Why the Screenprinting on the Dobak Back?

[dancingalone]

Esprit de corps? Another money maker?

School owners who have this in your school, please share why you do it. If you're a student, by all means chime in and tell us if you like it or not.

[terryl965]

I do not like them for a couple of reason, I am a older TKD'ist so it is a plan uniform white is what I prefer. The next reason is money, every single tournament has rules about what can or cannot be on a uniform so to keep it simple and cost down we just do not.

[IcemanSK]

It's an optional thing for my students. Some get it, some don't. It's required on my dress dobok, so I make it available to my students. I have it on some & not on others for me.

[dancingalone]

I'm having a bit of an argument about it with the other co-head of our TKD program. He wants to come up with a group patch/emblem and also have it screen printed on the back of the dobaks.

He believes there is a unity-building quality to it. I'm inclined to skip the expense and hassle myself, but I was hoping to get some opinions weighing in FOR having it.

[jthomas1600]

I'm a student. Our school has it. I don't think it's another money maker as our dobaks don't seem to cost any more than dobaks of similar quality I see on the internet. If I had to wager my guess I'd say it's about trying to foster a sense of team spirit, school pride, school recognition....that sort of thing.

[Bruno@MT]

He believes there is a unity-building quality to it. I'm inclined to skip the expense and hassle myself, but I was hoping to get some opinions weighing in FOR having it.

We have mandatory patches on our keiko gi. They are fairly small (4 inches across) and specify our organization / dojo membership. They are mostly intended for large events to identify you.

I am personally against the use of badges. If you want to build unity, the best way is through the way you train and the manner in which you behave (respectful and polite). If those 2 are missing, then badges won't work anyway. If they aren't, then badges are not adding anything. Perhaps a small emblem to identify your students is a good idea, but the whole 'bonding' things imo should be achieved through training seriously, not goofing off and the demand for proper manners.

I've seen orgs where the emblem thing gets quite ridiculous, with emblems and large print text / names on the back, arms, and legs... almost like a cyclist renting out his body for commercial advertisements :)

[dancingalone]

I'm a student. Our school has it. I don't think it's another money maker as our dobaks don't seem to cost any more than dobaks of similar quality I see on the internet. If I had to wager my guess I'd say it's about trying to foster a sense of team spirit, school pride, school recognition....that sort of thing.

The school usually has to guarantee a certain order size like 50 uniforms or so or else they have to pay a custom screen printing fee. Since the school then sells the uniforms to their students, there's generally at least a small profit built in.

Student grade uniforms cost around $12-$16 wholesale per uniform without any customization. Don't pay attention to the retail prices you see on the internet. No school owner pays them.

I somewhat understand the school pride thing.

[d1jinx]

"Why the Screenprinting on the Dobak Back?"

Because you cant see it as well on the front!:rofl:

Also, Free Advertising. just another way to stand out of the crowd. Dont really do much in class except personalize uniforms to the school. More revenue for the instructor. Prevents other uniforms from being used there or those from being used elsewhere....

And for the record, I HAVE NOTHING ON MY DOBUK. no patches, no logos, just the Nike/Adiddas/ maker of the uniform.....

I said it before.... I like clean... new... and crisp..... old raggady gots to go.

[d1jinx]

student grade uniforms cost around $12-$16 wholesale per uniform without any customization. Don't pay attention to the retail prices you see on the internet. No school owner pays them..

$7 - 8.50 awma.

[dancingalone]

$7 - 8.50 awma.

Those are the paper thin unis, right? 5 oz. I'd rather not see everyone's business once they sweat even a little. :)

[d1jinx]

Those are the paper thin unis, right? 5 oz. I'd rather not see everyone's business once they sweat even a little. :)

not for adults or advanced students, but children who are beginners and dont know if they will be around for more than 6 months.... sure.

Kids dont need the expensive high quality uniforms when the will outgrow and destroy it quickley anyway....

I would never give an adult a 5 oz either.... but 7 oz! for a beginner.... absolutley

[Stac3y]

I dislike screen printing on gis/doboks. It always fades and looks crappy. Embroidery is okay, though. Our competition team has an embroidered logo on the back of the uniforms; it's good advertising for the school as long as your demo team people don't suck. We also have 2 mandatory patches, indicating the school and the class you train in, since we're widely distributed.

[d1jinx]

I'd rather not see everyone's business once they sweat even a little. :)
Now if Halle, Megan, Scarlet or any other super-hot woman came into learn, I would definately give them the 5 oz..... hell 3oz if the had it....:erg: they're HOT and need to keep coolhttp://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif

[dancingalone]

Now if Halle, Megan, Scarlet or any other super-hot woman came into learn, I would definately give them the 5 oz..... hell 3oz if the had it....:erg: they're HOT and need to keep coolhttp://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif

Nah. You'd never be able to finish your lesson plan.

[Gorilla]

NO screen prints but we do the "TDT" on the bottom

[IcemanSK]

If it were up to me I'd opt for a 4" patch with a school logo on it. The screen printing on the back is too much, IMO. Identifying one's school with some sort of group thing on a dobok brings unity, as others have mentioned.

[rlobrecht]

Our school has it. You're not required to buy a uniform from the school, but for almost a year we've had a promotional introductory deal where a uniform comes with 6 weeks of classes for $99, so almost everyone has a school dobok. Our school also has a black belt club with different colored doboks, which we did have to pay for. I think they were about $40.

[Manny]

I am from the old school, don't like V neck doboks so much, I would rather prefer the open gi jacket.

In my actual dojang the dobok has on the left chest side (heart) the organization/dojang patch and in the back a simbol with the name of the organization, do I like it? NO period.

For me a white karategi without any black trim and only a small patch is my way of going. Simple but neat.

Manny

[Fing Fang Foom]

Don't really mind screenprinting, BUT, think it should be mandatory for this:

http://www.asminor.info/microheroes/FinFangFoom-FinFangFour.gif

to be the picture on the back of every kung fu/karate/TKD person out there! :D :D :D

[chrispillertkd]

ITF doboks have a logo representing an evergreen tree on the back of the jacket. It is composed to the word "Taekwon-Do" in English forming an arc (the tree branches) across the back and then the Hangul for Taekwon-Do forming a vertical line underneath (the trunk).

It's a bit of an Esprit de Corps thing, as it instills a sense of cohesion amongst students.

There are uniforms that have the "tree" on the back silk screened, which looks fine but can fad with repeated washings. Many people buy doboks that have it embroidered on (and can actually have the ITF patch on front embroidered on as well). I prefer the embroidered version myself as it doesn't fade.

Pax,

Chris

[ralphmcpherson]

We all have to have a small patch on the left on the front of the uniform with the club logo. Our demo team wears uniforms with the club name written in large lettering on the back but that is understandable considering they are a demo team who attract new students to the club so its all about advertising. The demo team uniforms are available to any students who wish to purchase one and quite a few do. I see it mainly as advertising, if a student is in uniform on their way to/from class and are seen in public it just gets the name out there. Its really no different to club stickers, jackets, training bags etc which are also available.

[dortiz]

Patches ,we dont need no stinking patches.

[Msby]

I wore a completely white uniform for the first time today and I must say, I prefer the plain look over any patches or screenprinting. It made me feel more "serious" (that's the only word that comes to mind right now). But if I'm out with the rest of my classmates at a tournament or demo, I'll go get my black trimmed v-neck with our school name embroidered on the back. For that situation I feel it shows more unity, gives us more team feelings and helps us represent our dojang.

Long story short IMO
Training and practice= Plain uniform
Demo/Tournament/Anything Outside= Dojang name embroidered on back. (no screenprinting though!)

[ralphmcpherson]

I wore a completely white uniform for the first time today and I must say, I prefer the plain look over any patches or screenprinting. It made me feel more "serious" (that's the only word that comes to mind right now). But if I'm out with the rest of my classmates at a tournament or demo, I'll go get my black trimmed v-neck with our school name embroidered on the back. For that situation I feel it shows more unity, gives us more team feelings and helps us represent our dojang.

Long story short IMO
Training and practice= Plain uniform
Demo/Tournament/Anything Outside= Dojang name embroidered on back. (no screenprinting though!)I must admit I would love to try wearing a v kneck uniform. Unfortunately they are not allowed at my club and I find with the traditional style uniform I am always having to adjust it during class.

[Msby]

I must admit I would love to try wearing a v kneck uniform. Unfortunately they are not allowed at my club and I find with the traditional style uniform I am always having to adjust it during class.
funny thing that you mention that! We don't normally use open uniforms, and I always find that the v neck comes loose and requires adjusting during class! :D

[dancingalone]

I must admit I would love to try wearing a v kneck uniform. Unfortunately they are not allowed at my club and I find with the traditional style uniform I am always having to adjust it during class.


V-necks are awful for holding your sweat since they are generally a lighter weight of fabric. I wore one as a loaner once and I was dripping wet within 30 mins.

A correct fitting uniform helps alot with the adjustment problems. Make sure the 'tail' is long enough to stay under your belt even with rigorous movement and it should also be the correct width for your frame. I am fortunate and I can wear most standard uniforms, but if I had a non-standard body shape like a stocky torso, I would invest in custom-made uniforms. No doubt that it's annoying to always be fussing with your workout garb.

[ralphmcpherson]

V-necks are awful for holding your sweat since they are generally a lighter weight of fabric. I wore one as a loaner once and I was dripping wet within 30 mins.

A correct fitting uniform helps alot with the adjustment problems. Make sure the 'tail' is long enough to stay under your belt even with rigorous movement and it should also be the correct width for your frame. I am fortunate and I can wear most standard uniforms, but if I had a non-standard body shape like a stocky torso, I would invest in custom-made uniforms. No doubt that it's annoying to always be fussing with your workout garb.Cheers. Ive just purchased my first ever decnt quality uniform (a present to myself for getting my first dan) and it is heaps better, its cotton and quite heavy but it doesnt move around much at all. I got the cheap polyester one when I started and it lasted for ages and I just thought all uniforms were like that. I assumed the v-neck ones were made of the decent fabric but if not Id have all the same problems I guess.

[rlp271]

I'm not a big fan of screen printing, my background consists mostly of Okinawan Karate. While a university student though, I played for the university TKD team. We had our school names on the back to indicate which school we were from for scoring purposes, especially in forms competition. That's about the most sense I've ever been able to make out of screen printing anything on a uniform. As I was graduating, I convinced our coach to move away from the huge New York Jidokwan logo on the entire back, to just NYU on the tail.

[sfs982000]

We wear open gi jackets at our school and they have the screenprint of the school on the back. Being an ATA school we do not have the option of wearing a plain gi. We're required to have the screen print on the back of the tops with an ATA patch and school patch. They do have other patches that can be earned but it's normally only the kids that actually wear them on their unforms. Personally I don't like the screen print on the back of the gi and would prefer either having nothing on the gi or at the very least a school patch and that's it. The standard unform we get is I believe and 8 or a 10 oz student unform and after a couple of months of regular training and washing the screen print begins to fade and looks pretty terrible in my opinion. I currently own two unforms one for practice which is in pretty sad shape and another one that I wear strictly for testings. The Leadership club member's get to wear the heavier uniforms with the embroidered ATA logo information on the back.

[granfire]

those are the paper thin unis, right? 5 oz. I'd rather not see everyone's business once they sweat even a little. :)
lol

[granfire]

I'm not a big fan of screen printing, my background consists mostly of Okinawan Karate. While a university student though, I played for the university TKD team. We had our school names on the back to indicate which school we were from for scoring purposes, especially in forms competition. That's about the most sense I've ever been able to make out of screen printing anything on a uniform. As I was graduating, I convinced our coach to move away from the huge New York Jidokwan logo on the entire back, to just NYU on the tail.

So the name of the school is on the back for forms competitions?

Well, the mothership requires patches on front and back, org patches, not school, those are optional, for the right front, maybe 4 inches across.(those were fun to collect...)

Personally I don't like screen print, it fades after a few washes and gets to looking worn. But it's not a deal breaker for me.
I think team spirit is more promoted through uniform warmup wear at event than matching doboks.

[Miles]

I order plain student uniforms but the students can buy a huge (10 inch) patch that can be sewn on the back. I provide blue belts and above with a CDK patch to be worn over their heart.