belt care

[Peace & Harmony]

I heard recently that you are not supossed to wash your martial arts belt. is this true? i would think that if you dont wash your belt it shows your hard work. im just taking a stab in the dark lol

 

[Tez3]

If you do a search on here you will find previous threads on this subject.

 

[IcemanSK]

I heard recently that you are not supossed to wash your martial arts belt. is this true? i would think that if you dont wash your belt it shows your hard work. im just taking a stab in the dark lol

Not washing one's belt is something that tends to be a "Western" thing, & not something that is traditionally from Korea or Japan. My instructor used to say, "All of your pain & knowledge goes into your belt. Don't wash it, or all of that will go away." And he was an American!!

Asking a bunch of us about this as you have may bring up very strong opinions about the subject. Some folks are in the "don't wash" camp, & other's say, "of course you wash your belt!"

I will hang mine up & hose in down on a clothesline when needed (maybe once a year) but it's not a regular thing.

It doesn't hurt to to do either. There are great MA-ists who fall into both camps. But in the end, the choice is your's.

 

[Peace & Harmony]

oh! haha i never thought of doing that lol thanks tez!

 

[Manny]

I recently got an eosin panther satin black belt, and ask them about the bet's care, eosin panther told me not to wash the belt only.

I have never washed and/or ironed my belts, they don't need it, a well used and belt denotes hard work and lots of pride.

Manny

 

[Peace & Harmony]

yeah i heard that's the reason for not washing your belt. but i guess i will ask my instructor, but i dont it will be a big issue whether i do or not. i havent washed my belt yet by the way.

 

[Tez3]

A clean belts denotes pride in appearance, a dirty belt means its difficult to grapple with that person without a smelly, greasy, sweaty belt getting in the way.

As has been said before, its superstitious nonsense not washing your belt, you wash your suit so why wouldn't you wash the belt that has gone through all the same things it has?

 

[Peace & Harmony]

very good point tez3! i mean what makes the belt so special that you cant wash it you know? i totally see your point on that one man. because it would look bad if you have a clean uniform and a dirty belt. that just doesnt look like your a very serious martial artist in my opinion.

 

[jthomas1600]

Eh, one mans superstitious nonsense is another mans tradition and sentimentality.

 

[Omar B]

I never wash my belts, guess I'm lucky it's black so it doesn't show dirt. But really all I do is wrap it up like it came in the pack and use two rubber bands to hold it. When my gi is washed I usually hang out the belt to get some sun/breeze and it doesn't sell.

When I was a kid my mother used to wash my belts though, white, yellow, blue, green show the dirt.

 

[dancingalone]

I tell my colored belts to wash their new belts in a vinegar solution to set the dye color. Otherwise, their belt tends to transfer color into their white uniforms as they workout and sweat. Aside from that, there is a hygiene issue.

At my school(s), we do a fair amount partner work where contact is up close and personal. Use your common sense - if the belt smells bad and is dirty, be respectful of your partners and wash the belt. Of course a whole host of nasty germs and fungi, like mersa and ring worm are something to watch out for now. Err on the side of cleanliness. If you never sweat, never come into contact with germs and thus never transfer them to other people, I guess you'd be OK not washing anything. On the other hand, even if your belt gets a little wet from perspiration occasionally, you probably should wash the thing, 'tradition' aside.

 

[granfire]

If it's dirty, wash it.

you don't need to throw it into boiling water or douse it in bleach.

Vinegar and salt usually stets the color enough to keep it from fading or leaching (but don't wash color belts with white Gis )

I never washed my belts often because - frankly I never used them longer than 2 month, 4 month the most. What swift rank progression does for you

Considering what a nasty place the inside of a gym bag is, Tide is your friend!

 

[Manny]

A clean belts denotes pride in appearance, a dirty belt means its difficult to grapple with that person without a smelly, greasy, sweaty belt getting in the way.

As has been said before, its superstitious nonsense not washing your belt, you wash your suit so why wouldn't you wash the belt that has gone through all the same things it has?

Maybe my odors are like roses jajajaja but the black belt I used all this years has never been washed and (I sweat a lot in the trainings) it has cero odor!!!
Manny

 

[Carol]

I never had a need to wash my belt in anything except detergent. The very first time I wash it, I dry it in a clothes dryer on a highest setting. Color set, any shrinkage that may occur down the road takes place. Never had an issue with belt color rubbing off on anything, even with profuse sweating.

Not saying the vinegar wash or salt water or whatever isn't worth it...I just default towards processes with a minimal amount of fuss.

 

[Manny]

Something I never do is to leave my belt inside my TKD bag, returning home (I leave late at night the dojang so most of the times I leave the dojang with dobok and belt tied) I take off my belt and hang it and that's all.

Maybe I am lucky but my belts never smell and never get dirty and I sweat like a pig mostly in the hot weather high humidity sea port I live.

When I go to kenpo and wear my black gi, afther a night of goos training and sweating the next mornig I can the with salt stains in the back,waist and sleeves but my belt never get stain in any way.

Offcourse if you like to wash your belt once in a while it's up too you and I respect that.

Manny

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I washed my coloured belts in a solution to stop the dye running, particularly with red belts. I will never wash my black belt, call me supersticious or whatever but I just wont wash it and I will continue to wear it until it literally falls apart.

 

[risingfire]

I have been in a couple different clubs throughout the years, and I have also trained outside of an org. Every master or instructor has told me not to wash my belt. I have never had a problem with a smelly belt or one that looks dirty...and I work hard. I think its a frame of mind we all get into about being clean. Don't get me wrong. I take 2-3 showers a day, I love being clean, but in reality I think washing the belt is somthing that is up to you...but to me...for my vote...it feels wrong! Here is anothe one. I have been told not to let the belt touch the ground! Crazy stuff.

 

[jthomas1600]

I washed my coloured belts in a solution to stop the dye running, particularly with red belts. I will never wash my black belt, call me supersticious or whatever but I just wont wash it and I will continue to wear it until it literally falls apart.

That's funny, my sons top has a pink ring around the waist from sweating through and the belt color bleeding. Never happened with any of the other belts. I guess since I sweat much more than him I'll have to take precautions when I get to red belt.

 

[granfire]

That's funny, my sons top has a pink ring around the waist from sweating through and the belt color bleeding. Never happened with any of the other belts. I guess since I sweat much more than him I'll have to take precautions when I get to red belt.

LOL, you guys must have been sleeping under a rock! Red is notorious for bleeding - no pun intended. One red item in the wash can turn your whole undie drawer into a pink nightmare! :laughing:

Even after being washed several times accidents occur.

 

[dancingalone]

LOL, you guys must have been sleeping under a rock! Red is notorious for bleeding - no pun intended. One red item in the wash can turn your whole undie drawer into a pink nightmare! :laughing:

Even after being washed several times accidents occur.

It happens with orange belts too, although I guess most people promote so quickly out of orange that they never notice. I've never seen it happen with green or blue or purple... I guess whatever dye used for those belts are most stable. Still better safe than sorry. Nothing worse than blemishing a nice $80 gi with color transfer from the obi when it could have been easily avoided...