Tying your belt seems straight forward but soooo many people never get taught about tying and washing your belt. I will confess to borrowing one of my hubby’s old belts and watching a YouTube video he sent me so that I knew how to do it before my first class. I didn’t want to be the obvious newbie who didn’t know how to tie her own belt. I quickly realised I shouldn’t have worried as lots of people don’t know how to do it; even at competitions!

I’ve heard many descriptions of how a belt should look – handlebars, moustaches and how it shouldn’t including terms for male genitalia! So I am not going to go into a word by word description of how to do it but I am just going to leave it to the person that taught me how to tie mine – Rener Gracie! https://youtu.be/-shq5oDSCs4

I have to admit I’m a super lock variation girl. It does come undone occasionally but I have been left with my gi hanging around me and belt still tied more than once. It also has a nice fat and flat knot and trust me you appreciate flat knots when they dig into you.

Whilst we are on the topic of belts simply please wash your belt. I know some people believe that it washes away mojo. I’ve also heard comments that the change of colour will remind their instructor of all the hours they’ve put in towards promotion. I’ve even heard a group of girls discuss how they don’t wash their belts because their instructor believes it’s disrespectful.

My response to all that is simple – the only thing your washing away is germs! You want your instructor to notice you for your jits skills and not that your belt looks disgusting. I believe the only disrespect your showing is that when you don’t wash your belt you risking bringing germs and infections onto the mat risking your teams and yourself!

But don’t take my word for it. Here is a great article on hygiene including belt washing – http://bjiujitsu.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/microbiologists-take-on-bjj.html

Oh and if your worried if your stripes will fall off then don’t worry – it is just white athletic tape. You can get the same type as your instructor and he never needs to know!

Hope this helps. Oh and if you know someone in your gym who needs help please feel free to pass it on. Don’t let them suffer in silence!