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Old 11-04-2009, 10:16 AM   #1
Victoria Pitt
Dojo: Shinjinkai, Chicago, IL
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Disgust I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Yes, laugh if you must. I try keep everything in place, however it is really frustrating to me.

I have a hard time keeping my gi on. My belt is always coming untied or I can feel my pants starting to fall off! It seems funny when you're talking about it but when your in the middle of a seminar practicing breakfalls, trying to be all suave and pull your pants up so no one notices every time you're rolling on your back, it can be a tad stressful! Last week during weapons (of course when I was the one counting) my belt flew off and here I am with an open gi (I learned to wear a tank top at all times after my second class so I was still modest!). I finished my counting then ran to the edge of the mat to sort myself out (which then only lasted for 10 more mins before my belt started to go again).

I cannot for the life of me figure out why my gi won't stay on right when everyone else's seems to be fine. Am I missing some trick to this? I have asked people in the dojo and they just think its funny. Maybe that is why I am not catching on... I'm always too worried if my pants are going to stay up! It's beyond annoying.

And yes, we discussed suspenders but I realized that I might get shoulder burns!

(now you all know the reason why I want to rank enough to get a hakima... not to say I'm super Aikido woman but in case my pants fall down, no one will see!)

~Do one thing each day that scares you...~
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Old 11-04-2009, 10:26 AM   #2
Tinyboy344
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

I have a solution. SUPER GLUE! It fixes everything that comes apart j/k

I think you should tie everything tighter and double knot, except the belt of course . New belts tend to get untied easier than worn ones.
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Old 11-04-2009, 11:01 AM   #3
ninjaqutie
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

What type of pants do you have? If you have the drawstring type, try double knotting them. New belts are notorious for coming untied. It takes some time to break them in (esp. the really thick belts). Tie it as tight as you can or have a big strong guy tighten the knot as much as possible. Your belt shouldn't be just falling off of you if you have it tied properly (though I am sure it can!). If you tuck the belt behind the layers before you do the last knot, this should keep it up even if it does come unknotted. I have found (to my sensei's dismay) that I have to tie my belt around my waist and not the hips to keep mine snug and in position. If I tie mine on the hips, it seems to loosen up more and then rides up to my chest. Maybe try tying it at different locations to figure out if one works better. Finally, the last thing you could try (talk to your sensei first to see if it is okay) some females put velcro on their gi to help keep it closed better. Since most aikido students wear judo gi, you don't really have the ties like you do with karate gi's to help keep it closed.

Good luck!

~Look into the eyes of your opponent & steal his spirit.
~To be a good martial artist is to be good thief; if you want my knowledge, you must take it from me.
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Old 11-04-2009, 11:03 AM   #4
Victoria Pitt
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Quote:
Duy Trinh wrote: View Post
I have a solution. SUPER GLUE! It fixes everything that comes apart j/k

I think you should tie everything tighter and double knot, except the belt of course . New belts tend to get untied easier than worn ones.
=( I square knot my pants. Sometimes I think I've lose 5lbs between warm ups and technique and that is why suddenly my pants are falling off. I have tried compensating by going tighter but (and maybe I am the only one this happens to) when I get all sweaty and need to take my pants off after class, I can't get the strings to loosen up!

Perhaps I should try a different gi maker? I just said I wouldn't purchase another gi until the ones I have wear out or I rank (so I can put the patch on the nice new gi and wear that one when I am going to a seminar or visiting. It becomes my "Sunday Best" gi).

~Do one thing each day that scares you...~
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Old 11-04-2009, 11:07 AM   #5
Victoria Pitt
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Quote:
Ashley Carter wrote: View Post
What type of pants do you have? I have found (to my sensei's dismay) that I have to tie my belt around my waist and not the hips to keep mine snug and in position. If I tie mine on the hips, it seems to loosen up more and then rides up to my chest. Maybe try tying it at different locations to figure out if one works better. Finally, the last thing you could try (talk to your sensei first to see if it is okay) some females put velcro on their gi to help keep it closed better. Since most aikido students wear judo gi, you don't really have the ties like you do with karate gi's to help keep it closed.

Good luck!
Drawstring... is there another kind?

Also, I did hurt my back when I first started and its been sore ever since. I realize that having the belt really tight was causing more pain in my back and limiting my movement... so I actually purchased a belt one size up so that I could still have it around my hips but enough left over after I knot it. I never thought to "tuck" it so I will try that.

~Do one thing each day that scares you...~
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Old 11-04-2009, 11:17 AM   #6
Voitokas
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

For the belt, I'd wash it with every load of laundry until it gets soft enough not to come undone. That is a common problem with new belts. I've heard there are creative ways to tie them so they don't come undone, but I don't know them. Once you've washed it ~20 times it should stay tied in the normal reef knot.

For the pants, I'd go with a double-knotted shoelace knot rather than a square knot. You can tie it tightly and still get it undone.

All that said, things will still come apart sometimes! The tank top's probably a good idea...

I am not an expert
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Old 11-04-2009, 11:40 AM   #7
ramenboy
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

hahahaha

hey victoria! its me jerry!

hmmm... hips are supposed to keep the pants from falling down...

anyways, try this. pull the drawstrings tight around the waist, tie a bow, then fold the waist over the drawstrings. that should keep the drawstrings from untying

its worked for me. even without the hakama.

as for the jacket, you can try geting a white kendo gi that ties inside the jacekt and at the lapel. we use those for iaido and it works fine.

see you at the dojo

practice hard
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Old 11-04-2009, 11:48 AM   #8
ninjaqutie
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

There are other styles of pants. Some have elastic and bujin has elastic waists, a belt and has a zipper even.

As for the belt, you can try a few different ways and this is one of them. You start off with the tradtional way. After you wrap it around and have it at the front, cross left over right and bring the belt up and behind both layers of belts (not just one), then do right over left to finish the square knot.

This is the little trick: Once that is done, you can take the right end of the belt and bring it up towards your face. Then stick it down between the two layers of the tied belt and then pull it tight in the direction towards the floor. Then do the same with the left end, but this time on the left side of the knot. It will give you an extra way to keep it secure. Just ask your sensei to make sure it is alright. I am having a hard time finding a pic of it though... but I did find this video and it looks like he did what I mentioned

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTxgM...eature=related

Last edited by ninjaqutie : 11-04-2009 at 11:50 AM.

~Look into the eyes of your opponent & steal his spirit.
~To be a good martial artist is to be good thief; if you want my knowledge, you must take it from me.
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Old 11-04-2009, 11:57 AM   #9
Peter Wong
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

I would do what Jeremy said with the belt. I would put knit elastic around the waist of the pants, so if they do come untied they still will stay up.
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Old 11-04-2009, 12:02 PM   #10
Shadowfax
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

I had a few wardrobe issues in the beginning too. But I've about sorted them out.

Since nature has been so very generous to me, I have found that a regular white t-shirt is preferable even to a tank top. For some reason tank tops still tend to create modestly issues for me. And if that does not distract the other members of the dojo it sure as heck distracts me. Shirts do tend to ride up under the gi top but a looser belt tie seems to actually help keep that more controlled than a tight one.Not to mention it makes breathing and moving a bit easier. I also wear a karate gi which has the handy ties to help in the case that my belt should come undone. If your gi does not have them you can easily add them by buying some white cotton ribbon, at the fabric store, and sewing them on.

I've only had my belt come undone a couple of times and it does seem that once it got broken in it was no longer an issue.

For the pants. Do you have that little loop at the front? Run the strings both through that loop (one heading in each direction) then tie your knot over the top of it tight. To losen the knot jsut grab one of the string ends and give a hard pull upward. It always works for me.

Cotton does stretch some as you sweat and warm up so its not your imagination. Your belts and ties do stretch out and get loose.
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Old 11-04-2009, 12:06 PM   #11
Victoria Pitt
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

*waves at Jerry* Hello!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will try in class tomorrow and see if I am more successful. I do notice that I have been getting distracted by worrying about my clothes so hopefully this will solve that!

Thanks again! =D

~Do one thing each day that scares you...~
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Old 11-04-2009, 12:14 PM   #12
Tambreet
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

I hate the standard drawstring pants and could never figure out how to tie them so they didn't fall down. So I switched to zipper pants and haven't gone back since.

As for the belt, there are ways you can tie that so it absolutely won't come undone (sorry, don't have a link for that).
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Old 11-04-2009, 12:30 PM   #13
Pauliina Lievonen
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

What I do is (starting with the innermost layer): tuck my t-shirt under my underpants so it doesn't come loose. Tie the drawstring of the pants like Cherie said through the little loop, the knot it with half a shoestring tie, that is, I make a loop on one side only, that way the knot is somewhat more secure but I can still pull it open after practice (and yes mine gets sweaty and difficult to undo). I've sewn extra ties on all my jackets, and then after a couple years had them ripped off all but one jacket, haven't bothered to put them back...my obi goes around my waist because that is the only place it will stay. Make sure you know how to make a proper knot on the obi, ask one of the seniors.

And when I'm not wearing a hakama, I will be adjusting my jacket all class long, but if you look around, so is everybody else. It gives a welcome little breather every now and then.

kvaak
Pauliina
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Old 11-04-2009, 12:50 PM   #14
tjeziorny
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Had the same problem with with my belt. After my first seminar, where re-tying it every few minutes for 6 hours got really annoying, I found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksKl1ptKUV8

This knot does not loosen and will not come undone, at least I haven't been able to make it happen!

Tom
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Old 11-04-2009, 12:53 PM   #15
Fred Little
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Regarding drawstring pants:

Once, I had similar issues in vigorous practice, so I studied the question of "how do I tie my pants" pretty carefully. What I found was that if I pulled the strings taut from the front and then tied them, they always came loose. However, if I pulled the strings taut at my sides, on the same line as the back of the pants, then snugged and tied the knot in front, they tended to stay tied.

Hope this helps.

FL

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Old 11-04-2009, 01:04 PM   #16
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

I just checked this thread out simply cause it had something about clothing coming off and noticed that Fred LIttle posted a comment.

I have no answer, my Obi always comes loose and I have to re-tie my pants a few times during practice.

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Old 11-04-2009, 01:43 PM   #17
Janet Rosen
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

I always put waistband elastic into my gi pants to help keep them up. I always take a white shoelace, cut it in half, and sew the halves to the gi top to greate a "modesty tie" - sometimes I also do a set at the waistline of the top.
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Old 11-04-2009, 04:40 PM   #18
eyrie
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

I find elastic waistbands dreadfully awful... I prefer the older style gi pants where the drawstring loops back and tightens on itself. (See attached).

You can also get gi tops with modesty ties, so that in the event that your belt comes undone (which it shouldn't if it's wrapped properly), your modesty isn't.
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Ignatius
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Old 11-04-2009, 04:53 PM   #19
phitruong
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

bujin gi got elastic and draw string for pant. gi top got modesty ties. i kinda like gi that designed by aikido folks for aikido folks. i heard the owner of bujin design knows a bit about aikido.
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Old 11-04-2009, 05:01 PM   #20
Janet Rosen
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Quote:
Ignatius Teo wrote: View Post
I find elastic waistbands dreadfully awful... .
You are a man = no hips > elastic sucks
OP is a woman = hips > elastic rocks

Janet Rosen
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Old 11-04-2009, 05:03 PM   #21
Janet Rosen
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Quote:
Phi Truong wrote: View Post
bujin gi got elastic and draw string for pant. gi top got modesty ties. i kinda like gi that designed by aikido folks for aikido folks. i heard the owner of bujin design knows a bit about aikido.
heheheh. If someone has the $ to spend on quality gi, can't go wrong with their woman's gi top (although I'd still add a tie at the bustline - at least on the old version I own it only tied at the waist); I've never worn but have seen their pants and they really are well designed.

Janet Rosen
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Old 11-04-2009, 05:06 PM   #22
eyrie
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Quote:
Janet Rosen wrote: View Post
You are a man = no hips > elastic sucks
OP is a woman = hips > elastic rocks
I am? How astute Janet!

I'll have you know that I have shapely hips, and man boobs to match!

Ignatius
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Old 11-04-2009, 06:49 PM   #23
Rob Watson
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Quote:
Fred Little wrote: View Post
However, if I pulled the strings taut at my sides, on the same line as the back of the pants, then snugged and tied the knot in front, they tended to stay tied.
Recently I've been going a bit higher on the belly and a bit tighter with the gi pants tie - the extra pressure from the belly really keeps the knot tight.

Quote:
Tom Jeziorny wrote: View Post
Had the same problem with with my belt. After my first seminar, where re-tying it every few minutes for 6 hours got really annoying, I found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksKl1ptKUV8

This knot does not loosen and will not come undone, at least I haven't been able to make it happen!

Tom
I switched to this method of knotting the belt ~2 years ago and never had the belt come untied since. My gi jacket does tend to ride up a bit more with this type of knot compared to before when using a square knot.

With a hakama the jacket rides up less but I still notice it a bit and adjust as needed.

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Old 11-04-2009, 06:50 PM   #24
heathererandolph
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Once you have tightened the draw string of the pants, even out the gathers in the fabric (spread them out) and re tighten. What happens is the draw string is usually flat, so it catches. You could double knot the square not if that comes undone. The Bu Jin pants with the drawstring work better because the drawstring is round so it doesn't take as much work, but they are more expensive of course. For the belt, have someone pull it really tightly. Don't use fabric softener!
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Old 11-04-2009, 08:36 PM   #25
Janet Rosen
 
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Re: I can't seem to keep my clothes on!

Quote:
Ignatius Teo wrote: View Post
I am? How astute Janet!
A baccalaureate in nursing science and 30 years in the profession - I've learned SOMEthing!
{giggling}

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