Do you wash your belt?

[dazed863]

i keep my new one out of my gym bag and haven't had to wash it but maybe once a week.

my instructor said it was silly to wash it all the time

but then again.. he is from brazil... and word has it those guys barely wash their gi once a week.... maybe i should start washing my belt....

 

[cgi]

I haven't washed mine in 2 years per instructor request to students at our gym. He keeps the mats sanitized and that seems to be much more important (I have never had a skin infection from BJJ and it is rare to see one at the gym at all. Using defense soap or generic tea tree oil soap helps also.

 

[bora y]

u guys are way, WAY too sensitive on this subject.

 

[Prowler]

u guys are way, WAY too sensitive on this subject.

Say that again after missing weeks or months of training because of a preventable infection.

 

[Rjay]

Kinda pointless thread but I'm curious because I wash my gi after every time I train but I never wash my belt. Guess it's become somewhat of a personal superstitious thing of mine, anyone else do the same?

You nasty mofo. How much sweat and bacteria has accumulated from the time your belt has been rubbing across the mat? Wash your belt for your training partner's sake.

 

[Oak]

I was told by a friend when I started that you never wash your belt because it is a sign of your journey in the martial art. He is an old school Karate guy so I guess that's where he gets it from.

After seeing what my gi's go through and hearing about all the possibilities of skin infection I decided on my own to start washing my belt. If you can get a skin infection from a dirty gi why not from a dirty belt that rolls in the same mats and sweat?

 

[ShotsWereFired]

my instructor frowns upon washing the belt but i continue to do so in fear of infections. i really dislike the idea of wasting a few hundred dollars in dues because i ignored a preventable measure

 

[Johnno]

I always wash mine, even though the first thing my instructor told me to do was not wash my belt.

 

[ohmalley]

no. i do not *actually* believe that washing my belt will wash away my knowledge. that's silly. but i do like the metaphor. so i only wash it if it stinks (almost never) or gets something particularly gross on it (blood, dirt or mud, or something spills on it). and yes, i agree that folks are way too wound up about this topic. ringworm and staph have been around for ages, and i strongly believe that the reason we have so much trouble with it in the US these days (as opposed to countries where hygeine is not as vigilant) is because of our over-reliance on antimicrobials and antibiotics. we've weakened our immune systems to the bugs and germs that are all around us all the time (and we've also bred "super bugs"). a lot of folks are gonna scream and cry bloody murder about this. *shrug* let 'em. they may call me dirty. and i may call them prissy. whatever.

i wash my gi after every single wear because if i don't it stinks. a belt doesn't collect skin the way a gi does, and it gets only a fraction of the amount of sweat. hanging it out after every wear is sufficient to prevent any significant odor. it's not like there's a dormant odor that reactivates with sweat like a gi does, because it doesn't collect funk the way a gi does. i've trained in judo and TMA schools where this practice was the norm. i've never had a skin infection, have only known one training partner who's gotten one, and the only time odor has put me off was with a dirty gi or a dirty person in the gi. and yes, i've got a very sensitive schnozz.

as long as you're airing your belt out and not letting it sit damp in a bag, it's not going to ferment.

ppl get ring worm and staph infections because it's a part of socializing and personal contact. if you think it's "entirely preventable" you're fooling yourself. everybody will deal with this shit in some form or another at some point in time. maybe it'll be via bjj, maybe it'll be from the stray cat you pet on your way home. or maybe you'll just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. who knows.

i'm not gonna argue about it. just sayin my peace.

cheers!

 

[Jagcorps_esq]

no. i do not *actually* believe that washing my belt will wash away my knowledge. that's silly. but i do like the metaphor. so i only wash it if it stinks (almost never) or gets something particularly gross on it (blood, dirt or mud, or something spills on it). and yes, i agree that folks are way too wound up about this topic. ringworm and staph have been around for ages, and i strongly believe that the reason we have so much trouble with it in the US these days (as opposed to countries where hygeine is not as vigilant) is because of our over-reliance on antimicrobials and antibiotics. we've weakened our immune systems to the bugs and germs that are all around us all the time (and we've also bred "super bugs"). a lot of folks are gonna scream and cry bloody murder about this. *shrug* let 'em. they may call me dirty. and i may call them prissy. whatever.

i wash my gi after every single wear because if i don't it stinks. a belt doesn't collect skin the way a gi does, and it gets only a fraction of the amount of sweat. hanging it out after every wear is sufficient to prevent any significant odor. it's not like there's a dormant odor that reactivates with sweat like a gi does, because it doesn't collect funk the way a gi does. i've trained in judo and TMA schools where this practice was the norm. i've never had a skin infection, have only known one training partner who's gotten one, and the only time odor has put me off was with a dirty gi or a dirty person in the gi. and yes, i've got a very sensitive schnozz.

as long as you're airing your belt out and not letting it sit damp in a bag, it's not going to ferment.

ppl get ring worm and staph infections because it's a part of socializing and personal contact. if you think it's "entirely preventable" you're fooling yourself. everybody will deal with this shit in some form or another at some point in time. maybe it'll be via bjj, maybe it'll be from the stray cat you pet on your way home. or maybe you'll just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. who knows.

i'm not gonna argue about it. just sayin my peace.

cheers!

I repeat. Wash your damn belt you dirt jerk.

 

[bora y]

Say that again after missing weeks or months of training because of a preventable infection.

i've gotten r.w. before. i didn't enjoy it, but i stand by my last post.

 

[Passenger]

Nope, I probably should but I don't. you're rolling around in guys sweat all night anyway.

 

[neandtachiwaza]

Yes. but not every time. My belts would fall apart if I washed them 4-6 times a week.

 

[Prowler]

i've gotten r.w. before. i didn't enjoy it, but i stand by my last post.

Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man. :icon_chee

 

[war path]

hell nah foo

blood sweat and tears all over my belt. literally. it is a sacred item to me.

 

[Rjay]

And washing it makes it less sacred how? I love my dick more than you love your belt that that doesn't mean I let it accumulate the "memory" of where's been.

 

[war path]

And washing it makes it less sacred how? I love my dick more than you love your belt that that doesn't mean I let it accumulate the "memory" of where's been.

i have the blood of my enemies on my belt. i have the sweat of my hard work covering the blood of my enemies. and i have the tears of my defeats mixing in. there is nothing more sweet and poetic than that.

how bout this: let me not wash my belt and you can wash your belt and then we can agree to disagree and go our separate ways aiiht

 

[Jagcorps_esq]

i have the blood of my enemies on my belt. i have the sweat of my hard work covering the blood of my enemies. and i have the tears of my defeats mixing in. there is nothing more sweet and poetic than that.

how bout this: let me not wash my belt and you can wash your belt and then we can agree to disagree and go our separate ways aiiht

It's not sweet and poetic.

It's filthy and germ infested.

You can do what you want though, because everyone has the right to be an asshole.

 

[armtriangle]

i have the blood of my enemies on my belt. i have the sweat of my hard work covering the blood of my enemies. and i have the tears of my defeats mixing in. there is nothing more sweet and poetic than that.

how bout this: let me not wash my belt and you can wash your belt and then we can agree to disagree and go our separate ways aiiht

Your gi has even more blood and sweat on it. You shouldn't wash it either.

Your skin has even more sweat and blood on it. You shouldn't wash yourself either.


Personally, I don't care if you wash your belt or not. I don't wash mine very often... but it not because it is somehow holy... It is because I just don't think it gets that much funk on it and it is falling apart as it is. I would have to retape my stripes a lot and I would have had to replace it I am sure at least twice.

 

[curb1850]

It's not sweet and poetic.

It's filthy and germ infested.

You can do what you want though, because everyone has the right to be an asshole.

LOL!!!

Yeah I wash it. Stripes are coming off though. I'm sure my teacher won't mind putting a few pieces of tape on my belt in turn for it being clean.