My gift is that I get great ideas. My curse is that they never arrive on time. So perhaps this post will be a little bit late for shipping, but hopefully it will inspire you in choosing gifts for karate people, for the budo-ka you love. The links will be a variety of local and international links - we may earn a small commission on Amazon links.
If there are any ideas you'd like to share, please do leave them in the comments!
Gifts for the little karate ninjas
The Adidas Evolution gi - comes pre-hemmed, so that you can get another 10cm of length out of the arms and legs before buying a new suit. (Also, kids just love wearing branded gi lol)
For the girls, a tote bag to carry their belt, mitts, gumguards, waterbottle, jacket and snacks to the dojo, and here's a gender-neutral one.
Personalised labels to stick on their karate gear, because every dojo becomes a graveyard of shoes, jackets and belts. (More of a mom gift, but they do love designing them).
A belt rack to display all their belts on (rather than them ending up in a random drawer.)
For the Serious Martial Student
Of course, we can't leave out the home training equipment! Whether you buy a makiwara (on the right here) or extra dumbells, a sledgehammer or even a heavy medicine ball, the serious home practitioner of karate will be delighted to have any extra equipment to work with.
Any one of these amazing books is a vital and fascinating study of karate, and will take pride of place on their shelf:
The Way of Kata by Lawrence A Kane & Kris Wilder
Bubishi: The Classic Manual of Combat by Patrick McCarthy
The Art of Hoju Undo by Michael Clarke
Chojun by Goran Powell
Karate-Do: My Way of Life by Gichin Funakoshi
Weaponize Your Web by Filip Swennen & Axelander
The Karate Way by Dave Lowry
Karate for Mental Health by Les Bubka
Something for Sensei
Whether you are able to train with a Sensei twice a week, or you're married to one, or you are one, there's always something we would love to buy for ourselves, but never quite manage to. Usually, we feel guilty about buying something for ourselves rather than our dojo, but even the most hardened Sensei deserves something nice. Fellow karate spouses, here's what to buy for your husband/wife who insists they don't need anything this year.
A decent thermos, to try salvage that coffee that they were drinking, and then forgot about. It's almost like we all started karate because we're ADHD.
A shiny new gi (because that other tired, frayed one really needs to go to Jesus now)
The Atomic Bear Pen for stabby fun times and signing grading certificates
My Stealth Pen goes everywhere with me now An axe-throwing or rage room session (perfect for the spouse that never uses the stuff you buy)
A personalised black belt
A sleeveless hoodie that fits over a gi jacket in winter (personalised is also nice)
A sports massage (and for a girly Sensei like me, a spa day because we would never spend the money treating ourselves or our ugly nails)
A really comfy pair of slide-ons - ideally Birkenstock (I'm biased) but anything we can take on and off at the edge of the mat makes us happy. If you have cold weather, then a shearling pair would be best! And here in the Southern hemisphere with hot Christmas weather, then flip flops are king.
And in shameless self-promotion, may we recommend our book on How To Grow Your Dojo (without selling your soul)?
Wherever you are in the world, whatever style you practice, we wish you the very best of the festive season, and hope that our list helps you out for the next time you need a gift for the budo-ka in your life.
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