washing my belt

[White Warlock]

You should not ever wash your belt. At least thats what i am told. In the old days everyone had a white belt and the dirt and grass stains and whatever else eventually built up to make a black belt. Be proud of the stains if you ask me.

This misnomer was already corrected in an earlier post on this thread.

http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=21532&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=14

[Jay]

listern to afibird they do shrink

[unknownstyle]

leave em there theres nothing better than a thrashed white belt

[Zaine]

what are you kidding? dont wash it, my white belt had so much gunk on it that when i got promoted to a blue belt and stopped wearing it it got stiff and really hard to bend.

[24fightingchickens]

hey guys at camp my white belt got a alot of grass stains on it. so i was wandering if i should wash it with the stripes still on it or not? and any advice on washing a belt is also requested

When I trained in Japan, I learned that the other members of my club regularly washed their belts. Turns out a lot of the "never wash your belt" stuff is an urban legend that has taken root as dogma.

For one, it is my belt, not my instructor's, so whether or not I wash it is my business.

There is no reason to not wash it. Just don't wash it in the same load of laundry as your karate uniform or the color will run.

There are some good reasons to wash it, I believe. The idea that you allow sweat to build up in something over months of use without washing it is pretty disgusting.

I heard all kinds of karate myths here at home that I learned the Japanese were not very militant about - at least they weren't in my karate club in Nagoya. "Don't let your belt touch the floor" was one. There was my instructor and everyone else just throwing their belts on the floor when they changed clothes.

I think often we try too hard to be exactly like what we think the Japanese are like, but we're wrong, they are just people, and we end up being a cartoonish representation that is not at all accurate to what they are really like.

[White Warlock]

Agreed. Mimicking a culture is one of the things many Asians have indicated to me they find to be 'insulting.' Westerners often attempt to mimic the cultures of foreign lands, within the constraints of their training facilities... and many Easterners take offense to this. Some take it as a sign of respect, but since many Westerners 'get it all wrong,' the tendency is to insult rather than compliment. Also, what was stated to me, was that they 'mimic the culture' within that particular 'scene,' rather than actually incorporate it into their being. Culture is not something you visit a fast food restaurant for, it is something you are... or become.

Ah well...

[Ti]

put bleach on the grass stains and wash.

[24fightingchickens]

Agreed. Mimicking a culture is one of the things many Asians have indicated to me they find to be 'insulting.' Westerners often attempt to mimic the cultures of foreign lands, within the constraints of their training facilities... and many Easterners take offense to this.

I wouldn't worry about insulting anyone. Have you ever seen a Japanese baseball game? Ever seen them dress up like our baseball players, mimick our post-game handshakes and high-fives, which are not part of their society, or listened to them butcher the English language "Eeeett's ah Hohmah!!!"?

Asians do this to us as much as we do it to them, and its probably just human nature, I feel, that most people find exotic things interesting and want to participate in them, but they don't really want a PhD in anthropology in order to do it. I am not surprised that karate culture has so much pseudo-Japanese habits in it, from the Samurai-like sitting to the barking of commands and the Dojo Kun in Japanese (even though the person doesn't speak Japanese).

I prefer not to badly mimic another culture mostly because I just don't like to do something wrong. Other people may not care. Whatever. Live and let live.

[pineapple]

Live and let live.

Practice what you feel is right for you but don't criticize others who do things differently.

There is no right or wrong ways just different ways.

[CanuckMA]

I put my belt on the floor, if needed. I also wash it, if needed. I still train and teach very traditional Okinawan karate and practice discipline and respect. For me, having clean clothes (including my belt) is part of this discipline and respect.

Putting the belt on floor...well, there's nothing wrong with that, if the floor is clean and you need a place to put your belt for a while (when training without do-gi top, for example).

This is going back to doing whatever the instructor wants or don't want done. If the instructor wants you to wash your belt then you should wash it and if he doesn't want you to wash your belt, then you shouldn't. Doing what YOUR instructor tells you to do is practicing discipline and respect.

And of couse if your instructor told not to shower for 2 days after training, you'd do that too I'll bet.

Your instructor is deserving of respect inside the dojo. What you do to your gear and with your life after that is up to you,

Your instructor is being paid to teach a skill. He is NOT your conscience.