As discussed in the previous article, prolonged training can create connections with the trappings and tools of that training. This is mostly discussed with the connection to the staff, but the connection to the training uniform is equally as impactful.

When we train with the staff, meditative pace or otherwise, we are focused on the actions. We steel our minds to the training, and enter into a moving meditative state. We focus on the direction and extension/collection of energy with each move. We act in a Jedi State of Being, where we are more open to the Force, and its flow. This leave an echo on the training uniform. The more often it is used again and again, the more of an echo it holds, until the uniform itself become a type of sacred garment.

The Jedi call these robes.

Now, that word conjures many images of flowing cloaks, and knee high leather boots, and some mixture of tactical and monastic accessories on a shiny leather belt. Those images are costumes from the fiction, and are very destructive to the true concept of robes. No, when I say say robes, I mean more in a sense of the warrior monks of the Shaolin Temple, or the Yamabushi of Japan. They are simple, loose, easy to move in, and understated. From novice to master, the robes of training rarely change. The monks become as much as part of their robes as the robes have become part of them.

These practices are why I have decided upon a recommended training uniform for the Jedi Staff Form. This uniform is in no way a requirement, but the experience is genuine, so if you decide to not get these robes, I would request that you dedicate some set of training clothes to the practices of the staff and other Jedi Arts, such as Forcework.

The uniform consists of the following:
-Karategi top: white, hemmed to comfort (I prefer just at the bottom of the elbow)
-Karategi pants: black, hemmed to comfort (I prefer half way up shin)
-Appropriate training footwear, if desired (I prefer barefoot for indoors, slides/sandals for outdoor training)

These choices have several reasons, which I will address:

-The karategi is a durable, yet relatively inexpensive training uniform. They are easy to get, and easy to care for.
-The kimono closure of the top, as well as the 'dark pants, light top' aesthetic echoes the costumes from the fiction.

The dark pants symbolize the Bogan, the Imbalance which all Jedi are born into, and where we all exists to some degree, even after joining the Path. The light top symbolizes the Ashla, the Balance which all Jedi strive to bring through their training, presence, and actions. The pants being dark show the origin of all Jedi being human, and thus prone to failure. The top being light shows that, imperfect we may be, the Jedi strive to be Lightbringers, and rise above our own failings through our training and connection to the Force.

There is a distinct lack of a belt, which is intentional. The belt system used in most martial art forms that employ the karategi is meant to designate rank. To connect rank to this training would be to make it a requirement for those on the Path, of which not all can participate. As such, no rank will be displayed or offered. If a belt is worn of personal preference, I would request it be white, as a symbol of the beginner's mind. Ranking also tends to feed the ego, and that is not the Jedi Way.

There is also a distinct lack of any patches or insignia, also common in many arts that employ the karategi. This system is being built for all Jedi to learn a communal skill, something to bring us together. Nothing divides groups quite like an image they do not understand or agree with.

The line between costumes and true robes has become blurred over the years, and I hope that this practice will help to redefine that divide.