The OBI/belt is used primarily to keep your dogi top from opening.
- Fold your belt in half and find the center.
- Place the center just below your navel and wrap both ends around your waist bringing the tips back to the front. Make sure not to twist the belt and that the ends are even.
- Bring the left over the right and tuck under both parts in front of your waist and pull ends left and right to form the first knot.
- Bring the top over the bottom and tie your second knot pulling left and right (horizontally).
An obi should always be respected but not revered. It contains symbolic meaning. You can tell a lot about someone and their attitude just by the care they wear and treat their obi.
- Do not drop or have it drag on the floor. This denotes carelessness and disrespect.
- Never wash your obi even if it stiff and difficult to keep tied. Only by tying and untying it will you *break* it in, meaning you must train often. It is said that your training spirit and hard work (including your sweat and sometimes blood) lie in your belt, and if you wash it, you are cleansing this spirit away.
