Uniforms & Equipment

Beginners can wear any form of sport suits and trainer shoes, but we recommend a black karate uniform (dogi or gi) be worn to classes. This is the toughest and most practical piece of clothing to wear for martial arts practice. For the first lessons please wear a black or dark coloured sport trousers and a black or dark T-shirt: please no shorts or vests.

A belt is worn to show the personal rank: please have a look at the Ranks & Grading page for details. The top part of the uniform is a black jacket in winter or a black T-shirt (with CARISMA logo) in summer.

During some parts of training we wear trainers. Sparring activities are always done using pads: gloves, mouth guard, breast shield (for women), groin guard (for men), shin pads, foot pads. Pads guarantee the maximum possible safety during training.

The club does have a supply of gloves for use during class, however, members are encouraged to have their own equipment. The club's pads should be considered as a way for new people to try out the training without committing on a full kit starting from day one. For this reason more recent students will have priority in using the club's equipment.