Long hair in the Dojo - is a pony-tail OK?

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by KarateMum, Mar 29, 2015.

  1. KarateMum

    KarateMum Valued Member

    No-one has said anything, but I just wondered if there is any hair-style etiquette in the Dojo for those with long hair. I've been wearing a pony-tail - is this OK?
     
  2. Dean Winchester

    Dean Winchester Valued Member

    Tie it up and make sure it doesn't get in the way. :)

    Pony tail sounds fine.
     
  3. Aegis

    Aegis River Guardian Admin Supporter

    Pony tail should be fine for most activities. My wife swears by a French plait for groundwork or throwing, as she finds that a pony tail comes apart too easily and gets in the way, but I imagine it depends a lot on your hair and your club.
     
  4. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    I doubt there's any etiquette. Pony tail is a good and usual solution from what I've seen. After all it's not very comfortable to have your hair in the way or having someone stomp on it and tear some off for example... :)
     
  5. Moosey

    Moosey invariably, a moose Supporter

    Yeah, pony-tail's fine for karate. You won't be spending much time wrestling on the floor (unless your club is one of the rare wado clubs that does that) so as long as it stays out of your eyes and doesn't get caught on anyone's gi or gloves or anything, you'll be sorted.
     
  6. Rebel Wado

    Rebel Wado Valued Member

    Good for Kung Fu:

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT6Ft4OdyOU"]Pony tail Kungfu - YouTube[/ame]
     
  7. Ben Gash CLF

    Ben Gash CLF Valued Member

    Not so good for MMA [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--jcjx77PM"]Erik Paulson vs James Warring - YouTube[/ame]
     
  8. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    Classic footage. Erik Paulson fighting and Cecil Peoples (shudder) reffing.

    Ponytail is fine in training but yeah my friends tie up braids for grappling or even during intense dancing sessions.

    I used to have long hair, long enough for a short ponytail. Then during grappling class I went up against a guy who just naturally had B.O.
    The kind of guy who showers but as soon as they sweat, they stink. Obviously with the amount of contact there is in grappling (this being the early 2000s) there was no rash guards etc. My clothes and hair just absorbed all the sweat and smell.

    I scrubbed my hair twice and it was still in there. It got so bad that I decided to cut my ponytail off and kept my hair short since then.
     
  9. KarateMum

    KarateMum Valued Member

    Mushroom - yuk!!

    Many thanks the rest of you. At least it doesn't sound as though I need worry that I am not required to stick it in a bun and stuff a chopstick in it!!!

    I have been threatened with grading in the next few weeks (Nooooo!! I am so not ready!) and just wanted to make sure I am attired and presented correctly.
     
  10. akiarlz

    akiarlz New Member

    At one school I attended, if you were a 3rd dan and up, if you didn't have pretty much buzzed hair (even a girl) you were not allowed to train until you did. I had yet to see anyone not comply with that, and it makes sense in terms of self-defense on the street. Hair is so easy to grab and get in the way- at times its a vulnerability.
     
  11. Latikos

    Latikos Valued Member

    But not everyone learns martial arts for the sole purpose of the evil street.
    I mean, I wouldn't have a problem, because my hair is short anyway, but if I were to wear my hair long, I'd probably be very tempted to flip my instructor the bird (and not take another test at that level).
    Being obligated to wear the hair short, because you might get attacked on the street - too much paranoia building for my liking.
     
  12. Moi

    Moi Warriors live forever x

    I'd of done the opposite just because
     
  13. KarateMum

    KarateMum Valued Member

    Moi, me too, but then I have a slightly rebellious streak in me for things like that. However, it was the last suggestion that I expected to be proposed and so from, what appeared to be a yes/no answer we now have a slightly more interesting discussion.

    In the army you are doing a job and getting paid for it, ergo perhaps they can enforce a required hair style for practical reasons. However, should it be a requirement for a voluntary sport if if it requires a permanent change like a buzzed cut?
     
  14. Latikos

    Latikos Valued Member

    I guess in the end it depends on each individual and if (s)he is fine with it, when being told about it right from the beginning.

    Since I have short hair anyway, I just imagine it the other way around: If I were to come to a club/ school and they'd tell me to let grow my hair, so I can have a pony tail... I'd be not exactly enthusiastic about it ^^

    On the other hand, if I were to know, that the teacher there is exactly what I want or need and that I would get an excellent tuition, I actually might reconsider. I don't know.
    For example: One of my teachers could actually tell me that and I would at least think about it; the others - well, not so much.
    (Not that any of them would actually do that!).

    I think the most important thing would be, that the school/ the instructor tells about "traps" like that right away. Before a potential student even get an application form.
    So (s)he can decide, if that would be something (s)he can live with.
     
  15. matveimediaarts

    matveimediaarts Underappreciated genius

    FWIW, I've been using a ponytail for my entire MA life. :) Just don't spar with fighters who fight dirty. :p Cheaters are a pain. I've seen loads of WMMA and WIJF fighters with long hair. Don't worry, be happy. :D
     
  16. Ros Montgomery

    Ros Montgomery Valued Member

    So, if you were a 2nd dan or below, having longer hair would be fine? How is it different for lower grades in terms of self-defense on the street?

    Not ever leaving the house also makes sense in terms of self-defense and is almost as silly a proposal, IMHO. :)
     
  17. KarateMum

    KarateMum Valued Member

    3rd Dan - so black belt or above, yes? As above from Ros Montgomery I can't see why it should make a difference esp. At that level. It would almost make more sense to enforce it at lower levels, almostas a mark that you were about to start taking things sufficiently seriously rather than just trying it out. Rather than when your training was fairly complete and you were just polishing and perfecting your syllabus and maybe teaching. The logic rather baffles me unless the instructor had a bit pride going on and thought that it was a way of getting other high level students to bend to her will and deglamourise them. Sounds a bit Cobra kai to me!!
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2015
  18. akiarlz

    akiarlz New Member

    It was more about setting an example, than a rule. The higher ranked you got, the more you had to do as such.

    I disagree entirely- keeping your hair short is very beneficial in terms of self-defense.

    3rd dan was where you really entered into the rigors of the martial training, 1st and 2nd dan were considered preparation along those lines. Keeping short hair was always encouraged for anyone as being the norm at the school, and most of us did. 3rd dan was where you were always on his radar, so why give him reason to throw you into having a belt on the rail, or worse, exhausting rounds of sparring.

    We didn't consider training anywhere near complete until 3rd dan- until then you were just along the way. I've seen someone thrown back in the white belt class for 3 months there because they got into their car wrong. Different levels of rank= different levels of treatment, and always much more harshly.
     
  19. Latikos

    Latikos Valued Member

    Sure, of course you could get grabbed in the hair.
    But where do the risk start? When you leave your house? When you enter a mall? Walk a street?
    Maybe students of that school should sit at their couches, so no one can even consider to attack them.
    My point being: You can't lead you entire life and everything it involves (like a haircut, which really is a minor thing) being afraid, that someone might attack you and grab your hair then.
    Or, more precisely: *I* couldn't and wouldn't want to live like that.
    Besides, what happens, when the attacker hits you over the head from behind? The length of the hair wouldn't help then.

    Aside from the point, that I think it's ... let's call it "weird" do I understand you correct: Sparring was punishment? o_O

    Uhm... yeah...
    Guess, I would leave a school like that right away.
    How can it be of any business of the instructor, how I enter my car?
    What if I don't even own a car (I personally take buses and trains)? Do I never get to get tested, because obviously I wouldn't know how to enter a car properly? o_O

    I don't have a single instructor, teacher, coach who treats people different depending on their ranks, aside from the obvious: Higher ranks are supposed to have better technique.
    A blue belt is supposed to throw a fine O-Goshi, as an exaggerated example, whereas the new white belt is allowed to have not a near-perfect technique.
    But if I do something outside of the rules (I'm a yellow belt) I get the same punishment as our highest ranking students would.
     
  20. blindside

    blindside Valued Member

    I had long hair for about half my time in martial arts. Total pain in the butt for BJJ, aside from the mess it made on the mat I actually got choked out by my ponytail at one point. In kenpo it wasn't a big deal until my black belt test where I basically got lifted off the ground by my hair and then got beaten in a similar manner as Eric Paulson did in that above video (though thankfully for not as long). Now I have short hair, but mostly because it is easier to deal with.
     

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