Advice for Washing Your Gi

Funkiness!

For those who haven’t had the opportunity to join us on Thursday mornings at 5:30, there is something special about the smell of our dojo in the morning after a vigorous summertime Wednesday evening double feature. And by special, I mean funky!
Harmony can take many forms and sometimes it takes the form of a clean gi. Among martial artists, cleaning methods are a mix of voodoo and chemistry. If you search the internet you’ll find suggestions ranging from “only dry your gi under moonlight” to “bleach it till it glows”.

A middle of the road method that many aikidoka recommend is to first soak your gi in warm water with some Borax or Oxyclean. I have a “gi bucket” (a plastic 3 gallon bucket I picked up at Oly Hardware a few years ago). Fill it up with enough water that your gi can be covered with water and mix in the detergent. The sooner after using your gi that you can start the soaking the better. Use your judgement about the soaking but soaking it longer than overnight is probably not useful.

After you feel that it’s soaked long enough, run it through a sturdy wash cycle using your regular laundry detergent. Once it’s washed, air drying it is the best approach. This avoids shrinking, saves energy, and if it’s sunny out can add some ultraviolet light to reduce some of the bacteria that create the questionable gi funkiness described above.

Budo

Budo is known to most American martial artists as “the Way of the Warrior”. For many Aikidoka, reconciling the ideas of warriors and promoting peace can be a struggle. By taking a step back we can reframe these seemingly opposed ideas. Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido began developing a martial art that built on a rich martial tradition while reorienting the techniques and purpose of the previous martial practices to build peace and harmony. As the practice that became Aikido emerged, O Sensei initially called it “Aiki-Budo” and in 1938 published a book titled “Budo”.
Budo is an interesting choice of brands for an emerging martial art. The specific word translates to english as “to set the spear aside” or “stop the fighting”, perhaps even to “create peace”. Bringing this to the point, Budo also meant something particular to O Sensei. Something different then other terms for fighting arts that he could have chosen. In his descriptions, this term conveyed a way of being and acting. In his words Budo is “a way of life dedicated to peace and enlightened action”. As students of Aikido, we have many reasons that we enjoy our practice. These are all good and valid reasons for showing up and participating in this art and while we all move down our path it is sometimes useful to reflect on the values that our practice is built on.

Misogi Harai

Misogi Harai means polishing the dust off of the mirror. This past month, Aikido Olympia hosted promotional demonstrations. It was wonderful to come together as a community and participate in this event (and the “snackluck” that followed). And, as with many Aikido practices, there are many layers to this activity. It is easy to view promotional demonstrations as a way showing our community what skills have been learned or showcasing many months of practice. At another level, these events are very personal and much more a form of ukemi, or putting yourself out there, extending energy, and accepting the outcomes. Those participating in the demonstrations, have to take one more step toward polishing the dust off of their mirror and learning more about themselves.