why do we continue to train in unusual uniforms?

You are absolutely correct in your observation. Good self-defense should mimic the typical clothing one would wear. In practice, though, wearing loose fitting clothes (dobok/gi) allows to focus on the training, but ultimately, there should be training in actual clothes.

It isn't always practical to optimally choose our clothes: some of us are constrained by the job we perform, requiring suits, ties, dresses, high heels, slippery shoes, boots, even bathing suits. Avoidance is usually the key to self-defense, but when one wears high-heels, that's a telegraph that the mark may not be able to escape easily. Bathing suits indicate the mark has no weapon (or money). Suits indicate the mark probably has money. Bathing suits and dresses are sometimes used by defense attorneys to point out that the "victim asked for it".

I don't wear bulky footwear or tight clothes; I might have to defend myself.

I get what you're trying to say, but in a good class, you're going to get sweaty, and there's a good chance your clothing will get torn. Workout clothing is necessary. Whether it's an anachronistic outfit from another culture or sweat pants and a t-shirt isn't much of a concern to me.

Yea, some guys are so comitted to the gi or what ever else. For Bjj, the Gracies say that if you can fight in a heavy uncomfortable gi then you can fight with out it. It also gets alot of traction and therefore forces you to do things technically correct. I think that it can have it's place for the second reason

I agree with everyone but have to add my two cents

Many schools teach in traditional uniforms (gis or Kum Fu outfits, etc...) There are many reasons for this. They include:

- Tradition

- Protection of your own clothes

- Protection of others (I would be upset traning with someone who is grappling with me and I have a button or zipper or even a watch digging into me and cutting me) - In a street fight that is great but not in training.

- It puts everyone on an even playing field in the room. Everyone is the same (except maybe for a ranking symbol e.g. a belt or sash or shirt logo color. It is very challenging to identify rankings if everyone is wearing something diifferent. It is also strange if the most senior or best person is wearing a tshirt and warmup pants and someone else in the room is wearing a $200 pair of jeans and a $200 shirt. Not that they are better or worse but it brings in the whole high school issue of status based on what you wear. This eliminates any possiblity of that.

This all being said I practice JKD and have attended several schools and all of them are sneakers, black warmup pants (or shorts) and a tshirt. The color of the logo on the shirt represented your ranking.

Your street clothes should not be so binding as to prevent you from moving. But we must agree that your regular clothes will not be as appropriate for fightring as your workout clothes. I wear a suit all day at work it would be silly to train in a suit. I doubt very highly I would get the same traction on the ground with my wing tip shoes that I would with my sneakers. All of this being said my martial arts skills in my uniform, in a bathing suit, in a business suit or in my pajamas should not be so wildly different and my years of training should transcend to whatever clothes I am wearing. In my dress shoes my kicks may be off somewhat but I can still through pucnhes, etc...

A correlation is my workout in the gym. In the gym I wear warmup pants and a tshirt. I can bench press 275 lbs. In my suit I am still that strong. The shirt and jacket may be contrciting and not as comfortable to lift things in BUT I am in no way the 95 LB weaking

My last point is that most people think that in a street fight you will be fighting. Most street fights last a few minutes and that is it. If it is standing it is usually only a few punches and usually ends with a knockout, a hold or someone leaving or the fight being broken up. If it turns to a ground fight it is usually not as graceful as in the MMA ending with a submission or tapping. It is somebody being pulverized until someone else breaks it up or someone is knocked out etc... I have a friend who is a police officer and he was telling me that in one of his traning sessiona he was told that if you are in fight with no rules (e.g. street fight - not MMA fight) and it lasts 30 minutes you are not fighting correctly. In the street this is not a sport and all of your skills may be demonstrated in one punch or one kick or one hold.

My two cents for what it is worth

in jj for example we use the gi not for this choke or that choke but as a tool to accomplish our goal. we use our own gi and our opponents. as you reach a certain understanding we no longer reach for a lapel or a sleeve but anything that we feel is useful. on the street we are accustomed to searching for advantages whether it be a jacket or a belt or a someone's high heel we use for attack. if we has a knife we see it quicker grab it quicker and use it to our advantage.....

the gi should be a symbol...other than that it is merely a uniform so student don't show up in pajamas...

You are a participant in an art form. It is part of a culture. How you choose to use it when not in the formal setting is up to you.

If you wear tight clothing, that is a fault of your own. Nothing you wear should bind you. It is not healthy to wear tight clothes.

Footwear is fitted to your feet according to your environment.

Speak for yourself!

I train in tracksuit / shorts, t-shirt and trainers. I often train in my work clothes, and my casual clothes because that's what I would be wearing when the proverbial hits.

I very much agree with Sensei Scandal's answer.

Not everyone trains in those uniforms. I myself always train in my regular clothes at the dojo I go to (which is a JKA dojo, by the way). Although, my sensei always suggests I at least try to buy gi from someplace, haha.

So if u get beat up in the street its because of the clothes ur wearing and not because of the quality of ur training?

even in my street clothing i can still kick to the head, if i chose to.

when training you need to move more freely and not be bound up by your clothing unless you want to rip you clothing while training or cause injury to yourself.

when you lift weights to you wear tight binding clothing that prevents you movement. in football soccer baseball they all were clothing they can move in and not something that prevents there movement so why should karate be different.