Belt: to wash or not to wash? [Archive]

Rogier

25th October 2004, 06:14

yeah... indeed.. bad smell

I've never really understood the reasons for not washing it. It's a piece of your outfit and as you sometimes do tend to sweat a lot during practice your belt will get soaked as well.

Wash it, it's the most sensible thing to do.

If your belt starts falling apart go out and buy a new one. It's unbelievable that you see some people walking around with a belt that they've been wearing for 10 years and it's all threads..

Liam Cognet

25th October 2004, 07:19

Wash belt? Never!

Why? Bad luck. Same reason footballers wear dirty socks before an important match. Also I've heard it washes away part of your training as your soul is 'in' your belt.

Do I have a real reason? No. It's just the way I've always operated. My white belt which I've been wearing for the last 3ish years is starting to turn a nice brown/yellow colour. It's one hella cumfy belt tho.

Chuck.Gordon

25th October 2004, 09:46

Wash it.

Not washing it is a budo myth, perpetuated ad nauseum.

The alleged progression from white to black through ingrained grime, blood, etc, is a myth, nothing but a myth, and is STILL a myth.

Wash it. Please ...

Curious, who told you not to?

Chuck

Rogier

25th October 2004, 10:43

Originally posted by Liam Cognet
Do I have a real reason? No. It's just the way I've always operated. My white belt which I've been wearing for the last 3ish years is starting to turn a nice brown/yellow colour. It's one hella cumfy belt tho.

Excuse me for saying so, but that is stupid and disgusting..

MikeWilliams

25th October 2004, 11:57

Bleccch. Wash it, you skanky smelly troglodytes.

:)

Amir

25th October 2004, 14:09

I don't wash the belt. My reason is quite simple, when I washed it, the color went all over the other cloths (I no longer use a white belt)...

I haven’t noticed any accumulation of dirt, nor does it smell, when it will, I will wash it.

So, no philosophical reasons, just practicality.

Amir

Alina Freire

25th October 2004, 15:11

I also wash it because it needs to.

I have been told by several classmates in my dojo and in my former dojo (I have never asked to any high ranking person though) that I should not wash it because "the energy will go away".

Since my belt is brown, I usually wash it with my other colored clothes in order to avoid staining the rest of my white uniform.

Cheers! Alina.

Mekugi

25th October 2004, 15:41

Wash that stanky piece of cloth. The only energy you are getting rid of is bacteria.

If it wears out, get a new one...wash it too.

Mekugi

25th October 2004, 15:45

Note to self: send Liam Lysol.

Originally posted by Liam Cognet
Wash belt? Never!

Why? Bad luck. Same reason footballers wear dirty socks before an important match. Also I've heard it washes away part of your training as your soul is 'in' your belt.

Do I have a real reason? No. It's just the way I've always operated. My white belt which I've been wearing for the last 3ish years is starting to turn a nice brown/yellow colour. It's one hella cumfy belt tho.

Jock Armstrong

26th October 2004, 07:23

We don't wash our belts but we do air them. They don't smell. By the way me old Mekugi, how's things after the storms and quakes- everything OK?

kaitenage

26th October 2004, 19:16

I have always washed mine, since I tend to perspire, and it just makes sense.

Regarding the myth- I believe it is no longer in existence, but there used to be a website called "24fightingchickens", and the author had spent several years in Japan, studying martial arts. He used his experience there debunk a number of "myths", one of which was that belts should not be washed... I believe that he ended up replacing his belt, because other students noticed the, uhm, smell from the one that he had worn for so long without washing.

I MISS the 24fightingchickens...

CEB

26th October 2004, 19:31

legends ,myths, traditions, etc.... whatever you want to call it often have some sort of basis. I have wondered about this one.

I washed a kaku obi once. Ruined the damn thing. It was not worth a hoot for holding a sword after that. I always wondered if the two concepts are related.

FWIW I always suggest first thing everybody does is wash a brand new karate obi. I have seen some batch not be color fast and when people sweat the color runs all over theor uniform.

EIEIO

Rogier

26th October 2004, 20:58

Originally posted by CEB
FWIW I always suggest first thing everybody does is wash a brand new karate obi. I have seen some batch not be color fast and when people sweat the color runs all over theor uniform.

EIEIO

You could have told me that earlier.... when I received my first black belt I started using it without washing it first... Darn thing made a large part of my dogi black :D

johnst_nhb

26th October 2004, 21:05

After 10 days training in Okinawa in '99 (August) my buddy and I decided we had to wash the belts for obvious reasons. We let them soak by themselves for about 30 minutes before running them through the cycle. after just the soaking, the water was the color of tea and it was not from the pigment.

wash the d**n belt-that b.s. about not washing it is a myth.

kaitenage

27th October 2004, 00:53

Rogier, you are supposed to wear the belt around your waist... in which case, you should have a nice black/gray stripe around the jacket. :-D

Rogier

27th October 2004, 06:28

Originally posted by kaitenage
Rogier, you are supposed to wear the belt around your waist... in which case, you should have a nice black/gray stripe around the jacket. :-D

it turned out our organization gave out really cheap belts... The sweat moved the black colour all around :D

kaitenage

27th October 2004, 19:36

Originally posted by Rogier
it turned out our organization gave out really cheap belts... The sweat moved the black colour all around :D

I do believe that would be what we call "wicking." Do you still have that gi? :-D

Rogier

28th October 2004, 06:58

Originally posted by kaitenage
I do believe that would be what we call "wicking." Do you still have that gi? :-D

cheap belt... cheap dye... After washing it was gone. But I recently had to throw the dogi away because it was falling apart.

kaitenage

28th October 2004, 11:49

Originally posted by Rogier
cheap belt... cheap dye... After washing it was gone. But I recently had to throw the dogi away because it was falling apart.

I have had a few dogi (dogis?) that have had to be "recycled"- they were just beyond repair. Happily, I have never had a belt that ran in the wash like that. Blue jeans, now there's another story.

Mekugi

29th October 2004, 19:03

One of my old Uwagi now has the privilege of being a diapers for my daughter. :) It still serves me well!

Originally posted by kaitenage
I have had a few dogi (dogis?) that have had to be "recycled"- they were just beyond repair. Happily, I have never had a belt that ran in the wash like that. Blue jeans, now there's another story.

opencircle

29th October 2004, 23:04

my instructer always told me to never wash a belt, it will wear the color out.

Brian C Conrad

Neil Yamamoto

29th October 2004, 23:14

My sensei told me not to wipe my butt, it will take away my chi.

Ever since then, no one wants to practice with me.

Wash your obi. If you don't wash it because some one tells you it will take away the spirit, energy, etc... Then I have some koolaid and a pair of kitchen shears to cut off knobbly bits from your body before the spaceships come to take you away.

Sing along with me now

Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me, lads...

TomW

29th October 2004, 23:27

"Sing along with me now

Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me, lads..."

uh-oh, Neil's been hittin' the scotch again:D :D

Tom Wharton

MarkF

31st October 2004, 06:05

Originally posted by TomW
"Sing along with me now

Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me, lads..."

uh-oh, Neil's been hittin' the scotch again:D :D

Tom Wharton

You mean there was a time Neil didn't?

Mark

dojo

31st October 2004, 13:31

Although I', aware of these stories, I've always seen them as myths and have been washing my belt whenever it looked like it should be washed. Some coleagues believe in this, some not. I guess it's up to us to chose a way to do things.
I consider my belt as a normal piece of my equipment. It symbolise my work and rank, but it is still a belt. It's in my uniform. I wash my gi, so I think it's ok to wash my belt too ;)

Rogier

31st October 2004, 18:01

Originally posted by dojo
I wash my gi, so I think it's ok to wash my belt too ;)

As long as you don't wash your socks you're okay. Your socks are the true source of your mojo.

Jack_Redfield

31st October 2004, 21:32

In all seriousness, keeping an unwashed belt is more of personal ascetic ideal. Not washing it lets it get well worn and people who see it will understand that your experience at that level may make up for having it so long. If it's some important to have a clean belt, start learning some techniques and katas. (^_^)

Jack

Neil Yamamoto

1st November 2004, 04:29

Ya know, anyone who has been around long enough to have a cruddy looking belt, is going to stand out in their own dojo as a senior anyway, and be known to anyone who has been there more than a month. Anyone who doesn't know who a senior is in the dojo will usually be corrected very quickly.

So, personal point of view on what the belt symbolizes is exactly it. If you like the look, OK, but it's going to get the same look even faster if you wash and wear the sucker regularly.

Me, my reputation is lousy enough it doesn't matter what obi I wear, or how ancient my keiko gi and hakama are. People look over and say "Oh, he's a jerk and a*****e", don't talk to him."

Scotch and me are good friends. But we don't see each other as much as people like to make out. Mark, Tom, that's it for you then, you only get the moderately good stuff when you are up. Course Tom, all you drank last time you were here was cheap beer!

Rogier

1st November 2004, 06:15

the better and more experienced you are the crappier your belt should look?

If you see a succesfull businessman in a crappy suit... what would you think?

MarkF

1st November 2004, 07:14

If you see a succesfull businessman in a crappy suit... what would you think?

When I see a plumber in a crappy suit, I would think he is in demand. When I see one in an Armani, he is trying too hard to attract business so business must be crappy.

Mark

Rogier

1st November 2004, 10:43

Originally posted by MarkF
When I see a plumber in a crappy suit, I would think he is in demand. When I see one in an Armani, he is trying too hard to attract business so business must be crappy.

Mark

hmmm... so what would you think when you see a beautiful woman with no clothing on at all? :D

MarkF

3rd November 2004, 10:31

Originally posted by Rogier
hmmm... so what would you think when you see a beautiful woman with no clothing on at all? :D

I think most cops in her neighborhood are her customers and I want to be one, too.

I still don't know 'why' but it is still illegal to walk around without being clothed in the US. In many cases, that is a good thing, but there are some, well, the imagination is even better than what she really is made of.;)

Mark

Moenstah

11th November 2004, 16:30

One argument for not washing is that the washing kills your belt!

Colour just vanishes. And the damned thing shrinks like hell, especially if you throw your belt in a drying machine...:(

chrismoses

11th November 2004, 18:16

I tried not washing mine for a while, hoping that like sound waves broadcast 180 deg out of phase, the smell would effectively cancel out the smell of the Seattle Jujutsu club. I'm afraid to report that my experiment failed, so I'm back to washing it a couple times a year.

"we got tha funk, gotta have that funk..."

Casper Baar

11th November 2004, 18:37

And the damned thing shrinks like hell

Yeah, belts usually shrink twice as fast as the waist gains size.

MikeWilliams

12th November 2004, 09:13

monkeyboy_ssj

22nd November 2004, 09:33

Once every 6 weeks I was mine and uniform once a week.

If you get a decent belt then the colours shouldn't run.

Somtimes my belt starts to curl it's covered in so much dojang muck & sweat! :D

MarkF

22nd November 2004, 13:30

Originally posted by chrismoses
I tried not washing mine for a while, hoping that like sound waves broadcast 180 deg out of phase, the smell would effectively cancel out the smell of the Seattle Jujutsu club. I'm afraid to report that my experiment failed, so I'm back to washing it a couple times a year.

"we got tha funk, gotta have that funk..."

Hey, even the one at the new location all ready smells as bad as the other?

Damn, I'll have to break in another new dogi up North if I ever make there again. The first time, it was ripe. The second time, I thought it was just me.

Mark

Joseph Svinth

23rd November 2004, 04:04

Mark --

The old dojo appears in the photos at http://www.seattle-jujutsu.org . I haven't seen any pictures of the new club online, probably because the room is so dark that you'd need to set up some serious backlighting, even with high speed film.

But, for an idea of the ambiance of the new Seattle Jujutsu Club dojo, take a look at the photo of the Seattle Dojo that appears on page 32 of my book. It's the one taken in January 1920. For those of you without the book, shame. Anyway, it shows a club in the basement, with naked 100-watt bulbs and a ceiling that shows the sag in the floor upstairs...

That said, the Seattle Dojo of 1920 was better decorated. I mean, back in the day, the Issei put framed photos of Kano and Ito on the wall, along with kanji reading "Forge Spirit and Body." Whereas, at Aaron's, all you see is things such as his guys being selected the sexiest physics majors in Seattle. And no, I don't make these things up. See http://www.thestranger.com/2004-02-12/ex10.html .

Aaron T

23rd November 2004, 20:36

Ya it smells, but the smell is that of hard work and the mat and toilet are always clean. The new club location is a good one, with a few wall hangings almost on the walls (just need to finish the framing.) But yes it has the same feel as the old location. It is a LOT warmer, actually has heat that works. Those of you that enjoy the soft comforts of life..our dojo has none, but you will find a quality bunch of folks who practice hard with smiles on their faces.

As to Andre and his sexy-ness......well it is true..he is really sexy....

Regards,
Aaron
www.seattle-jujutsu.org

Ogami Itto

24th November 2004, 10:51

I don’t wash my belt that often. And my reason for this is more practical then philosophic. When you wash the belt, you not only make the belt softer but also less durable. It looses its shape and gets more difficult to tie, tighten and kept in place, on one’s hip. I imagine that colour is also something to consider here.
I haven’t noticed any dirt accumulation, nor does it smell.

So my advice is don’t wash your belt unless you have to, if you don’t want to change your belt every couple of months.

Best regards,
Thomas Haldorsen

MarkF

26th November 2004, 09:46

Originally posted by Casper Baar
Yeah, belts usually shrink twice as fast as the waist gains size.

Tell me about it. Lately, I've been all over the chart in size, two dogi and obi shrank in the closet while I thought I had gained enough to go up a full size. Even with shrinking, I had to take four inches off the shitagi while the uwagi was all over the place. The obi was never the right size, but since my latest weight loss, the obi is fine and the dogi, if I stay at this weight or lose even more will be donated and I will go back to a two or three or something inbetween.

My old dogi, two I had bought in the early 1970s through my dojo and by Tigerclaw endured for three decades before I donated those. Now I'm sorry I did, as I always did like the tighter jacket with short pants (just below the knee). Those were size two.
********

Joe-

Yes, I have seen the web-site, but if the new one looks like the old Seattle (judo) Dojo, I wanna come up. Heat is important. I think I have a copy of that photo on my other computer. Detail is better, understandably. It may even be another, I know there are several you sent me when you were putting the book together over the years.

Aaron,

I humbly beg forgiveness, I meant "stinky" in the only way I know a well-used judo dojo to be.

Mark

monkeyboy_ssj

26th November 2004, 10:02

I've always been lucky with Dogi/ Dobuk sizes...I happen to be a perfect size 4 (170cm), my belt is custom made so that is the right length anyway, I hated it before coming Shodan being quite slim, finding a belt that wasn't too long or too short, sometimes if the belt was too long it would get kipped up when doing front kicks and step overs and whip my chest or it would be too small and have only about 4 inches sticking out of the knot...

As you can tell I'm very fussy about length of obi, it's got to be 6 inches above the top of the knee other wise it get's in the way or just looks silly...

Cheers

Aaron T

26th November 2004, 16:11

Mark,

No worries, I knew what you meant. To be frank, it does smell.

Trevor Johnson

3rd February 2005, 19:43

Knew one judoka who NEVER washed his gi. He realized that his opponents inability to breathe was quite an advantage. When he joined our group he was told, very firmly, GO WASH. NOW!
And as for belts, I wash mine every once in a while. Doesn't run. Mostly when my gf looks at me and says ick. My white belt I wash, just not with bleach. Stains do build up, but not stench. Loaned it to one white belt once because he didn't have one, a couple of newcomers thought he was a brown belt because they'd never seen a dirtier belt.

Cobraphoenix

17th August 2005, 07:47

Bad luck if u ask me and some belts start to tear and become ruined in teh wash so u cant wash some of them

Rogier

17th August 2005, 07:59

Bad luck if u ask me and some belts start to tear and become ruined in teh wash so u cant wash some of them

spend more money and buy better belts..

Robert Cheshire

17th August 2005, 14:35

You can get a fairly good belt for $5 - $10 that wont fade our tear for awhile.

If it gets funky or too dirty wash the thing! If you want to stay with the old mindset then wash it with a wet wash cloth and use frebreeze.

mews

17th August 2005, 20:34

My belts, color and blck, were pretty heavy material - and boy, after beach training did they need a good soaking!

There was still a faint whiff of low tide for a week or two after anyway.

mew

MarkF

19th August 2005, 09:27

spend more money and buy better belts..

Hey, Rogier,

I was just going to recommend this and that you get a wide belt (about 5 cm or 3 inches?) from a company such as Mizuno. For under twenty dollars you should be able to get one which will last almost forever. Being less likely to bend and soften when tied, I've gone that way, and the obi is almost like new after four years.

Mark

JCCAikikai

30th August 2005, 01:40

im one of those guys that go for all the sentimental things with their belt :) so i dont wash it...just hang it somewhere outside so it can dry and get air flowing thru it lol

respect the sweat that goes into it :p

MarkF

30th August 2005, 07:57

OK, respect the sweat, hold prayer vigil as it is lowered into the washing machine or sink, have a funeral, and keep a swatch of the sweat, but wash the darn thing regularly. Do you not wash your dogi as well? That has a lot of sweat in it and may carry "memories" as well, but you are going to smell mighty ripe with it after a while.

Does your obi really get that sweaty? Is it really serviceable as a towel or do you wipe the sweat off your hands and face with the skirt of your dogi/hakakma?

Other than keeping washings down to a minimum to save on wear and tear (bleach is a really bad thing to use in the wash when washing dogi. It weakens the fabric leading to the purchase of more dogi), I cannot think of a single reason not to throw it all in the wash a minimum of once a week. All reasons not to do this are just esoteric mumblings for some spiritual reason that does not exist.

Now, if you want to hang it in a museum, it can be in tatters, and probably is better that it is (see judogi of Saigo Shiro in the Kodokan Judo Institutes Museum).

But even that is clean and is cleaned as often as is necessary. The Japanese are very protective of the white (and red) color for much the same reasons you do not think obi should be washed (general you. This is not meant toward anybody in particular).

Mark

JCCAikikai

30th August 2005, 12:24

lol ur goin a lil bit over :p i do wash my gi, lmao

and surprisingly u kno my belt doesnt look as shitty as ppl make their belts sound to be, its rather white i wud say... but then again, i practise rather often and with effort so its not like im slacking off :)

prolly people sweat differently, when my dad was practising Shito Ryu Karate
he told me he had to wash his every time, but thats cuz hes a big guy :p