We step onto the mats and we haven’t dressed ourselves properly.
Like a small child.
Remember how frustrating it was not knowing how to tie your shoe laces?
Probably not because it was a long time ago, but anyone who picks up jiu-jitsu gets to relive a version of this with the belt.
When BJJ was first imposed on me (because the gym was freezing cold) and I was handed a gi and a belt, I realized I had no idea how to dress myself.
My instructor had to show me how to wear my gi (left lapel over right) and then tie my belt for me.
Which makes a guy feel like a small child. Especially when it happens class after class. And again after watching a video and doing it poorly.
I had to relive this twice, because I stopped playing BJJ for a couple of years and forgot the technique.
When You’re New, Your Homework Is Learning to Tie Your Belt
New students often ask about supplemental stuff to do at home.
Like… homework. (I'm unsure why this has become a trend.)
I take the opportunity to tell them yes, there is:
Practice tying the belt.
Seriously.
And if you’re the parent of a young player, it’s your homework too—in fact, it'll give you a leg up on the rest of us. You'll be able to walk around tying belts onto other people like it's nothing while the others (yours truly) still has to do the awkward reach-around method when someone needs a hand.
How To Learn To Tie Your Belt
Go online and watch a few videos (no recommendations here—what I find useful might not be the same as what you find useful, and there's a few different ways to wrap the belt around us where some preference comes in.)
Jessica does it differently than I do, for example. She knows how to wrap her belt around so it doesn't fold over itself in the back. I have no idea how she does it and I don't care, but she insists that it makes a difference—and that's important.
Where it ends though is the knot.
This should be the same for everyone. It's called a square knot, it comes from judo and when tied properly it makes the nice symmetrical shape, lays flat, and it locks in place and doesn't fall open.
About New Belts
Lots of people notice that when they first get a new belt tied onto them, the ends stick out like antennae, instead of looking all cool and relaxed like everyone else's. This is a temporary thing that everyone lives through over and over as they belt up through jiu-jitsu.
New belts are non-compliant. Once they're laundered a few times and after a dozen or so classes they soften up and are easier to handle and stay tied.
The First Technique
It's maybe 15 minutes of effort spread over a few classes for an adult.
For small kids there's an extra layer.
Tying a belt is a fine motor skill task. The width of the belt is close enough to the width of a gi lapel (identical in adult and kids gis) that it's a decent analog until their tiny hands grow big enough to grip an actual lapel.
Tying a belt as tight as they can and then undoing it lets them practice manipulating something and builds grip strength and coordination.
It’s About Confidence
Let's go back to tying shoes.
Imagine you still had to ask for help tying your shoes—you’re a grown-ass adult!
Would you ever wear lace up shoes again?
Or would you have a closet of every type of laceless shoe available?
Now imagine reliving that at class. It cuts into your practice time. If you’re a parent it’s a hiccup that interrupts your kid’s flow.
Solve it. Practice tying your belt at home.
Over and over again. More than you think when you’re starting out.
In BJJ the apparatus is the same for everyone. Jacket, pants and belt.
Tying a belt confidently makes you feel like you belong. You’ve mastered the most basic part of jiu-jitsu after showing up:
Dressing properly.