Uniform

Judoka (Judo practitioners) wear white cotton uniforms called Judogi (which means Judo uniform in Japanese) for practicing Judo. This judogi was created at the Kodokan and similar uniforms were later adopted by many other martial arts. The judogi consists of white cotton drawstring pants and a white quilted cotton jacket fastened by a coloured belt indicative of kyu or dan rank. The jacket is intended to withstand the stresses of throwing and grappling, and is as a result much thicker than that of a karategi. Before competition, a blue judogi is assigned to one judoka per match for ease of distinction by judges and referee. In some matches, when there are not enough blue judogis availible, one judoka may be given a coloured sash or alternately coloured belt to differentiate them from the other.