Belts

[oneya]

Hi Wadoka,

Mitose and Co shown here were Hawaiian nisei.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mitose

and it seems Hakoishi has a new kuro obi also Andy, I wonder if we will get a post from him seeking advice..?

oneya

[andyb28]

I tuck my belt in for the simple reason I hate having the ends flapping around when I'm kicking. It annoys the hell out of me

shep

I guess you're a pants man rather than boxers then Shep? :p

[Tim49]

About the ritual of belt wrapping.

I will just repeat what Takagi Sensei said to a foreigner once who visited our dojo ( I was the translator).
It went something like this...
Takagi Sensei: Why does that guy have his belt wrapped around like that?
Me: Dunno. He must be from the Wadoryu Renmei.
Takagi Sensei: Oh..ok. don't they know that Otsuka Sensei only wrapped his belt around like that when he was demonstrating? He never did that when he was just practicing or teaching class.
Me: shrugging shoulder...
Takagi Sensei: The reason Otsuka Sensei wrapped it around his belt was because jujitsu people did not want the ends dangling because the opponent could grab it. So it makes sense to do that for a demo...but other than that it looks kind of goofy...

In Japan only Wadoryu Renmei people wrap the ends around their belt. AND THAT ONLY STARTED HAPPENING AFTER Otsuka Sensei passed away.
Wadokai does not do that. And I don't think the WIKF does that either. Certainly no other karate style does that.

So if you are Wadokai then don't go to Japan with your ends wrapped around. People will think you are 'different' and if you know Japanese society then being different is not a good thing...

Lol,, you guys crack me up.

Tim

[blackcat]

There's some nonsense written about karate belts; dont wash them (rinses the spirit out), don't let them touch the floor (disrespectful). It's there to hold your jacket firm at the waist. If the belt is quite new, then the knot may loosen easily in which case it makes perfect sense to tuck the ends over out of the way, whether for training or demonstration.

In the past, pretty much all Wadokai karateka had the belts tucked in. This is evidenced in many photographs of Otsuka and the various university karate clubs of the 1930's and 1940's (you can find some of these reproduced in both "Wado World" and "Wado Journal"). Prior to that, both Otsuka and Funakoshi tucked their belts in for 'Karatedo Kyohan' of 1935 print (so photo's probably predate that by several years).

Mabuni, Motobu, Toyama and Funakoshi also seem to have tucked in or adopted the judo style of the day if we can judge from the early books. Otsuka learned his karate from the Okinawan's so was bound to follow their approach.

From the 1950's the belt ends seems to have come out and been worn hanging down, usually no more than the length of the jacket. Once kata competition got going, it seems like a fashion started for much longer thicker belts to be worn.

You can see here http://www.suzukikarateschool.co.uk/gallery.php that in the 70's the instructors all had their belts worn out. Amongst the UK instructors, I think it was Mr Shiomitsu who started the belt tucking again in the 1980's. In nearly every photo I've seen of Suzuki sensei, he has the belt ends out, but if you scroll through those pictures there are a couple where he is demonstrating and has them tucked away.

It is probably best to follow the norm in whichever dojo you are visiting. The only reason to stand out in a karate dojo is for good quality of technique.

Ben

http://www.wadokai-manchester.org

[shep]

I tuck my belt in for the simple reason I hate having the ends flapping around when I'm kicking. It annoys the hell out of me

shep

I guess you're a pants man rather than boxers then Shep? :p

Ha ha! Its a X I have to bare ;-)

shep

[WadoAJ]

I tuck my belt in for the simple reason I hate having the ends flapping around when I'm kicking. It annoys the hell out of me

shep

I guess you're a pants man rather than boxers then Shep? :p

Ha ha! Its a X I have to bare ;-)

shep

XD

[kyudo]

I tuck my belt in for the simple reason I hate having the ends flapping around when I'm kicking. It annoys the hell out of me

Same with me. It actually slaps back at me when performing kicks. Already in my TKD days I used to turn the knot to my back to avoid this issue. Now I tuck it in, and then still turn it to my back when stretching (though only in my own dojo ;-) ). Else the knot presses against my stomach.

I love the design of the dogi, but the belt could definitely be improved. It's looks over usability...

[oneya]

I tuck my belt in for the simple reason I hate having the ends flapping around when I'm kicking. It annoys the hell out of me

shep

Yes - I wrap my fundoshi tightly for a similar reason - well reasons actually.

oneya

[shep]

I just shuddered!!

shep