How long should a karate belt be? How to tie a belt on a kimono? Learning to do it right

To practice karate, you need a kimono and an obi (belt). Kimonos are made from blended fabrics that have good breathability and give the product a neat look. Obi are made from several layers of cotton. The width of the belt is 4-6 cm, while the length varies in the range from 2.2 to 3.2 cm.
The "standard" of length is determined in this case as follows: after wrapping it twice around the waist and tying the obi into a strong flat knot, its free ends can hang down by two to three dozen centimeters. The correctness of the choice and tying of the karate belt is easy to check. If its ends do not hang below the knee or the edge of the kimono, then the obi is chosen correctly.

How to tie a belt on a karate kimono? General rules.

The belt in karate carries a symbolic meaning and performs a practical function. On the one hand, it demonstrates the level of mastery of the owner. On the other hand, it holds the edges of the kimono, not allowing them to swing open at the time of the reception.

It is necessary to tie the karate belt so that the fixation of the edges of the kimono is strong, but at the same time there is no interference with the movements of the athlete. The knot must be placed clearly in the center of the abdomen. Then the obi, pulling the kimono with the proper force, will allow the athlete to feel how the muscles of his abdomen contract in the moment of concentration.

How to tie a karate belt correctly? How close should it be to the body? According to the rules, at the moment of concentration, the stomach should press on the obi so that it would be difficult to put a hand under it.

At the Zanshin school, the first three or four months they train without a kimono and a belt. They get used to the new environment and new activities for themselves. After the first exam, students receive a kimono, and after moving to the ninth level of KYu, a white obi. That's when we teach them how to properly tie a belt in karate. We explain in detail to each child step-by-step actions, we help in case of difficulties.

How to tie a belt on a kimono in Shotokan Karate? Option 1.

To tie a karate belt, follow these steps:

  • Below the navel, we apply the middle of the belt and wrap it around the waist twice.
  • We stretch the outer end of the belt under the rows covering the waist, and bring it up, out.
  • With the upper end of the belt we make a knot around its lower end. We push into the loop formed and bring it out. We tighten the resulting knot horizontally.

This method is recognized as very simple and reliable. Node done In a similar way, will never unravel itself. A video on how to tie a karate belt is attached.

How to tie a karate belt? Option 2 and 3.

The second way to tie an obi is similar to the first. But in this case, the right end should be slightly shorter than the left, "working" end. Since he does not actually participate in the tying process. We act like this:

  • We wrap the waist with the left, long end of the belt. The right, short end is located all the time below the navel.
  • We bring the long end to the center of the abdomen, lay it on the short end, and then stretch it under both rows of the belt (those that cover the waist). The direction of movement is down and back. Half of the knot is ready! The ends are aligned.
  • We cross both ends and act as when tying normal node. We stretch one end over the second and insert it into the loop formed. We tighten.

How else to tie a karate belt? There is some modification of the second method. The belt is stretched not under two, but under one previous circle.

Whichever method you choose, the meaning of the movements is the same everywhere:

The imposition of a belt below the navel means that karate allows the giving and taking of life. But it's meant to protect her. Crossing the ends of the belt at the back symbolizes readiness for hostilities that take place behind the back, and moving them forward symbolizes the acceptance of the inevitability of what is happening. Skipping one end under the belt in the direction from bottom to top indicates that karate improves a person, and from top to bottom - about the impossibility of forgetting the experience of past masters.

A belt for a karateka is akin to an award. To get it, you need to work hard on yourself. Children who are engaged in martial arts discover the deep meaning of life. They become confident, serious, disciplined.

Bring your child to us. Within a few months, you will be pleasantly surprised by the good changes in it.

The art of mastering karate techniques includes not only the ability to use them in martial arts. This is a whole philosophy based on the centuries-old traditions, culture and history of the Japanese people.

What does belt mean?

The belt, like all movements of this type of martial arts, is not a random detail. It serves not only as an accessory that creates convenience during training, combat. The colors of the belt symbolize the need for constant improvement, work on the body and spirit, knowledge higher degrees skill.

The symbol of the mastery of the owner is the color of his belt. It is believed that:

  1. A novice student has a white belt, symbolizing Blank sheet- lack of skills, spiritual knowledge.
  2. Yellow - characterizes numerous workouts, during which the belt is saturated with sweat, gradually turning brown.
  3. With years of continuous exercise, it turns black.

This means achieving the highest craftsmanship. However, in order to comprehend complete spiritual enlightenment, to go through the whole path of knowledge, the belt must again become a snow-white burnout - from the sun. This means that the student has achieved all the secrets of mastery and no longer requires the advice of a mentor.

Currently, different schools apply their own systems for assessing student skills. Some use up to 11 belt colors. But the main colors remain unchanged.

Karate Belt Knot

A properly tied knot holds the jacket well and does not untie during training. It will protect the fighter from strangulation. If the knot is performed incorrectly, the enemy can tighten it, which will lead to unpredictable consequences.

You need to properly tie the belt to start classes. Also, it will show the teacher the readiness to comprehend all the basics of learning. Two ways to tie a Kyokushin karate kimono:

Method one

  1. To determine the center, the belt is folded in half.
  2. Lies on the navel, the sides should be the same.
  3. Both ends are wrapped around the waist, brought forward. The belt should cross back and front.
  4. The left end goes down under the layers, passing around both.
  5. Having crossed the ends, the left one is removed under the right one. A square knot is tightened.

Method two

  1. The belt wraps around the waist with the left end.
  2. Both ends are crossed.
  3. The left edge starts from below under two layers.
  4. The knot is tightened.
  5. The belt should be with equal ends.

Do not worry if it does not work right away to tie correctly. Training and a little practice will correct this shortcoming.

At its core, a kata is a fight against several opponents, which the athlete conducts with full exertion of physical and moral strength. The kata contains all types of karate techniques and, in contrast to sparring, which involves fighting in one direction (with 1 opponent), allows you to use all the variety technical tricks.

Terminology

In Kyokushin karate, as well as in most other types of martial arts, the terminology traditional for this direction is used. Understanding the terminology and using it correctly makes it easier training process.
In Kyokushin karate, only Japanese terminology is used.

In order to avoid misunderstanding and even disappointment from refereeing, we want to remind everyone who will take part in refereeing, both the participants themselves and their representatives, what a referee should do on the tatami and what terminology to use. And also how fighters should behave on the tatami.

Like most martial arts in Japan, Kyokushinkai distinguishes between apprentice (kyu) and master (dan) degrees. Kyokushinkai has ten kyu (10th kyu is the youngest, 1st is the highest) and ten dans (1st dan is the youngest, 10th is the highest). Each degree corresponds to a belt of a certain color with one or more transverse stripes (or without them) sewn onto the right end of the belt. Traditionally, dans are assigned a black belt. Yellow (gold) stripes are sewn onto the black belt, the number of which corresponds to the dan (from the first to the ninth). The tenth dan corresponds to red

How to properly tie a belt on a traditional karate training suit? This question is primarily of concern to beginners, however, the basic principles of wearing such a belt (in Japanese it is called “obi”) should also be known to adherents of this popular martial art. How to tie a belt on a kimono correctly? This will be discussed further.

Purpose and general wearing rules

Before learning how to properly tie a belt on a kimono, let's look at what it is for. What is its value? Traditionally, the obi belt in Japan is used to tie up clothes and carry various items - from a wallet and a fan to a samurai sword. However, in addition to the utilitarian function in karate, as in everything in the East, the obi belt has a deep symbolic meaning. The color of the belt and the number of stripes indicate the degree of skill, the left hanging end symbolizes strength of mind, and the right one - physical strength involved. According to the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, between fortitude and physical strength complete harmony must be achieved. As a sign that the karateka strives for such harmony, the ends of the belt tied by him should hang down at an equal length. That is why it is important to know how to tie a belt on a kimono.

The obi belt wrapped around the body also symbolically resembles a circle, which in Eastern culture personifies universal harmony and perpetual motion. The belt is worn so that the emblem of the karate school is visible on the left end, and the name of the practitioner, written or embroidered in katakana hieroglyphs, is visible on the right end. The belt is tightened so that the knot is tight and is located four fingers below the practitioner's navel. It is believed that in this way the node will constantly be above the "hara" - the center of the focus of human vital energy, and contribute to the achievement of the correct concentration.

How to choose the right belt length?

Before learning how to tie a belt on a kimono, you need to choose the required length. It is chosen so that when worn, the ends hang below the kimono jacket, but are above the knees. The length of the free end should be an average of 20-30 centimeters.

Take any cord or ribbon, wrap it twice around the waist over the jacket, add 40-60 cm to the length of the ribbon and get your belt length.

Tie a belt, method one

How to tie a belt on a kimono? This is what we are going to learn now.

  1. Take the belt with both hands at its middle so that the free ends hang down with the emblem of the school on the right and the surname on the left facing each other, that is, inside the resulting fold. The thumbs should be on the bottom.
  2. Attach the belt to the waist and, sliding both hands around the torso back and then back forward, wrap it around you. Lay the belt so that it lies flat, one layer on top of the other. Attention: with this method, you will have an intersection of layers on your back.
  3. Now the ends of the belt should be in your hands in front. The end in right hand, put it on top of the left one, and then tuck it under both layers of the belt from below and remove it.
  4. The end with the school emblem should now be on the right, pointing down and to the right, and on the left, the end with the last name, pointing up and to the left. Pulling on both ends diagonally, tighten the belt. Don't place the ends straight up and down, but keep them in line and at about a 45 degree angle to the vertical.
  5. Bend the right end of the belt to the left so that it forms a small loop, and place it along the waist with the school emblem facing up. The left end should be on top! Then pass the left end from the bottom up into the loop.
  6. Gently tighten the knot, check if the lengths of the ends are equal. If necessary, untie the knot, slide the belt around the waist in the desired direction and tie again. Ready!

Method two

How to tie a belt on a kimono? Let's consider the second option.

  1. Place the end of the belt with the school emblem on the right side of the waist, the emblem towards you. Determine the length of the end for yourself empirically. For the first time, take about 40 cm from the place of the future node.
  2. Wrap the remaining long end around you twice, placing the second layer on top of the first.
  3. The upper end (it should be directed to the left after the turn) tuck from below under both layers of the belt.
  4. Next, tie the belt, as indicated in paragraphs 4, 5, 6 of the first method.

The above methods on how to tie a belt on a kimono for karate classes (it’s more correct to call it not a kimono, but dogi - this means “a suit for following the Path” or karategi - a “suit for practicing karate”) are used in styles such as Kyokushinkai, Shotokan . There are other ways, but general principles- the same ends and the location of the emblems - remain the same.

Now you know how to tie a kimono belt. Karate is waiting for you!

If you or your child decide to take up karate, then at the very first lesson you will be faced with the question of how to properly tie a kimono belt. By the way, according to how correctly tied up, they judge his professionalism and skill. So, before you start training and training, you need to learn this important thing.

Where to begin?

Of course, you should start with the purchase of a kimono and the right belt. The length of the kimono belt should be three meters. And then just get familiar with short instruction and strictly follow it when changing clothes.

Brief instructions for tying a belt

  • First, you need to take the belt in front of you with both hands so that its middle part is located near the stomach.
  • Next, you should wrap the belt around your waist, cross it at the back on the lower back and return the ends in front of you again. There is a small nuance: it is desirable that the left end of the belt be slightly shorter than the right. This will make the tying process much easier and the final knot will be neat and tidy.
  • At the next stage, you need to cross the left end on the right and pry it from the bottom up into the loop formed so that all the tours of the belt winding are captured.
  • kimono (karate) next? It is necessary to bend its lower end, now located on the right, directly from above to the left tip, twist them together. Having tied a beautiful even knot, you should tighten it at both ends at the same time.

The final but necessary stage of tying the belt

To know how to tie a kimono (karate) belt in accordance with the instructions of experts, you need to fulfill one more requirement. It may be purely aesthetic, but it is still considered necessary. In order to complete the process of tying the belt on the kimono, there is very little left: you need to grab both ends with your arms extended forward and make sure that they are the same length. If everything worked out for you, it means that the lesson has been learned and now it will not be a shame to go to the training room. And the knot itself, knitted in such a cunning way, will never untangle arbitrarily - everything is thought out to the smallest detail.

By the way, among karatekas, this special moment is considered to be the achievement of harmony between body and spirit. So if the first time you didn’t learn how to tie a kimono (karate) belt, it doesn’t matter, try again and again. It is not so easy to harmonize the body and spirit!

And how to tie a traditional national kimono belt?

How to tie a kimono (karate) belt, you have already read. But there is also a traditional Japanese outfit, which is girded with a special accessory - an obi. Kimono in this country since the 19th century has been considered for men and women, supported and decorated with a special belt. And the most luxurious kimonos are geishas.

The obi is made of cloth and is five meters long! It is tied over a kimono in a special way, but much easier than a karate belt. In order to cope with the task, you need the following.

First, you need to bring the ends behind your back and cross there. The end that is in the right hand should be crossed under the right tip and pulled up. Secondly, the end, which is clamped in the left hand, must be dragged down through the loop formed, and then stretch the right end through the second loop formed.

Both ends must be tightened tightly so that they become equal in length. Ready! By the way, the knot on the obi, which is more like a bow, is tied at the back and can be shaped in a variety of ways, so wind on as you please.