Leafing through a martial arts magazine one day, I came across the vilest clothing ensemble I have ever seen: a uniform created after the fashion of the United States flag. Stars, stripes, it was all there. I believe the worst part about the picture, and what causes it to remain in my mind, is the fact that the gentleman wearing the uniform was performing a high sidekick. His position, most, unfortunately, allowed me to see that while the pants of the uniform were mostly red and white, a field of blue with white stars had been used to create the crotch. I still have nightmares.

Fortunately for everyone involved in martial arts, this monstrosity is the exception rather than the rule. Martial arts uniforms are usually rather austere and simple ensembles that allow the wearer maximum movement and comfort. There is, of course, a wide variety of martial arts out there, and the name of the uniform varies not only by language but my martial style. In karate, it is referred to as judo in aikido, as a judo gi in the danrho kano, as a "dobok," and so on.

Many of these uniforms are very similar in appearance, consisting of loose, usually cotton pants with an elastic or drawstring waist. The pants extend to the ankles and hang there, with no elastic. The upper article of clothing comes to the bottom of the hips and wraps around the body like a robe; the sleeves usually come to the wrists. The wrapped garment is secured with ties at both sides and with a belt, also of cotton, the color of which signifies the rank of the wearer.

While most martial arts uniforms of this description are white, black is also relatively common. In some schools, once a student reaches the level of 1st dan black belt, he or she is permitted to wear a black uniform or one with black edging. In the United States, it is common for the name and logo of a specific martial arts school to be imprinted on the back of the uniform. This is especially true of those schools that compete in tournaments.

One notable exception to the uniforms described above is the clothing often used by practitioners of tai chi chuan and kung fu. These outfits can be made of cotton, but silk is often used as well. They can be of almost any color imaginable. The pants are not dissimilar from those described above. The top, however, is characterized by frog buttons that often extend from neck to hem. Additionally, the top usually has a traditional Chinese-style collar, similar to what one would see on a cheongsam.

Global judo apparel market is anticipated to witness an exponential growth in the forecast period. Factors such as growing awareness regarding health, increasing fitness activities, increasing participation of women in sports and fitness activities, and improving living standards in the developing countries such as India and China are likely to drive the market in the forthcoming period. On the other hand, accessibility to low quality and counterfeit products are anticipated to hinder the market growth in the future.

The market is anticipated to expand at a significant CAGR in the upcoming period as the scope, product types, and its applications are increasing across the globe. Judo apparel is segmented by product type, type, application, distribution channel, and geography. The market is segmented by product type as judo belts, judo pants, judo jackets, judo kata equipment training, and judogi wear.

Get Sample Copy of this Report @

https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/judo-apparel-market/request-sample

Based on the type, the judo apparel market is segmented by women, men, and kids. The “kids” segment accounts for a prominent share in the market. It is likely to witness substantial growth in the years to come. The key applications include “professional” and “amateur”. The “professional” segment accounts for a prominent share in the market. It is likely to witness substantial growth in the years to come. The market is segmented by distribution channel as online and offline. The “offline” segment accounts for a major share in the market.

North America is a leading region in the market. It is likely to maintain its dominance in the forecast period owing to factors such as increasing demand and rising health concern among the population. North America is followed by the Asia-Pacific region. Key players operating in the judo apparel market include Mizuno, KuSakura, Adidas, ProForce, Decathlon, Piranha Gear, American Apparel and FUJI Sports. The leading companies are involved in partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures in order to boost the inorganic growth of the industry.

Browse Related Category Market Reports @

https://www.millioninsights.com/industry/sporting-foods-and-equipment

A YOUNG judo fighter who dreams of competing in the Paralympics has been hailed an ‘inspiration’ by a leading blind charity.

Caitlin Leigh, who has glaucoma and is registered blind, competes against fully-sighted youngsters and recently scored her first victory.

The 10-year-old, of Leopold Way, Blackburn, took up the sport five years ago after struggling to take part in ball-based sports and her mum is delighted by the huge confidence boost it has given her.

Claire, 32, said: “In judo you are grabbing hold of people pretty much the whole time so it’s much better suited for her.

“She’s absolutely loved it and was over the moon when she won her first fight. We’d been to about five tournaments and she had tears in her eyes and ran over to her dad and gave him a big hug.

“The great thing about it is she’s not treated any differently and she’s made some great friends.

“We took her to see the judo at the Paralympics in London last year and that just fuelled it even more. It’s her ultimate goal to compete at the games one day.”

Caitlin, a pupil at St James Primary School in Lower Darwen, has no vision in her left eye, and her right eye is extremely short sighted. She reads braille and uses a cane to walk.

She first tried the sport at a taster session run by the Action for Blind People Actionnaires Club in Blackburn and enjoyed it so much she joined Beach Judo Club in Westbury Gardens as well as Shadsworth Judo Club. She trains twice a week and now competes regularly, recently achieving her orange belt.

The order of grades generally sees fighters progress from orange to green, blue and brown before black.

Janet Beale, a support coordinator at Action for Blind People, said: “Caitlin is an absolute inspiration to other youngsters with sight problems.

“She’s been a regular at our sessions and doesn’t seem to let anything get in her way. We gave her the confidence to try something different and that’s what it’s all about. Blindness shouldn’t be a barrier to taking part in sport.”

Sean Oldfield is revolutionizing the mortgage industry with innovative equity loans company, Castle Trust.

Sean Oldfield is a glutton for punishment. In 2002, he gave up a lucrative career in banking to pursue a grueling judo career.

He travelled around Europe on his motorbike, training in different judo clubs, with the aim of competing in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The Australian, who has been living in the UK for the past 12 years, represented his home country at the Canadian and US opens.

After two years on the road, however, he realized he would never be a world champion.

“I started training at 19, which is very late,” he explained. “Most guys start when they are three. I realized that if I made it to the Olympics, I would probably get knocked out in the first round and end up penniless.”

Mr. Oldfield cut his losses and returned to Macquarie Bank, where he stayed for a further four years. But his desire to take on a new challenge then took him to Moscow, where a burgeoning financial services industry was taking hold.

“I was interested in the mortgage market out there,” he said. “People were trying to buy their homes out of the communist regime. Previously, people had only been able to buy their homes if they had cash. The transfers were literally made with cash, too – big briefcases of the stuff.”

Mr Oldfield set about starting a company but soon attracted heat from the local gangsters. “I ended up getting shot at,” he said. “In Moscow, you need to buy protection when you start a business. The Russian word for it is 'krysha’, which means roof.

“If you don’t have the right protection, either you die or your business dies.”

A local cartel offered its “roof” to Mr. Oldfield in the very early days of his start-up. He refused, saying that he didn’t believe they would do the job very well. “They shot at me to prove that they would have been just fine at their job,” said Mr. Oldfield.

Rather than return to Macquarie, cap in hand, Mr. Oldfield decided to come back to the UK, take stock and work on an innovative new business model that he’d been turning around in his mind for years.

“I have a personal interest in the mortgage system,” he said. “When I was 11 years old, interest rates in Australia went from single digits to 18pc. My mum was a high school math teacher and, as a single mum, really struggled to make her interest payments every month.”

Mr Oldfield remembers sitting in his local bank manager’s office with his mother, pleading for more time to pay.

In June 2008, he began fleshing out an idea for a two-pronged business, one side of which was an equity loans provider and the other an investment product linked to the national housing index. He called the business Castle Trust.

The idea was to “recycle” money between the two businesses so that those who had money to invest could get a return based on house prices, while those who needed finance could unlock the value of their homes with minimal risk.

Mr Oldfield explained: “Unlike traditional mortgages, with equity loans there are no monthly payments. We will lend up to 20pc of the value of the house. If the house doesn’t increase in value, you just pay us back the original principle. If it goes up in value, we take a 40pc share of the growth.”

If the house depreciates in value, Castle Trust shares in the fall; on a house worth 10pc less, you pay back 10pc less.

The model doesn’t replace the old-fashioned mortgage but raises cash for those who cannot secure finance in the usual way. Castle Trust’s services have been used by divorcing couples who want to buy a second home without taking out a further mortgage on the first. Entrepreneurs also use the model, to raise cash for their start-ups, but the biggest markets are “bank-of-mum-and-dad” customers who want to help their children get on the housing ladder. The buy-to-let market is also growing fast.

Getting Castle Trust off the ground has been Mr. Oldfield’s greatest challenge to date. “It took four and a half years from creating the concept to signing our first customer,” he said. “2008 was the worst time to try to raise money for a new business with the financial crisis.”

It took more than two years for Mr. Oldfield to secure a £65m investment from private equity firm JC Flowers. “Raising that kind of money for a business that only exists on a PowerPoint presentation, when you’re working from your lounge, is really tough,” he said.

Castle Trust is the first business of its kind in the world. The investment side of the business is based on UK house prices, and the Land Registry only released comprehensive data on transactions in early 2008. It cost £15m just to get the company off the ground with all the required regulation. “You wouldn’t believe the red tape you face as a brand new financial services business,” said Mr Oldfield.

Consumers can invest through their Isa or direct with Castle Trust. The company is now one year old and employs 30 staff. It is chaired by Callum McCarthy, former chairman of the Financial Services Authority. Deirdre Hutton, former chair of the National Consumer Council, and ex-environment minister Lord Deben are also on the board. “They’ve had faith in the business from the beginning,” said Mr. Oldfield.

Castle Trust has been boosted by the Government’s Help to Buy scheme. “It has an equity loan built in just like ours,” explained Mr. Oldfield, who credits his judo training for getting him through the tough start-up of the business.

“During that time, I got married and had my first son,” he said.

“I didn’t get my first pay cheque till he was one. Once every couple of months I would think, 'I should just go and get a job’.

“But I never gave up. I was patient through necessity. It takes a huge amount of tenacity and drive to knock down walls that seem impenetrable but now we’ve reached the tipping point.

“I was behind the curve with judo but I’m way ahead of the curve with Castle Trust.”

SINGAPORE: Singapore's 34th and final gold medal at the Myanmar Southeast Asian (SEA) Games was won by judoka Ho Han Boon.

He took the gold in the men's over-100kg category.

The hulking 188-kg athlete wants to continue his winning ways at the 2015 Games, which will be hosted by Singapore.

Ho defeated Thailand's Saknarin Kaewpakdee in the first bout of the round-robin tournament before overcoming Malaysia's Abdul Razak in the final.

The medal means a lot to the 24-year old, especially as it was his SEA Games debut.

But Ho admits it won't be an easy task to repeat his win when Singapore plays host in 2015.

He said: "The pressure is there, especially it (2015 SEA Games) is in the home ground, and opponents now they know what I am going to do. Maybe in 2015, I got to change my way of doing it, change of styles and throws."

The 1.92m tall giant already knows where he needs to improve if he wants another shot at gold.

One key factor will be to reduce his weight by at least 20kg for better stability and stamina.

Ho had trained in Mongolia before the Myanmar competition, and hopes he could get another trip there prior to 2015.

The Singapore Judo Federation (SJF) has already assembled a squad of about 40 athletes to prepare for the next SEA Games, and some of them have already started training.

The Federation is looking at fielding up to 20 athletes across 18 events when Singapore plays host.

SJF is optimistic that at least five or six of the judokas will reach the finals, with a few of them in with a realistic chance of clinching gold.

Steven Loh, vice president of SJF, said: "Get a big squad early, and we will keep training because you cannot depend on one weight and have one person for 18 months, and then a month before that he gets injured. So we have a few people within the same weight category, and we will send them out for regional competition, which is very important for qualifying and for gaining experience."

On the coaching front, local coach Low Chee Kiong will continue to train the squad.

He had replaced Korean Coach Jeon Ki Young, who resigned in August 2013.

The Federation has confirmed Singapore Expo Halls 1 and 2 as the competition venue for the 2015 SEA Games.

The halls will be able to hold up to 2,000 spectators. A pre SEA Games tournament will be held to test the venue and as a final tune-up for the organizers.