In this paper, we propose a gesture recognition system to recognize motions using the shape information of MHI (Motion History Image). The system acquires MHI to provide information on motions from images with input and extracts the gradient images from such MHI for each X and Y coordinate. It extracts the shape information by applying the shape context to each gradient image and uses the extracted pattern information values as the feature values. It recognizes motions by learning and classifying the obtained feature values with a SVM (Support Vector Machine) classifier. The suggested system is able to recognize the motions for multiple people as well as to recognize the direction of movements by using the shape information of MHI. In addition, it shows a high ratio of recognition with a simple method to extract features.