The Hakama Debate: Tradition vs. Practicality
Hakama are the skirt-like pleated pants worn by higher ranking belts (usually instructors) in more traditional Japanese martial arts schools. They are worn by black belts and sometimes brown belts in Aikido and in some more traditional Jiu-jitsu schools. This seemingly innocuous piece of clothing is an identifiable topic in the ongoing debate of tradition vs. practicality.
The hakama were originally worn by the Samurai. The baggy, flowing material served to protect their legs while riding, but it is also generally accepted that they had the side benefit of disguising their stance and footwork from their opponents. The hakama also have symbolic importance, though I imagine that the significance of the pleats was added after the fact and not when the garment was originally conceived. The five front pleats are said to represent Confucian virtues valued by the Samurai:
Jin – Love and Sympathy
Gi – Truth and Justice
Rei – Courtesy
Chi – Wisdom
Shin – Faith
Nowadays, the dojos that still use hakama generally introduced when a student earns their black belt and/or becomes an instructor. And while I can appreciate their symbolism, I find that hakama interfere with instruction, for the some of the same reasons the Samurai wore them. The pants hide the instructor’s hip and leg movements often making it difficult for students to see the subtleties of their technique. Instructors often have to pull their hakama back so students can see. And you can forget about doing any ground work wearing them. Shihan Michael Seamark (in the above photo) had to remove his when teaching the ground grappling portion of his seminar at the recent Jiu-jitsu BC techincal seminar.
In my dojo, instructors wear black pants to represent the hakama. I feel this is sufficient in that it pays homage to the symbolic representation without impeding my teaching. That being said, my old Karate sensei would wear his hakama for belt gradings and important formal events. I wouldn’t mind introducing the hakama in this capacity. They really convey an air of authority, highlighting the importance of the event.
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If a hakama hides the instructor’s movement (from paying students), then the instructor has no business wearing it. Period.
An important point that often goes unsaid: some of these teachers do not actually want to teach, but only to be adored.
I think that is a great idea. I also think you should were your 3rd dan black-belt during the belt presentations. The more tradition that can be carried forward the less it will be lost in future generations.
But I also agree the hakama should not be worn during teaching.
I do feel hakama are outdated, for the same reason wearing two swords would be outdated: while practioners of the Japanese martial arts may want to emulate the customs of the past they are by definition not samurai (even Japanese themselves) since the samurai were offically abolished in the Meiji-era. Training in the martial arts is not reenactment after all so there's no need for pretending. However there are certain disciplines that still use it and for good reason. In kendo they are worn to disguise certain movements from the opponent, in iado and kenjutsu-kata they are worn for their symbolic and traditional value since the use of the sword is studied for purely historical, spiritual and cultural reasons (the sword being an obsolete and illegal weapon).
Training in the unarmed waza, assuming they are studied for other than the above-mentioned reasons, does need to be practical thus it would make sense to just wear gi-pants. Both for the reason you stated and also because it's highly unlikely you'll ever be wearing the damn thing on the street. On second thought: maybe we should make an exception for ladies who like to wear skirts since they are fairly similar.
As to respect: that an instructor earns by his expertise and behaviour on the mat, it has little if anything to do with clothing or the belt. I've seen brown belts teach much better than 7th degree black belts and if an instructor gets too full of himself he'll start caring more about himself and his image than the welfare of his students. Always respect your teacher but I'd be wary of dojo's where too much emphasis is placed on etiquette and tradition (including pompous displays of respect and glorification of the teacher of the founder) since this usually means ego has taken the place of humility and an open mind and attitude towards outsiders and students alike.