Taking the stiffness out of a black belt

[equaninimus]

The problem with "Tokkaido quality" is that it has deteriorated over the last ten years, while the prices have increased. I doubt that I will ever buy another Tokkaido.

[wado_lee]

what do you recomend as an alternative or should i say improvement

[equaninimus]

I don't know. Toyo seems equally expensive, Ki appears to have gone out of business, and Shureido is for the independently wealthy! I just ordered another Meijin. A size six, with name embroidery was just $115.00 with s&h.

[aefibird]

Meijin gi's are one of my favourite sorts.

 

I'm a bit of a 'gi magnet' - people seem to give them to me, so I have lots of second hand ones as well as ones i've bought myself. Hmm, maybe I've got 'hard up charity case' written on my forehead, but I can't see it.

 

Anyway, the Meijin gi's are good and I still think Tokaido make good gi's, even if they have gone downhill a little recently. Japan Martial Arts (trading as Blitz in the UK) do their own range, which I find really good for everyday dojo wear.

 

I wouldn't recommend a Hayashi gi. The one I own is very small in size (it's supposed to be a size 4, but it's more like a 3 or even a 2.5) and it also streches into a very wierd shape after washing.

 

For people in the UK who just want a cheap gi, then Playwell.com do their own range - very cheap but still good quality.

[wado_lee]

im not really one for cheap gi's i like the quality but i am quite picky the last 4 have been tokaido but i feel like a change but must be at least the same quality

[tsukimaster]

Over the years I've seen students do everything from washing their belts three or four times a day until it hung properly, others have soaked their belt in woolite for a few hours, and one student who worked in a bakery said that he wore his belt into the humidity room where bread is kept. The moisture made it sag in a few minutes. But as mentioned by many others here, the best advice is to train in it. Prematurely relaxing the belt is something akin to adding rank stripes unjustly.

[Killer Miller]

Yeah,

 

Wear it, train in it, until it turns white... Now, that's something to brag and be proud about!!!

 

Don't wash, don't wear out pre-maturely...

 

Congrats on the Shodan. Now you will start learning...

 

- Killer Miller -

Hi there.

 

Having recently passed my shodan grading, I am the proud owner of a brand new Kamae silk over hessian black belt.

 

Problem is, when I wear this it is as though the belt has taken viagara and so do you have any tips on how to "soften" belt rigidity and thus make it more wearable / knotable?