Hygiene in the Dojo

[singularity6]

Every place where I practiced Martial Arts had strict policies about hygiene. Yet every place had some offender who had stinky uniforms, unkempt nails or dirty hands/feet. I am well aware that one can be stinky AFTER training (especially if someone is wearing polyester underclothes, as I've tried ONCE.) But these cases tend to be before training, too.

Has this been consistent elsewhere?

[Lupin1]

For the kids we try to tell them to keep everything clean, but they're kids and don't have much control over it. We're just happy if they have their complete uniform that day (and often times they don't). I'm still trying to convince them to let the kids wear all black gis as their white ones usually end up discolored after just a few months, but my instructors still go for tradition over practicality. I have a feeling they'll change their minds in the next few years.

For the adults, it runs the gamut. At one end of the spectrum, one of our instructors is a Korean guy who runs a dry cleaning business and his gi is always an immaculate, shining white and pressed. On the other end we have a guy who crumples his gi up and throws it in his bag and doesn't take it out until he puts it on again the next class. His once white top is now something between yellow and brown. He also like to eat smelly food right before he comes to class and it's hit or miss if he's washed his socks. No one likes working with him.

Most of us are somewhere in between. I never wear a gi twice without washing it, but I don't dry clean and press it. I make sure my nails are trimmed, but I don't scrape the dirt from under them before every class. I try to either brush my teeth or chew some gum right before class and I wash my hands right before going into class. I also put on a fresh swipe of deodorant right before leaving the house.

I'm not meticulous or anything, but I think I uphold a certain standard of cleanliness. I wouldn't mind working with me.

[singularity6]

Yeah, I always wash, hang-dry and properly fold my uniform. Pressing usually isn't necessary, as I bet the wrinkles out before hanging it to dry (unless I'm testing, in which case I'll drag an iron over it.)

I'll shower once per day through most of the year. Hot summer days get 2 showers. My nails are also always neatly cut. I also buzz my head once a week. Deodorant is good, but body sprays seem to smell like urinal bricks to me, so I avoid them.

We have one guy who smells bad as soon as he hits the floor. I get what you mean about kids... Their uniforms are always interesting. Instructors will make them wash hands/feet, and will lecture about trimming nails. Usually more than a few times per kid.

[Nidan Melbourne]

It isn't overly consistent at my dojo, but we do try and educate our students that they should practice good hygiene to prevent spread of infection etc.

But I am picky with Fingernails and General Hygiene with my students, and have sent people home for poor hygiene before class has even started. And those I sent home smelt BAD, and you could tell that they didn't think about others.

I wash my gi's after each usage, but depends on what i've done as well. If I wore it for 1 hour and did very little I might stretch it out to a 2nd day for usage.

So I've washed both my gi's that i've worn this week, and will most likely take both with me tomorrow to the Dojo. As I am going to teach for a couple of classes, then will be going to the new dojo to assist with a Grading.

[Lupin1]

I get what you mean about kids... Their uniforms are always interesting. Instructors will make them wash hands/feet, and will lecture about trimming nails. Usually more than a few times per kid.

Most of our kids are low income and many bounce around between two houses, so making sure laundry gets done and they have all the pieces to their uniform at each class can be challenging. Most of them also come straight there after school, so they have to remember to pack up their uniform in the morning. They forget a lot. I'd love to try to enforce "you must have your entire uniform every class", but it would just be so difficult it's not really worth it.

If I end up teaching a separate beginners' class or class for younger kids, I may just take their uniforms home after class every night and wash them myself. That way I can ensure they have all their uniform pieces and they're clean at every class at least until they move to the intermediate class.

For the hygiene part, since most of them go straight there after school and then run around the club playing games for a few hours before karate, they tend to already be sweaty and stinky and gross by the time they come up to class.

[mushybees]

I'm a plumber so a shower immediately after work is a must. I don't do particularly dirty work but it happens anyway. For similar reasons my nails are always trimmed short and do get scraped and cleaned with a nail brush every day.

If we're sparring or doing a lot of kihon my gi will get a wash. If we're only doing lower intensity partner work I can wear it twice. Doesn't happen often though.

There are a couple in class who dont abide by the hygiene rules. One is a guy in his 20s who is developmentally challenged. He has very long finger and toe nails and sometimes his gi isn't clean. It's not pleasant but the adult males tend to alternate partnering him.

It has been brought to the instructors attention but there hasnt been much improvement.

Every one else pretty much police each other. Told a guy to cut his talons once when he scratched my foot with his long toenails. Said in good humour of course but he got the message.

[singularity6]

I get what you mean about kids... Their uniforms are always interesting. Instructors will make them wash hands/feet, and will lecture about trimming nails. Usually more than a few times per kid.

Most of our kids are low income and many bounce around between two houses, so making sure laundry gets done and they have all the pieces to their uniform at each class can be challenging. Most of them also come straight there after school, so they have to remember to pack up their uniform in the morning. They forget a lot. I'd love to try to enforce "you must have your entire uniform every class", but it would just be so difficult it's not really worth it.

If I end up teaching a separate beginners' class or class for younger kids, I may just take their uniforms home after class every night and wash them myself. That way I can ensure they have all their uniform pieces and they're clean at every class at least until they move to the intermediate class.

For the hygiene part, since most of them go straight there after school and then run around the club playing games for a few hours before karate, they tend to already be sweaty and stinky and gross by the time they come up to class.

We have very similar issues up where I live (Michigan's Upper Peninsula.) One of our instructors will wash uniforms, as well.

Kids are definitely different than adults. My primary beef is with adults who have all their mental faculties in check. One thing I hate most is when the stinkiest person insists on demonstrating headlocks (almost every class... )