For those who are passionate about Jui Jitsu, a gi belt is a prestigious honor that represents their achievement of developing their martial art skills.
This belt will signify your level in BJJ (a form of martial art,) but if you cannot tie your belt correctly it will undermine your achievement.
This is why throughout this article, we will go through the correct ways that you can tie your belt and ensure that it is done correctly.
After all, you’ve worked hard for your achievements and the last thing you want is for that to be diminished due to a slight error or simple mistake.
How To Tie Your GI Belt
Regardless of which knot you choose, you’ll need to follow these three steps in order to tie your gi belt.
Make Sure It’s In Your Hands Correct Side Up
Often, gi belts have logos and embroidery on them therefore it is vital that you tie the belt facing the correct way up.
There are two reasons why, one so that you can actually see the embroidery, and two so that you look clean and professional while you’re practicing the art.
Wrap The Belt Around Your Waist Twice
Regardless of the method that you choose, you should always make sure that you’ve looped your belt two times, not just once. This is so that when you are on the mat or rolling it doesn’t come undone or fall off.
If you are struggling to wrap it around your waist twice, then it is an indication that your belt is too small.
Tie The Belt With Your Knot Of Choice
Soon we will go into several different ways that you can tie the knot of your belt. Once the belt is wrapped twice around your waist, you’ll need to choose one of the knots, whichever is easiest or most comfortable for you.
4 Ways To Tie Your GI Belt
There are different sets of advantages and disadvantages to each knot, and it’s really a case of finding the right fit for you personally.
There are many different ways that you can tie your belts, but we’re going to focus on the most common 4 knots that you tend to find.
Classic
The classic is perhaps the most traditional approach to tying your gi belt. The way to do this is to form a knot that interlinks the whole of your belt around your waist. You can watch how this is done here.
This belt is great because you can be sure it will not budge while you are sparring. It’s a classic for a reason – and that’s because it does the job well. In fact, this technique is used for jiu-jitsu, judo, and karate.
It is probably one of the most common ways a belt will be tied.
Quick And Dirty Tie
The quick and dirty method is pretty similar to tying your shoe laces in a double knot. It’s a good option for when you are running a bit late and need to tie your belt quickly.
However, if you have a little extra time then I would suggest using one of the other methods as this one can tend to come loose as you are moving. And when the belt comes loose and unties it can look quite bad or unprofessional.
Superlock Hollywood Knot
The superlock knot is much like the classic knot, except you could argue this looks a little cleaner and sharper.
You will loop the belt around your waist just like you would in the classic except this time you will ensure that the two layers sit on top of each other perfectly.
This can be done by placing one end of the belt on your navel and then wrapping the belt around your waist twice. It’s vital that during the second wrap you ensure it aligns perfectly with the first layer of the belt.
You can watch how to do this here
Old School Belt Tie
The way we secure our belts now has changed a fair bit since this old-school method. Now, you’ll usually wrap the belt around twice to ensure they cling together.
But in the old school method, it was only knotted in one line of the belt. This intentionally made the belt looser from the other line.
I wouldn’t really recommend this as your knot of choice for practicing martial arts, as the new methods are a lot better for keeping the knot tight and sturdy.
But if you do like the look of this old way of tying your belt you can check out how to do that here.
Final Thoughts
Getting a gi belt is a great achievement for those practicing martial arts. And those wearing them want to be able to wear them proudly and correctly. That is why knowing how to tie one properly is essential.
Luckily, wrapping these belts around your waist and tying the knots is not all that difficult once you know the correct procedure.
There are many different variations of knots for these belts and there is no wrong or right way to do so.
Have some fun and experiment with the different knots that you have learned in this article today and see which you find the easiest to do, which you find the most comfortable, and which you find looks the best.
And of course, remember that these are just the four most common and popular knots but by no means are they the only knots out there.
Once you’ve practiced and got these down you can always move on to other knots and see how you find them.
But hopefully, through this article, you have got all the basics down and are ready for the next time it comes to tying that gi belt and you can be assured that you will be looking professional, clean, sharp, and ready to go!
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