How to soften a new obi?

[chiliphil1]

Hello everyone, I just received my new deluxe belt I ordered from century and this thing is stiff! I've never seen a belt so resilient to being tied! Are there any tricks you guys and girls have found to "break in" a new belt quickly? This one is cotton if it makes a difference. Thank you in advance.

[Lupin1]

My brown belt had a lot of trouble softening up. Some people will just say "train in it!", which is all well and good and great advice, but I've had the thing for over two years and it just finally decided to stay tied for more than five minutes at a time (and that's with doing some softening tricks).

1. Wash it in cold water alone

2. Twist it up while it's still wet. Twist is as much as you can one way, then twist it the other way, then back and forth a few times. Roll it, knot it, kink it-- just work it. Heck, I even put mine on the concrete floor of our garage and pounded it with a hammer repeatedly to try to soften it up (it didn't hurt it, but softened it just a bit-- still not as much as I needed it to).

3. Let it hang dry for a day

4. When it's dry, if you have a bed headboard or something sturdy you can wrap it around (a pole or a post outside, even), wrap it around that and like, saw back and forth with it so it gets nice and warm and pliant. This is the trick that finally started softening up my belt.

5. If it still won't stay tied, while you're sitting around watching TV or what not, just tie it, untie it, roll it, twist it, kink it, etc. (Bonus-- it's a great workout for your hands!)

6. Repeat steps 1-4 after a few weeks if you have to.

[chiliphil1]

My brown belt had a lot of trouble softening up. Some people will just say "train in it!", which is all well and good and great advice, but I've had the thing for over two years and it just finally decided to stay tied for more than five minutes at a time (and that's with doing some softening tricks).

1. Wash it in cold water alone

2. Twist it up while it's still wet. Twist is as much as you can one way, then twist it the other way, then back and forth a few times. Roll it, knot it, kink it-- just work it. Heck, I even put mine on the concrete floor of our garage and pounded it with a hammer repeatedly to try to soften it up (it didn't hurt it, but softened it just a bit-- still not as much as I needed it to).

3. Let it hang dry for a day

4. When it's dry, if you have a bed headboard or something sturdy you can wrap it around (a pole or a post outside, even), wrap it around that and like, saw back and forth with it so it gets nice and warm and pliant. This is the trick that finally started softening up my belt.

5. If it still won't stay tied, while you're sitting around watching TV or what not, just tie it, untie it, roll it, twist it, kink it, etc. (Bonus-- it's a great workout for your hands!)

6. Repeat steps 1-4 after a few weeks if you have to.

Thank you, I will try all of that. My wife is really going to think I am crazy now!

[quinteros1963]

tie it even when you are not wearing it and keep it tied.

[Wastelander]

When I got my black belt, it was pretty stiff and didn't want to stay tied. Every time I wore it, I would loosen the knot and then yank it tight, again, which helped it break in.

[sensei8]

Wear it!!

[IcemanSK]

Wear it!!

Nice!.....And quite true.