Use of The Gi
Shaolin-Do schools utilize a Japanese style of belt rankings and uniform, or gi. It is said that when Grandmaster Ie ChangMing fled from China to Indonesia, he disguised his Chinese Shaolin art from the Indonesian government because of prejudice against the Chinese. Rather than abandon teaching his life's practice, Ie ChangMing adopted Japanese-style uniforms and colored belts. However, the use of the Gi, although unusual for Chinese Martial Arts in general, is not unusual for Martial Arts schools in Indonesia, Chinese or otherwise. The Japanese Gi and its belt system are an evolution of the uniform that traces its roots to the Judo Gi and further to Judo's origin of Chinese Shuai Jiao and it's uniform and ranking system.
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