THE SEVEN PLEATS OF THE HAKAMA AND THERE MEANING
Traditionally in our school – as in many other schools – you do not wear a Hakama until you have reached the grade of Shodan, and this is after many years of training and going through the grading syllabus.
To reach this level is not just ticking boxes as you pass each grade, and when you are allowed to take your black belt grading it is just not how technically correct your techniques are, it is about you the person and can you meet the requirements of a the Hakama and what it stands for.
The Hakama has seven pleats and they symbolise the seven virtues of Budo. The seven are jin, gi, rei, chi, shin, chu, koh.
Jin; Benevolence Morally excellent people have a character made-up of virtues valued as good. They are honest, respectful, courageous, forgiving, and kind, for example kind and fair. or good will, are terms indicating a charitable disposition to do good in regard to others, and to act with genuinely compassionate and kind considerations of their needs and desires. It is embraced as a vitally important ethical virtue in most human societies, religions, philosophies and cultures.
Gi; Honour or justice Honour means doing what you believe to be right and being confident that you have done what is right. to feel you must do something because it is morally right, even if you do not want to do it:
Rei; Courtesy Courtesy is all about using your good manners, which is why it shares roots with the word courteous. The definition of courtesy is polite behavior and the showing of
Chi; Wisdom, intelligence Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence and non-attachment, and virtues such as ethics and benevolence. is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. sense, common sense, judgment, wisdom mean ability to reach intelligent . ntelligence come by birth. It is the ‘ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills’. Wisdom come by age and experience. ‘Quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement; the quality of being wise’
Shin; Sincerity Sincerity is the quality of being honest, true and real. An example of sincerity is a person who really means everything that he promises. Sincerity is a mix of seriousness and honesty. If you do things with sincerity, people will trust you. Along with patience and compassion, sincerity is one of those qualities we all probably wish we had more of — and wish other people had more of, too. People who show sincerity are being serious, kind, and truthful.
Chu; Loyalty . On a more personal level, loyalty stands for commitment and dedication to another allowing respect and trust to flourish. Loyalty is important in both business and our personal lives. … Loyalty is valuable because it allows us to take the risk of predicting the actions and behavior of people we trust.31 . r quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or obligations.
Koh; Piety
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