Washing your obi/belt?

[Jussi Häkkinen]

The tradition of not washing belts started because the old days belts did not have ranks. They were just white and just to hold the gi together. Eventually you could almost tell the skill of person by seeing how dirty their belt was, indicating the amount of time they practiced. I think that nowdays people put to much worth into belts and their color. My current style uses no belts and we are better for it.

 

Common, although widespread, legend. Doesn't hold water. Jigoro kano made black belt (not dirty belt) to be the mark of his more experienced students. Later, other colours were added to system.

 

Japan was - and still is - a society that is pretty obsessed with cleanliness. Having your belt so incredibly dirty (and smelly) that it would show outwards as a dark colour - even black - would just be no-no in that society.

 

Washing belt to fray it (instead of cleaning purposes) is, of course, silly. Funniest thing is that while it may impress some kids and lower grade students, higher grade students won't really even recognize it (they just watch how one performs) and visitors will just think that one with a frayed belt is a poor fellow who cannot afford to buy a new belt.

[karatekid1975]

Arrrggg!!! I had to wash my belt for the second time since I got it. I was carrying my stuff (uniform included) and dropped my belt in a muddy puddle. So yea, if it gets dirty or smelly, I do wash it, but not to purposely fray it.

 

Like Grenadier said, washing it in the gentle cycle when needed isn't doing it harm (but don't throw it in the dryer. It will shrink .... depending on the fabric ..... I learned the hard way LOL).

 

I used to follow the "tradition" of not washing belts, but that faded when it got dirty (I'm a very clean person ... my clothes and body HAVE to be clean if all possible, and I'm not Japanese LOL).

[mindsedgeblade]

It's a tradition in my school also. When you first get your belt, the BB that first taught you will usually say not to wash it. No superstition intended.

 

I haven't had to wash a belt yet. They just don't get that dirty for me. My gi and hand wraps on the other hand catch a lot of sweat. Lol- i just let my gi air dry for the first time, because I was tired of all the static. I finally had time to let it dry for a couple days before I needed it. It's sooo much softer now, and doesn't puff up as much. The sleeves don't snap anymore when I punch tho

[unknownstyle]

dont wash it

[Zaine]

yeah why would you want to wash it?

[Jussi Häkkinen]

yeah why would you want to wash it?

Because if you sweat to your belt for ages it will start to smell. If you stain your belt it won't look tidy. Etc. There are many reasons to wash your clothes. They all apply to your karate belt as well.

[Pacificshore]

When I made black belt way back when, it was our tradition that once your belt is on, you could not remove it for 24hrs. That meant it got "washed" in a sense when you bathed. That was the only time my belt got wet, or if we had beach training. It does suck to walk around with a wet ring around your mid-section tho

[Zaine]

Jussi, do you realize that in some systems to some masters to wash your belt would be an insult, i dont think you should wash your belt cause its not going to get "stinky" there is really no point to wash your belt, it gets all nice and comfatable when you dont and when you wash it it can kind of stiffen,

[Zaine]

Oh yeah and with the creation of the belts and how they were clean, yeah totally wrong, the belt would start out as white, ther turn green from the grass, the when the grass all went away from trains so much they would train and the belt would turn brown from the dirt, then, after awhile, it would turn black , and thats how people got te belts

[Jussi Häkkinen]

Jussi, do you realize that in some systems to some masters to wash your belt would be an insult

Yes. However, they don't need to know it. You don't need to wash your belt in front of them.

i dont think you should wash your belt cause its not going to get "stinky" there is really no point to wash your belt, it gets all nice and comfatable when you dont and when you wash it it can kind of stiffen,

I've washed gazillion colour belts and they did not stiffen (at all, thanks to the starch being washed out - they actually softened). I don't wash my black ones by myself, they're a tad bit too expensive for that (and I don't want them to shrunk), so when they begin to have a little stench, I take them to laundry for chemical cleaning.

Overkill? For some, maybe. For me, it's just a matter of being clean. Of course, if a belt is dirty and frayed, I may as well throw it away and buy a new one.