As part of the opening ceremonies to the 2000 European Championships held in Wroclaw, Poland, dozens of young children wearing blue, black, red, yellow and green gis ran onto the floor and quickly formed the five Olympic rings. Into each ring stepped one of great Polish European, World, or Olympic champions. Each then proceeded to randori with the children in his group. It was an unforgettable, colorful ceremony that to this day still resonates in me.

While the Wimbledon Tennis Championships still clings to “white only” outfits for participants, Judo is not far behind in its love of traditions and dislike of color. Sure, we now have blue uniforms, which is a good start, but we should think about doing more for several reasons.

Like it or not, we must develop a Judo industry that enables judokas to earn a living teaching Judo and selling Judo products. Once we develop additional streams of revenue for judoplayers, more of them will make Judo their profession, and Judo will grow. Unfortunately, most Judo coaches have little to sell; a gi every 1-2 years and a few $6 belts perhaps twice a year per student. Contrast that to all the sparring gear, weapons, and team uniforms that the striking arts require. It’s easy to see that the average Judo coach is hampered by a lack of moneymaking opportunities. Like it or not, color sells, and not everyone likes blue. And keep in mind that what sells helps keep the dojo doors open.

For years, the Europeans have allowed colorful gis in their team championships. Jimmy Pedro’s Abensberg Judo team wore black and yellow gis. Another team had red and black gis. While team competition may not be big in the U.S., mostly for lack of clubs with large enough student population to have teams, there is much to be said for Judo adopting team/club colors, like every other team sport does. In team sports, teams typically have a home and an away jersey, and sometimes a third combination to prevent a clash with the opponents’ uniform. For Judo competition, we could retain the white gi for the white side, but allow for any color combination on the blue side Online Pokies. That would retain the need for differentiating the competitors to aid the referees, while developing a team visual for the spectators and athletes.

Abensberg Judo Team Gi

Even if color is not allowed in official competition, color could be used to encourage kids, and perhaps even adults, to remain in the sport. I know it sounds silly, but this simple vehicle is a great way to create extrinsic motivation for promotions, tournament participation, tournament performance, demonstration teams, etc. Years ago, I rewarded my national champions by instituting the wearing of a red, white and blue braid at the end of their pant leg. It was a discrete use of color, and no more intrusive than the shoulder stripes worn on current gis. Eventually, referees objected to them, and I was forced to discard the idea.

I’ve talked to several gi distributors about expanding the range of colored uniforms. They are in favor. It’s good for business, and I think it would be good for Judo. The new gi manufacturing standards, which allow for increased chemical fibers such as nylon and polyester, will help with color retention. Shoulder seams allow for sleeves to be one color, while the body is another. Pants can sport stripes, or they can be one color, while the jacket is another color. There are ways to be colorful, while not being gaudy.

I know that emotions can run wild when discussing colored gis. There’s a current thread in the JudoForum that exemplifies this sometimes irrational dislike for color with religious-like invocations of Kano and the Kodokan. I don’t know what Kano would have thought about colored gis, nor do I care. We already know that the Kodokan has fits when it comes to the blue gi, so my guess is that an additional color, or combination of colors, would be considered taboo too.

The Kodokan has problems. So do we. What we are doing today isn’t working very well. I’m all for traditions, but not if they drag Judo into irrelevance or oblivion. I’m willing to step outside the box to see if we can better our collective lot. Maybe a dash of color can help.

(polls)