Solid color Karate belts question

[opr1945]

I have been looking at Karate colored belts for sale on line. There is a vast price differential in prices for new colored belts. From about $7 including shipping up to $40 and even more. I understand that for black belts the quality probably varies and the are embroidery and stripe options to cause prices to vary. But with, say a yellow belt, which a student hopes to wear a relatively short time, why does the price ?vary so much?

Isami Yellow Belt

Martial Arts Yellow Belt for Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Judo. Personalized with custom embroidery. Handcrafted in Japan for training and competition.

www.chokesports.com

Shureido BU Karate Colored Belt Obi Made in Japan Okinawa official karate brand | eBay

The material of this Obi is cotton. 100% Authentic!

www.ebay.com

ProForce® Double Wrap Solid Karate Belt 1.75" Blue Belt #0

These karate belts are made of 65% polyester, 35% cotton. Available in all rank colors: White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Brown and Black. Available in sizes 0-9. 1-3/4&quot wide.

www.awma.com

Mizuno Belt

shogunsupplies.com

For the begging student what would be the benefit of getting a more expensive belt?

 

[MuayJitsu]

For the begging student what would be the benefit of getting a more expensive belt?

Nothing absolutely nothing it’s a belt. A bit of fabric that goes around your waist. Whether it costs 1 dollar or a million dollars it’s just a belt

 

[Hot Lunch]

IMO, there's no benefit to getting a more expensive belt unless it's a black belt. Maybe for brown belt as well (some judo gi/belt manufacturers have premium brown belts that are of the same quality as the premium black belts) since the brown belt is usually worn for a considerable amount of time (between a year to a year and a half), though I wouldn't do it. There's a dojo up the street from mine where brown belts are embroidered, and I think that's pretty cool. I imagine that it may have something to do with them wanting brown belts to "feel" like black belts by having them look the part more.

For BJJ, spending the extra buck on a high quality belt is a understandable as well, because you're going to be wearing each belt for at least two years.

But don't do it for karate. I only know one guy who did it - he was an orange belt at the time, and he tested less than a month after he got that new orange belt in the mail. It was a Tokaido, so I know he spent at least $20 on that thing. That could've been a nice steak dinner right there.

 

[Same Trick]

Every successful grading is a proud achievement

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Buy with consideration to how it's going to look on your "I love me" wall later.

 

[J. Pickard]

Really, there is very little difference between the cheap ones and the expensive ones. A lot of it is just mark up by brands. With our school discount we get belts for about $4 from our supplier and I have seen $50 kataaro kyu/gup rank belts that have the same rows of stitching and are made with the same quality, the difference is one has a kataaro lable and the other doesn't. Even my black belt is just a plain, unembroidered $8 black belt. I don't see the point in buying something so expensive when the plan is to train in it and eventually wear it out. My last black belt was the same $8 belt and it lasted me about 17 years before it got so worn out I needed to buy a new one to look presentable. It's kind of like overpriced wine; the higher price tag doesn't necessarily corelate to the quality but it makes you feel better knowing it cost more.

 

[Hot Lunch]

Really, there is very little difference between the cheap ones and the expensive ones. A lot of it is just mark up by brands. With our school discount we get belts for about $4 from our supplier and I have seen $50 kataaro kyu/gup rank belts that have the same rows of stitching and are made with the same quality, the difference is one has a kataaro lable and the other doesn't.

I understand that with Kataaro, you can choose with width, thickness, and stiffness of the belt. Also, all color belts are available in satin, not just black.

So maybe the Kataaro belts you've seen are the cheaper ones.

Even my black belt is just a plain, unembroidered $8 black belt. I don't see the point in buying something so expensive when the plan is to train in it and eventually wear it out. My last black belt was the same $8 belt and it lasted me about 17 years before it got so worn out I needed to buy a new one to look presentable. It's kind of like overpriced wine; the higher price tag doesn't necessarily corelate to the quality but it makes you feel better knowing it cost more.

It all comes down to personal preference. Let's not get to insulting people for spending more than $8 on a black belt.

 

[J. Pickard]

It all comes down to personal preference. Let's not get to insulting people for spending more than $8 on a black belt.

Who's being insulting? My statement about the wine is just a true and interesting fact about how price tags effect your mood and outlook on a product. Lots of studies done on this, the data from these studies (usually done with wine) show that people tend to appreciate and perceive a higher value or level of quality to an item when the cost is higher even if there is no distinguishable difference or the items are identical. I don't think there is anything wrong with buying a $200 belt if it makes you happy, just stating that there is rarely a difference in quality.

 

[opr1945]

Buy with consideration to how it's going to look on your "I love me" wall later.

I am aware of numerous people who hang evidence of their achievement on their wall, Doctors, lawyers professors, etc.

 

[Hot Lunch]

Who's being insulting? My statement about the wine is just a true and interesting fact about how price tags effect your mood and outlook on a product. Lots of studies done on this, the data from these studies (usually done with wine) show that people tend to appreciate and perceive a higher value or level of quality to an item when the cost is higher even if there is no distinguishable difference or the items are identical. I don't think there is anything wrong with buying a $200 belt if it makes you happy, just stating that there is rarely a difference in quality.

I've already mentioned the differences in quality that are options in Kataaro belts. Hell, even the quality of color belts issued to new students on promotion are of a noticeable difference in quality between my last dojo and my current one. My last dojo gave out belts that were very light in weight. When you wore them, gravity wasn't able to pull the ends down to make them hang straight. They twisted and almost looked like drill bits (that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea). Except for when you made black belt - they gave you an embroidered satin Shureido.

Again, if you're only going to be wearing such a belt for a short amount of time, that's easy to deal with. If you're wearing a black belt... probably not.

Point is, there are differences.

I liken it to this: most men go to the barbershop every other week, and spend about $30 on a haircut. However... you could also buy your own set of hair clippers for $20, and shave your own head as often as you want.

If a man gets a bi-weekly haircut at the barbershop, it's not because spending the money makes him feel good. It's because he prefers the look of having neatly cut hair over the look of having a completely shaven head.

It's the same thing with black belts.