Loooonnnnggg Belts

[Thatboyjim]

Hi there

Just getting back into karate again after 7-8 years out. I'm not a small person, 6-5 and 25 stone. I've always had trouble with the lengths of belts.

Can anyone recommend any where I can get extra extra long belts?

Many thanks in advance.

James

[joesteph]

Hi there

I'm not a small person, 6-5 and 25 stone. . . .

Can anyone recommend any where I can get extra extra long belts?

Welcome to Karate Forums, James!

I multiplied 14 times 25 for US pounds, so you're a big guy. I'm assuming you've started at a dojo/dojang already, so I'd think that your instructor could get you what you need. I'm not tall, but with my build it's best to have one size gi/dobak, and the next size up for the belt.

Let me ask you . . . Do you wash the belt? Many people don't, as it invites shrinkage. I've been successful with handwashing a belt, then letting it air dry, as the dryer will just shrink it. I did that when I took Tae Kwon Do in the past, and the belt stayed clean with virtually no shrinkage. (You could tell who put his or her belt in the dryer by the difficulty they had in tying it, the belt had shrunk so much.)

[Thatboyjim]

Thanks for the reply. I've not actually started again yet, looking for a club in my area.

I was thinking about whether it is possible to not wrap the belt around twice and cut it down in length a bit... does this go against any kind of etiquette in karate?

[joesteph]

I was thinking about whether it is possible to not wrap the belt around twice . . .

There are some belts being sold now that you wrap around once, but their length will be the same as the double-wrap.

If a person is large and the attire is limited to fit the wearer, I think that an accommodation would be made by a reasonable instructor. Have you tried with just once around, Jim? Perhaps if you can show it to be neat, the instructor will just accept it as the sensible thing to do.

[Tiger1962]

Try Eosin Panther (Google it online) - several people have recommended them to me.

[K Williams]

http://www.kataaro.com/karate-belt-size-calculator.htm

http://www.kataaro.com/Departments/Belts.aspx

http://www.eosinpanther.com/cgi-bin/catalogue.cgi

[JohnASE]

I was thinking about whether it is possible to not wrap the belt around twice and cut it down in length a bit... does this go against any kind of etiquette in karate?

I know several instructors that have ordered belts for their students to use this way. I think I heard somewhere that this was bad form, but most instructors seem flexible.

Some companies will sew two shorter belts together to make a longer one. This leaves a noticeable seam in the center, but it should be covered by the knot. Of course, this costs more than a regular belt, but it's not too bad.

Since you use Stone for weight, I assume you're not in the US, so I can't recommend anyone to you. Sorry.