Once upon a time, I wore pajamas to work.
Standing in front of a roomful of people.
Speaking as an authority.
Wearing pajamas.
Okay fine. Not pajamas. Technically, I was wearing a traditional Kung Fu suit made of silk. If you’re not sure what these look like – think pajamas, and you’re 96% there.
Here’s a picture of me wearing pajamas back in 2008:
Why I Started
Before I talk about why I stopped wearing traditional kung fu clothing, let me talk about why I started in the first place.
I started because my Kung Fu master told me to.
It’s that simple.
He wore them, and once I became his chief representative in the U.S., he told me to do the same. I was extremely dutiful back then.
Now I’m done with all that. I’m done being dutiful. I’m done with anachronistic traditions. I’m done doing things simply because someone told me to do it.
And I’m definitely done wearing pajamas.
Karate Pajamas vs. Kung Fu Pajamas
In my Karate days, I wore a traditional white Karate suit (called a gi) and a belt (called an obi).
Different than a Kung Fu suit, but still basically pajamas.
However, there is one major difference in the Karate world: EVERYONE wears pajamas.
Pajamas are the official uniform in Karate.
When I switched to Kung Fu (including Tai Chi), it was different.
There was no dress code. There were no belts.
No one asked me to wear a uniform (until I became a teacher, that is).
And I liked this change!
I had become disillusioned with the belt system in Karate, and also the military-like structure.
Kung Fu appealed to me precisely because of the lack of belts and the lack of uniforms.
In retrospect, I see that it is ironic that I never wore a Kung Fu uniform until I started teaching. (Actually, I originally taught in an athletic shirt, but then switched after my former master scolded me.)
Sifu Clark Kent
You know, I always thought it was ridiculous that no one recognized Clark Kent. A pair of glasses and a different hair style? Really? That’s all it takes?
Turns out it’s true.
You don’t need much to go invisible.
Years ago, I was at the farmer’s market in my “civvies”. Browsing the produce, a student literally bumped into me.
“Sorry,” he said with a tone that sound more like, “move it, buddy”.
And then I waited it for it.
It usually takes about 5 seconds.
The look of recognition, followed by:
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry Sifu! I didn’t recognize you!”
I live in a small college town, and this happened to me on a regular basis for years.
Wearing a polo shirt and jeans, I might as well have been Clark Kent.
Public vs. Private
Why was I wearing pajamas to work, and polo shirts everywhere else?
Something about that never sat right with me.
There’s an old zen saying that you should act in private the way you do in public, and vice versa.
That statement was in the back of my mind, but I ignored it.
When I divorced my master, I began to reexamine all of the traditions I had inherited.
It’s my mission to bring Qigong and Tai Chi into the 21st century, so I need to be absolutely clear about which traditions I keep, and which I ignore.
For example, the tradition of feeling gratitude toward the art itself – that’s a gem. I’ll keep that.
The pajamas, however – they can go.
They are already gone. I’ve been teaching in polo shirts for nearly 2 years.
And guess what?
It turns out I can teach perfectly well in a polo shirt. Who knew!?!
Master Shifu
Some students want to learn tai chi from a robe-wearing, parable-dropping old monk from a Shaw Brothers Kung Fu movie.
That’s just not me.
Because sometimes, there’s just no other way to express the majesty of tai chi. This shit is amazing.
The Importance of Being Me
I’ve learned that it’s critical for me to be myself.
It’s better for you. It’s better for me.
Why this is better for you: Students often have unrealistic expectations about Kung Fu and Tai Chi teachers. Wearing pajamas just feeds those fantasies. Wearing a regular shirt forces students to look below the surface, and that’s a good thing.
Why this is better for me: I pride myself on being a man of integrity. Wearing the traditional suits always felt disingenuous to me.
Full Circle
Here’s the funny thing. I’ve got lots of old black and white photos of my teacher’s teacher, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam.
In most of them, he’s wearing a cotton t-shirt.
No pajamas for him!
See, tradition is a funny thing. A lot of my ex-classmates wear silk suits because…tradition!
So if I start wearing sleeveless, white t-shirts like my Sigung (my teacher’s teacher), am I somehow more traditional than them?
Wear What You Like
If you are a teacher, and you still wear traditional suits, I can respect that. If it works for you, then great!
All I know is that it doesn’t work for me.
What I wear while teaching might not seem like a big deal, but it is. To me, it is symbolic.
My mission is to bring these ancient arts into the 21st century. I think I can do that better while wearing 21st century clothing.
Now I’d love to hear from you. What do you think of the traditional pajamas? From the heart, Sifu Anthony
Totally agree with you!!! No pajamas! I also wear polo type shirt and yoga pants. My students tell me it makes them feel comfortable knowing I am a regular person rather than an traditional teacher. Most of my students are seniors and have been around the block a time or two, they are more interested in content of the lessons.
I agree 100%. Nothing inherently wrong with the silk uniforms, if that’s what people want to wear and teach in, but they’re not necessary and should not be confused with what’s important in a teacher.
I agree on the silk pajama! They are not for me, either.
However, I like to wear my own kind of uniform to training. It is like a ritual – getting out of everyday clothes and into my Tai Chi clothes (wide pants, socks, Tai Chi shoes, shirt).
Occasionally I train in my everyday clothes. If I feel I want to spend some extra minutes on training or when outside. Then you see me in tights and a dress – works well, too!
Tee shirt and sweat pants work for me. Thank you Sifu for your example.
One of the cases for wearing the “traditional” garments is that they are loose fitting, which is much more comfortable than skinny jeans, and your movements can look more “flowy & showy” because the loose silk drapes over and hides the sharper angles of the joints.
Another reason for wearing uniforms also gives a sense of belonging to the group, and more aesthetically pleasing to others happen to be visiting/watching, so it’s good for marketing your school.
Those are totally valid reasons, Jeff. In my case, a uniform made me feel separate from the group. My clients wear regular clothes, so I was standing there in a uniform all by myself.As for marketing — it’s valid reason, but I think it depends who you are marketing to. Many of my clients would be turned off by traditional uniforms.
I also don’t usually wear the “traditional” clothings unless it’s for competitions or demonstrations. The main thing is to wear something more loose-fitting and comfortable while in motion. Yoga pants for women are OK, but it lacks the flow look, or I am still too old school in my standard of aesthetics for martial arts.
Someone argued if you can’t wear your usual street clothings it’s not realistic when you have to use the martial arts on the streets. That’s true to a point, but Tai Chi has a lot of wide movements that allows you to stretch your body, tighter jeans or clothings limit that, and you’re limited in the benefits of the practices.
As for “traditions”, the current styles of the “pajamas” as you called them with the buttons on the front are influenced from Mongolian-ruled “Qing (Ching)” dynasty (1644-1912 AD), but Tai Chi started in the beginning of Ming dynasty (1368-1644) or even the near end of the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) depending on the version of Tai Chi history you believe. At those older dynasties the buttons are none, or few and only under the armpits on the sides to hold the flaps together if no sash. left for men, right for women. So the real older “traditional” garments would even be more bathrobe-like than pajama-like.
There was for maybe 5 years or so in the last decade, where mainland China’s Wu Shu competitions went thru a dramatic fashion change to design and wear hybrid garments with the Ming dynasty style that has almost no buttons, with a touch of modern dry-fit fabrics. I wasn’t a big fan of the look, but that fashion style has been more varied in the most recent years.
Concern over aesthetics has no place in arts that are actually martial. Healing either, come to think of it. Beauty standards always – always – pervert function. Function begets its own beauty. Simply, don’t worry how you look.
As for ease of movement, I firmly believe that to be a health and self defense consideration. If your clothes bind you, don’t wear them. You should be able to walk, run, squat, fall and climb in whatever you wear.
Well said. For the students that were attracted to Tai Chi to feel more comfortable in their own skin, to become stronger, more flexible and more present (in all senses of the words), a uniform would be intimidating.
I could easily feel as though my sifu was so much greater than me by nature of the presentation, and I could easily feel a fraud for wearing one myself!
Image certainly isn’t everything, but the subtle energy of “equal footing”, like wearing common clothing, can be potent and balancing in my opinion.
Jill, I think you are on to something. When I wore traditional silk, students saw me as “other”, as something different than them. I prefer to be on equal footing. The only thing that sets me apart is years of practice.
GREAT article!–on a topic I’ve recently thought a lot about. I just attended a tai chi workshop where the trainers wore homely, baggy golf shirts. It was difficult to see how their bodies moved, especially the dan tien area.
So I began to think about the different uniforms for martial and other somatic arts and sports. Does form follow function or fashion? It seems there is different de rigeur dress for Shao Lin kung fu, tai ji, yoga, Zumba, cycling, running, court sports, and my main sport, horseback riding. And guess what–you could theoretically, and comfortably, do any of those things in one outfit. (Footwear is more specialized from a sports medicine standpoint, however, as I was reminded when I tried White Crane Spreads Its Wings in my Skechers.)
From the age of 5 I took dancing lessons in Danskins. Anyone remember those? So last month I bought Danskins–a leotard and yoga-type pants–to teach in. I went to Michael’s and bought some sticky material to make a circle for my lower abdomen and dots for my joints (like for blue screen special FX video) to show movements when I teach. Voilà! Dan Tien Skins.
And, with a presto change-o to riding boots, I can hop on my horse straight from tai ji.
Hi Beverly. Thanks for the thoughtful response. The uniforms for Shaolin Kung Fu and Tai Chi tend to be the same, except for the monks robes. But I think it’s true that some clothing makes it harder to see the lines of correct form. Many students have told me that they actually prefer my fitted polo shirts because they can see my structure more clearly, something that’s harder to do with baggy traditional clothing.
Sifu, I come from a corporate then commercial real estate world where much is taught about the “proper first impression” but found a leaders words and actions are vastly more important than moderately comfortable dress. This statement leads me to comment on your cursing. I do not believe any situation short of hitting ones finger with a hammer is appropriate for a leader to lower himself to foul mouthed followers.
Tom J, Lake Placid
Hi Tom. I actually agree with you about first impressions. They matter. I just don’t think that a traditional suit is necessary to make a good first impression.
As for cursing, we’ll have to agree to disagree. I totally understand where you are coming from. Your generation has a different perspective on swearing, and I respect that. In fact, I respect it so much that I’ve kept my potty mouth shut for years.
But I’m not being true to myself when I do that. Please also understand that my generation hears swearing in a much different way. I’m not lowering myself when I curse. I’m just being honest, and using the most appropriate word in my vocabulary.
Actually, I still wear pajamas to work every day. But we call them “scrubs”. 🙂
I’m a very lazy guy, so if I was a teacher, I’d probably prefer the pajamas. Then I can wear them to bed after class. Or maybe that’s gross!
No. Seriously. Before discovering qigong, I was very much into zen, precisely because it seemed more authentic to me than other religions (which doesn’t mean “better”). I always had the impression that zen teachers didn’t care about traditions that didn’t have a direct relation to the practice. It was pretty much: meditation, meditation, meditation.
If we are talking about an art that is supposed to be all about simplicity in all areas of life, I think clothing shouldn’t mean all that much, unless it really adds something to the practice.
I once read that zen monks usually wear their robes because dressing as a Buddhist monk made them act like a Buddhist monk. Meaning they were more focused on teaching/meditating, etc when they were dressed like that. I think that’s a good point. But other than that, one should teach and practice qigong in a way that feels comfortable.
So, yeah. There goes the opinion of someone who’s never even learned from a teacher, haha.
Yup. I’d drop the titles too.
Hey Paul. Good to see you here. I’ve been considering dropping the title for a long time. We had a lively discussion in the Flowing Zen Facebook group.
I’ll blog more about this soon. I hope you’ll participate in what is sure to be an interesting discussion.
you’re also the shit, Sifu. love this message.
Hey Anthony, you’ve raised many good points and the suggestion to drop the “Sifu” title is also important. The issues behind this discussion are about finding value and relevance in keeping the traditions that you choose.
As for titles, the only time I have asked my students to call me “Sifu” is in front of my teacher out of respect for him and his values. A few just call me Sifu because that’s how they feel, and that is cool too (actually that is really cool, coz they chose to and it wasn’t because they were told to). Being “Sifu Anthony” for many years, then just dropping it, is more likely to shift things for some of your students, much more than sending your pyjamas to the Thrift shop. You might be the one wearing the silks but your students also own your moniker, as part of their relationship with you.
Love this article Sifu. I wear the same clothes teaching as I do during most any other activity. Work style pants from tractor supply, a weather appropriate shirt, and black military type jump boots.
I do my best to integrate Taiji into every aspect of my life so when I buy a pair of pants I make sure they fit correctly. This allows me to be free to move as necessary, regardless of the material or style of pants. Too tight or loose = not Taiji.
I laughed when I saw the old black and white photo. Lousi wears the sleeveless white t-shirts all the time. He also will wear polo shirts with jogging pants or similar. Basically he doesn’t care about clothes as long as the postures can be executed.
I remember studying with you. I’m better equipped now to understand what I was feeling and experiencing back then but, even as a complete noob, I knew you were different, and connected in a way that I wanted to be a part of. You inspired me to want to teach one day.
All this took place while you wore pajamas. I’m glad you stopped though. Thanks for continuing to be an inspiration. We should never resist change.
Thank you for this, Quinn.
Also, I love to fuckin’ swear. There are definitely generational lines drawn around this issue but I have fond memories of my Scottish great grandma MacKenzie swearing like a sailor. My WW2 war hero grandpa did the same.
Look at me now! Ha-ha.
great article.
I’ve been on a Buddhist retreat a few times ,and the ‘lama’ prefers to be called Rodney’, and wears regular clothes. The monk who leads the chanting ,ring the gong etc, is very traditional, fully robed and insists on every formality being observed.
The ‘lama’ doesn’t want to elevated, as he already knows he has the Dzogchen ‘view’ ,and doesn’t think it should be a big deal. But those of us still seeking, yern for it to be some big deal, that we must bow before , venerate and make some kind of religion out of, when really it is just being aware of the ever present , boundless reality.
I think this illustrates your point about bringing these practises into the modern world, no religion, no unnecessary baggage, just concsiously aligning ourselves with the reality in a simple practical way.
Hello Sifu, please tell me we do not all have to wear Spandex?. I remember Pyjama Parties, Great!. As students,and human beings, we need a leader so the ;uniform’ is part of this Image which demands our respect. As for Titles, I call myself a QI-gong Disciple., I will never need another. If you no longer need your pyjamas, may I have them?
Just wanted to say that it’s refreshing to see an article like this. I remember seeing a picture of my uncle’s Sifu (he did kung fu). It looked very much like your teacher’s teacher! My uncle also told me one of the first things his Sifu had told him was that he did not give out “belts” for progress. Much like you though, I’ve always felt that if that (or wearing a uniform) floated one’s boat, then that was perfectly fine. To each their own. I often literally do qigong in my pajamas because I do it first thing in the morning! But if I happen to be out in the forest, I’m doing qigong in jeans and a tshirt. The qigong is the important part, not the clothing 😉
It’s refreshing to read a comment like this Thank you! Also, the story about practicing in your pajamas is perfect. You made me chuckle.
Sifu, You looked like Andre Agassi in that pajamas photo.haha
Your story reminds me of religions. Look at how Popes are dressed and how Jesus was portrayed in paintings. Once formality sets in, there goes the essence and pristine nature of
the original teachings. Dee
Andrew Agassi is my doppleganger!
Shorts and a golf shirt here. . You gotta be comfortable. What you where has no bearing on what you know or teach.
I do know why I would like a silk shirt with long sleeves and a silk trousers, instead of a short sleeve polo and a bermuda: I prefer exercising in the garden, and since we had a lot more heat and mosquito’s this year, I was literally attacked by a bunch of young females still licking my blood. So I still ask myself: shall I buy silk?
I think you’re right Shifu. I go with the statement of “there’s a time and season to all things” and maybe if you’re doing a “show” or some kind of presentation it might be the courteous thing to wear the traditional suit. I call you Shifu because I feel like saying Anthony is a bit off. It feels more respectful to call you Shifu. I feel I honor both you as a teacher of this art and the culture who created it by doing so. If we were to be become close friends then maybe that would change. I either sometimes call my teacher Shifu or his name. I did say “Sifu” to him once and he corrected me with the Mandarin version of the term. Out of respect for that I switched to “Shifu” and have been more apt to use it. With Bruce Lee I try to say “Sifu” since he spoke Cantonese. I also do that to show I have some knowledge of the man and the tradition he came from. So I go by what I feel is the most courteous thing is to do or say. Thanks again for sharing.
Shifu is Mandarain and Sifu is Cantonese. I use Sifu simply because that’s what most of my teachers used.
Whether or not to use the title is an ongoing debate. A few years ago I considered tossing it entirely, but I started a debate among my students. They were split evenly, with half wanting me to toss it, and half wanting me to keep it.
These days, some people call me Anthony, so call me Sifu, and a few brave souls call me Big Tony.
It does make me feel a bit “Bruce Lee/Kung Fu/ Hai yah!” to wear the traditional clothes, but yeah when your students aren’t Asian… and well you yourself aren’t either it makes more sense to keep things as down to earth as possible. It’s not a magic class at Hogwarts.
The funny thing is that kung fu students in Asia rarely wore kung fu suits for training. Pictures of my grand-teacher typically show him in a white t-shirt. The same for his students.
My take on this topic is simply …. dress comfortably. Not to impress but simply be ourselves. If I felt that I had to wear a “uniform” i.e. “pajamas” then I probably would comply as it is my tendency to go along with the flow. However, I much prefer having the freedom to choose my attire for qigong practice with focus on the practice rather than clothing style.