware reduces the risk of bumping into someone else or being in the way and getting bumped.
Now of course, during training you are likely to become dishevelled. Your clothing will become sweaty, ties may come undone, and your jacket may become untucked, etc. This is perfectly acceptable, but you should use quiet moments to correct any problems. This is normally a simple case of pulling your jacket down, or retying your belt, but may include other elements.
While watching the demonstration of the next technique being shown is a good time for this. During actual practice with a partner, anything taking longer than a few seconds should only really be done if necessary for safety to avoid taking away training time from your partner.
Conceptual Considerations
Above we have looked at the physical considerations and their practical and safety related implications. Here we will look at the conceptual aspects of Chakuso, and how with this in mind the above elements become even more important to your training.
First we have to look at the word used for your training, Keiko (稽古), and to do this properly, we have to look at the characters individually:
稽 Think, consider
古 Old, ancient
From this we have the idea of thinking of something old, so let’s look a little closer at the Kanji used for ‘Old.’
It is made up of two components:
十 Ten
口 Mouth
In simple terms the mouth element refers to speaking, or more precisely in this context passed on lessons and wisdom. Put together we have ‘the wisdom of ten generations,’ meaning those that have gone before us.
So when we are practicing in the Dojo, or performing Keiko, we are considering the wisdom of those that have gone before us. We aren’t simply training, in the lessons we learn, and the methods we use, we should be conscious of where these things have come from. Within what time period did they originate, what was the purpose, what was the mindset. We think about this and show respect for those who’s work has provided us with the arts we choose to learn.
With this additional emphasis on the concept of Keiko, it stands to reason that this will be reflected in the clothes worn for Keiko, the Keikogi. To do this we add the Kanji for Gi (着)which you may notice is the same as the Kanji listed above for Chaku, to don or wear.
As an interesting side note, I find it amusing to hear people nowadays referring to their uniforms simply as Gi. While this has now become a common term and so in a sense holds the correct meaning in modern language, you can see that in Japanese it simply means something put on or worn which could apply to any clothing really. Nothing specific to Martial Arts or the Uniforms we are all familiar with. Keiko can also be replaced with the specific arts practiced such as Judogi, Kendogi, Aikidogi, etc. In these cases the same ideas as with Keikogi apply, as a Judogi is the uniform worn for the practice of Judo, or Judo Keiko.
The idea of Keiko now being something more than simply training, Chakuso takes on an important role in your approach.
v Putting on your Keikogi signifies the separation between the outside world and your Keiko in the Dojo, preparing yourself to focus on the practice. When you don the uniform, you leave the outside world behind you. You are wearing your uniform in order to reflect on the wisdom of those who have gone before, not just putting on exercise clothes.
v Maintaining good bearing, carrying yourself well, and being presentable, shows respect to the Art being practiced, to the Dojo, to your Sensei, to your fellow students. It also shows your respect for those that have gone before.
v Doing the opposite however, projects a sense of disrespect, for the Dojo, the practice, the art, and most of all yourself. In this instance, even with great technique you can never be a great martial artist.
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