Doboks or no Doboks in hot weather or physically demanding lessons?? lets debate.

My opinion is;

That t's our dobok that gives us our identity and is designed to instil pride in the practice if Taekwon-Do whilst worn. Maybe it's just me being petty, but it really gets under my skin the amount of people who think the dobok is a hindrance to their training.

 

I've never worn a dubok, but I can relate with my gi. I didn't used to wear my gi top on hot summer days but I do now. Now that I have a nicer thick one it breathes better, and as an instructor I feel it's important to look the part.

 

I'm of the opinion that some traditions should not be followed because they are (imo) stupid.

At my new class they train in a T-shirt with the dobok trousers on. I just wear shorts and a T-shirt (Haven't got my training gear yet)

 

If you begin in taekwon-Do you are in most cases these days supplied with a free dobok and belt. If that is the uniform then accept it and adapt to exercising in it. in 25 years ive never not wanted to wear my dobok in training. im interested to find out why this has become abnormal

 

I always felt the dobok was a bit too light for cold days training so came into it's own on hot weather days, but then I came from a karate background, and now suffer the heat in a judogi which is the hottest I've ever been (and not in a good way).

 

I really enjoy the formal uniform (dobok) nd find the WTF style v-neck to be great in warm weather.

On the Combat Hapkido side, we wear doboks but have also allowed a great deal of flexibility (it's more of a self defense focus, so street clothes are more acceptable). Commonly, many students will wear dobok pants and a teeshirt (with the Combat Hapkido crest on it) - looks good and is a nice alternative uniform. If I know we will be doing clothing grabs or such the following week, I ask people to wear a formal top (or to bring one).

In the really hot weather, we had some TKDists who asked about teeshirts, so we got some with the association crest on them and they are very popular in the dead heat of summer (especially in sparring sessions).

So, long story short, I love the dobok and expect students to wear one most of the time. I don't mind an association teeshirt either... beyond that though, if you've ben a student longer than a month, you should have a proper formal uniform (an later can get an association teeshirt for occasional wear).

 

I never really enjoyed the feel of a dobok (or gi in karate). If it's going to be used for grappling, like in judo, great. But for a pure striking art, I'm a much bigger fan of simple modern athletic gear. It's far easier to keep clean (none of this "wash on cold, air dry only" stuff), far cheaper to replace if it gets stained or damaged ($50 of Nike athletic clothes intead of a $200 "authentic" dobok or gi), and more comfortable to move around in.

 

What will happen one day in your Judo class, you start to wear T-shirt instead of your Judo Gi. If you wear 3 for $10 T-shirt, there won't be much to "pull". What will you replace your Gi-pulling with?

 

Nobody is saying a gi is bad for judo or BJJ. This thread is in the taekwondo section, and in TKD a dobok's only purposes are aesthetics and tradition.

 

In my Kyokushin class we will wear a dogi regardless of the ambient temperature as it is thin anyway and in cold weather we just move more! In my last Jujitsu session we were permitted to train in T-shirts and gi bottoms due to the weight of the Judo gi and the fact it was around 30deg.

Bottom line IMO is that it is the instructors call.

Osu!

Dan93

 

Just for clarification, the club wears a full Dobok for formal events like gradings and competitions. I have no problem with that. But in this heat I'd rather wear T-shirt and shorts

 

I'm with Bassai and Frodo. The "uniform" in it's origin is in fact the OPPOSITE of smart. A gi is the Edo equivalent of long johns or shorts and T-shirt. It's not a uniform, it's stuff you don't mind sweating and rolling in. It's another of those false traditions we were talking about in another thread.
Certainly with my school I've ditched the mandarin tops in favour of T-shirts and at the moment I'm allowing shorts. If the demographic of my class was different I might have people wearing board shorts anyway.

 

If people want to wear t-shirts I'd make sure I did a couple of weeks worth of collar chokes and lapel throws.
See how long their t-shirts last.

These days I view a gi or dobok as a piece of equipment rather than a "uniform".
Like some pads or a kick shield.
A dobok is (or should be) something that can be grabbed, pulled, controlled etc.
Just like your day-to-day clothing will/can be in a fight or SD situation.
And as such should allow you to train in that way.

Now the flip side of that is that if your uniform can't be grabbed, pulled or controlled without ripping or getting destroyed then it's not really serving as a useful piece of equipment IMHO.
It's just some formal bit of clothing. Might as well be dressed as a Beafeater or Evzone.
And as far as I can see most TKD doboks aren't very useful as a piece of equipment in that way.
A sewn v neck will just rip, thin material will come apart at the seams.

So while I can see the use of a proper training gi or dobok (like the ones Mitch has at his club) I can't see much use in a lightweight, v-neck TKD dobok when all you'll be doing in it is kicking and punching.

 

What, the background of ripping off Shotokan wholesale