Is this normal?

[AngelaG]

I agree with people that say get a good quality belt when it comes to a black belt, but I find the idea of buying an expensive kyu rank belt absurd. Once you get your black belt you 'may' not want to change it again so get a really nice one but kyu ranks come and go, why waste your money?

 

JMHO

[47MartialMan]

Is it a waste of money, or a "image thing"?

[AngelaG]

Well personally I think it is a waste of money. And how much image can you get from a top of the range orange belt (for example) anyway?

[White Warlock]

along the lines of MA tradition, it was forbidded to wash it. remember back in the day, the only color of belts were white. it went from white overtime to dirty brown to near black. it symbolized spiritual and physical growth within the art.

Wanted to respond to this.

 

As Angela indicated, this is a myth. The gi was initially undergarments worn by the Japanese, so her analogy of 'soiled' underwears is actually an appropriate one.

 

Unfortunately, many schools and instructors believe this myth and thus put 'belts' on a pedestal. A sort of symbol. But symbology is a bad thing. Your belt is there to ensure your gi doesn't flop open... that's all that it should be. Providing colors to it, to indicate to other students your ranking, can help out in ensuring elder students are respected... but it's no guarantee, nor is it truly necessary.

 

If the colors in your belt bleeds, then it is not a well-dyed product, and will likely fall apart after a few washes. Buy a quality gi, along with a quality belt, and you'll get your money's worth. Buy crap, and you get what you pay for.

 

But, don't refrain from washing your gi/belt, just because of some stupid myth that has been handed down from one ignorant instructor to another. The idea behind learning, is absorbing... growing. Giving credence to a misnomer, merely because you've been taught that way, is still giving credence to a misnomer... except now you do it without ignorance.

[47MartialMan]

Right now, I genuflect to the pale spellcaster

[AngelaG]

 

Very eloquently put WW.

[longarm25]

Nice post WW

[sapper6]

along the lines of MA tradition, it was forbidded to wash it. remember back in the day, the only color of belts were white. it went from white overtime to dirty brown to near black. it symbolized spiritual and physical growth within the art. so i guess you could say by washing your belt, you washed away your "knowledge" as well. we obviously know this to be different...

 

if you're going to quote me, quote the entire statement as to not mislead people

 

i personally don't believe that myth so i could really care less what others do with their belt. but like i said before, it's much more practical to just wash the Gi. i'll also restate for the record, we have students that have taken part in outdoor training sessions in the rain for hours on end and i have yet to see a color bleeding problem. it's all about the quality of belt you wear. but like you said, you pay for what you get.

 

let's just hope the belt is the only sub-quality item in the school, and not the material being taught

[Shane]

Young Ones,

 

Go and wash your belts and you shall learn. You shall learn all over again as you wash all of your knowledge down the drain. Hahahaha you modern martial artists hahahaha washing your belt, is it worth loosing all of your knowledge hahaha foolish mortals.

 

Oh man I'm being crazy here, just wash it or buy a better quality belt.

 

I believe it was AngelaG saying something about would you buy an expensive orange belt.

 

AngelaG come on you know you had your name embroidered on your orange belt.

[AngelaG]

AngelaG come on you know you had your name embroidered on your orange belt.

 

Did I heck!!

 

I had the moves to all my kata embroidered on mine!!