# Hygiene tips? or, The Legend of Smelly Gi Guy



## girlbug2 (Jan 13, 2009)

Tip #1: Soap and Water are Beautiful Things

Apparently in BJJ they must need extra thick and sturdy gis. I'm told by my BJJ friend that their particular gis can't be run through the dryer but must be hung up to drip-dry  (unlike my American Kenpo gi, which is cheap, thin and light). So my pal has 4 gis which he rotates depending on which one is clean and dry to use for training.

Anyway, there's this one guy at his dojo that decided that he needed only 1 gi although he practices several times a week. This gi is never washed -- he hangs it to air out in the sunlight, insisting that the radiation will "clean" the gi and kill all bacteria and odors. Everybody else at this dojo dubs him (not to his face) as "smelly gi guy". Smelly Gi Guy doesn't know that this is his name, probably because his sunlight-irradiated gi is so "clean" that it couldn't possibly smell. But his training partners obviously aren't as enlightened as he is and thus, when rolling with Smelly Gi Guy, the odors overpower them.

Is this a deliberate tactic for fighting advantage? If so, then Smelly Gi Guy displays a unique genius. However, it's a tactic I'd rather not use, myself. It might backfire horribly if and when my training partners decide to take me out once and for all just so they dont' have to put up with the scent.

What to do with all the Smelly Gi Guys of the world?

And, do you have any special hygiene tips you'd like to share?


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## jks9199 (Jan 13, 2009)

Yeah, I've got a hygiene tip.

If you've got someone who's that gross and unpleasant... don't train with them.  If you're the instructor -- TELL THEM.  Explain that basic hygiene is mandatory -- and if they can't comply, they'll not be welcome.  But you don't have to be an *** about it, either.  Occasionally, there's a person who's simply unaware of an issue like that; it may be cultural, it may a result of dietary change, or something else -- but it does sometimes happen.


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## Steve (Jan 13, 2009)

While drying BJJ gis will shorten the lifespan, I will g on record as saying that they can all be dried.  I wash mine in lava and dry them on the "hotter than hell" setting.   If they ever even think of smelling other than april fresh, I push the sanitary button on the washer.  

I have several gis and wash them all in hot water, drying them completely in the drier, including my HCK (which is so tough it fights back).  The only thing I don't wash is my belt, but that's mostly because I don't want it to shrink.  If it gets ripe, I spray it with Odoban or Febreze.


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## jarrod (Jan 13, 2009)

i think it is the instructor's duty to say something, as it is not only gross but a health hazzard to everyone who trains there.  however, i would avoid pulling him aside & making a big stink (ha! get it?).  i would say somethink like:

"hey man, you can't come in here wearing a gi that smells like that.  try tide, it irradiates your cloths a lot better.  seriously man, wash your gi."  

any hygenic corrections i've had to make around the gym have been along those lines.

"trim your toenails, you look like my mother in law."  

"take a shower next time or i'm going to pin you & fart on your head.  then you can see what it feels like."

it's worked for me so far.

jf


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## jarrod (Jan 13, 2009)

that said, when my gi gets funky i spray it with a mixture of vinegar & water.  it doesn't smell as good as febreeze but at least it is somewhat disinfected.

jf


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## girlbug2 (Jan 13, 2009)

jarrod said:


> "take a shower next time or i'm going to pin you & fart on your head. then you can see what it feels like."
> 
> it's worked for me so far.
> 
> jf


 
LOL! Another genius tactic...


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## Steve (Jan 13, 2009)

While not funny, my hygiene tip would be this:

Tip #2:  Women: don't wear makeup to class.  If a female wants to be taken seriously at the school, they need to dress the part.  I rolled with this woman one time and looked like a clown by the time we were done.  My wife was very understanding when I asked her how to get makeup out of my gi.


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## girlbug2 (Jan 13, 2009)

Very good point Steve.


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## teekin (Jan 14, 2009)

Jarrod, if I'm coming from a meeting I may have a wee bit of makeup on and purfume to boot. Barley noticeble but there. I just do not have time to get home and shower. 
 My BJJ Gis go through the wash with soap, borax and baking soda on warm. Then they are air dried. Once dry they go into the dryer on air fluff with a pack of tennis balls and a shop towel soaked in febreeze to soften  up. Clean, disinfected and smelling great! And unshrunk. Rolling with guys that have Gi funk just sucks. Better they smell like Downy or Obsession.:ladysman:
lori


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## jarrod (Jan 14, 2009)

that is one thorough gi treatment.  didn't you know you can just hang your gi outside & the sun will irradiate it clean?

jf


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## Lynne (Jan 14, 2009)

We had a teen boy with a smelly dobok.  It was definitely sour.  He must have just been throwing it in his dobok bag and leaving it there between classes.  It also smelled like he had pooped in it.  Some of us ladies were literally gagging when we were close to him.  We all feared being paired up with him for wrist grips and the like.  It was so bad that I ran into the ladie's locker room one night and almost threw up. 

One of the female senior instructors came into the locker room to find out what was wrong.  I told her and her plan was to have one of the guys suggest that, "gee, something doesn't smell right."  That kind of passive approach will never work.  Besides, our TSD manual states that doboks should be clean and pressed.  

Anyway, someone mentioned that this young man had called one of the female instructors a c*nt under his breath.  That was enough for the senior instructor to take him aside.  She told him to wash his dobok, too.  He didn't get expelled.  He is still with us.  But I haven't smelled his dobok since then. (I suspect he didn't get expelled because he has anger issues and mental problems and is trying to improve himself through TSD.)


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## Steve (Jan 14, 2009)

Grendel308 said:


> Jarrod, if I'm coming from a meeting I may have a wee bit of makeup on and purfume to boot. Barley noticeble but there. I just do not have time to get home and shower.
> My BJJ Gis go through the wash with soap, borax and baking soda on warm. Then they are air dried. Once dry they go into the dryer on air fluff with a pack of tennis balls and a shop towel soaked in febreeze to soften up. Clean, disinfected and smelling great! And unshrunk. Rolling with guys that have Gi funk just sucks. Better they smell like Downy or Obsession.:ladysman:
> lori


Wow. 

Regarding the makeup, as long as it's not so much that it noticeably smears on other peoples' gis, it's fine by me. 

I'm with Jarrod. That is one thorough cleaning. Dang!

Tip #3: Trim your nails, fingers and toes.
I've been gouged pretty badly by long fingernails.  While they're not particularly painful, the surface gouges tend to bleed a lot.  It's very easy to avoid if everyone just trims their nails.


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## jarrod (Jan 14, 2009)

stevebjj said:


> Wow.
> 
> Regarding the makeup, as long as it's not so much that it noticeably smears on other peoples' gis, it's fine by me.
> 
> ...


 
hmph, this just proves to me that bjj doesn't work against finger rakes & other deadlies.  

jf


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## Steve (Jan 14, 2009)

jarrod said:


> hmph, this just proves to me that bjj doesn't work against finger rakes & other deadlies.
> 
> jf


 haha! :whip1:


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## teekin (Jan 14, 2009)

Ummmm I may need the fingernails for other activities. I'll trim them back quite short but not off. The toenails no problem as long as I can paint them. And what is the big deal about washing my Gi? I wash all my clothes like this except the whites where I add bleach. In spring I can hang everything outside on the clothesline to airdry. I like really clean clothes, especially sheets and towels. (Maybe it's from spending so much time in hospitals.)
lori


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## Steve (Jan 14, 2009)

Hey, Grendel, I for one was only really remarking on the process.  It's quite a bit more labor intensive than my method. That's all.  I'll bet they're very clean.

I like really clean clothes, too.


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## arnisador (Jan 14, 2009)

I washed mine after every class and air-dried it.

Is it a tactic? I've heard of people trying it for competition, hoping it'll distract the other person.


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## jarrod (Jan 14, 2009)

arnisador said:


> I washed mine after every class and air-dried it.
> 
> Is it a tactic? I've heard of people trying it for competition, hoping it'll distract the other person.


 
this, IIRC, is an old judo tactic, usually employed by people who weren't good enough to win without resorting to it.  i think the rules have since expanded to include a hygeine requirement.

jf


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## Steve (Jan 14, 2009)

Nasty.  I will say that drying the gi in a machine makes it softer than air drying it.  My HCK will almost stand up on its own after air drying it's so stiff.


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