well this isnt exactly to do with black belts but hey its to do with belts when u grade and are moving up u can find that the belts are getting a lil steep in price as they tend to do, ask some of the older students if u can buy (or have) their old belts for good prices its worked for me and i have passed mine down too and yes.. i am a cheapo
Hi guys, As you may remember (refer to the above posts if you don't!), I purchased a silk Tokaido black belt last year. I really love the belt and it was only just starting to show some wear around the knot. However, I decided to wash the belt (carefully) for the first time, and was disappointed to discover that some of the colour had run into other clothes in the wash! I didn't know that could happen with silk. Next time I wore the belt while teaching, I noticed its colour had come off onto my uniform. I wasn't even training! Is this normal, or have do you think I have been given a 'faulty' belt?
Also check out www.mooyesa.com for belts and sashes embroidered to your exact desires... good service at a good price! Also, one of the nicest "wearing belts' as far as aging nicely was the 2" wide plain one from Asian World of Martial Arts belt It's a bit thicker and it has held up well... a few washes turned it fairly soft but hasn't faded it too much. It still looks good and hasn't started to tatter at all. For the price, it's a great deal.
Well, by tradition the karate belts don't get washed............. My green belt regularly will leave a slight green tint on my gi, especially after a good sweat, but the tint washes out w/o issue. I would imagine if I washed the poor belt it would loose a lot of color. (My white belt would too. It's almost brown. Running joke with my friends - will my white belt turn brown before I get promoted to brown belt? Although I do still wear the white belt when visiting schools of different styles, or on the rare occasion that I get to go to Aikido (poor college students can't go buy new belts)).
the only thing faulty was the decision to wash something with unfixed dye in a load of laundry with other colors. you can either a: wash it again with some vinegar to fix the dye, or b: go train the in the sea till the problem subsides. this is why they say not to wash belts, btw.
I've just received my black belt, presented by our chief sensei; it is silk with our association's motif embroidered on.
Hi Pauli, Thanks for the suggestions, but I probably better stick with the vinegar option! In fact could you elaborate on that, and explain the correct procedure for it. Also, a rationale for it would be good too.
orange is the worst for it, and I've found that it's not coming out. Dammit. I've soaked it in cold,warm, and hot water to try and get the excess out, and it's still doing it. Hope you can sort the black belt.
