Women obi question

Alright all you ladies out there with hips and tiny waits.... I need your help. I have always tied my belt up on my waist (despite knowing that it is supposed to be lower). My sensei has decided to get us girls to start trying to wear our belts lower where they are suposed to be. Well, last night was the first night of this new tying location for me. I didn't work out so well. It kept riding up and ending up quite high on my rib cage.... grrr.... So, I was left tugging it down the rest of the class after every technique.

SO.... what do you ladies do to help keep it down on your hips?

Men... if you know the answer, feel free to chime in as well.

Your sensei has got to be a man....

Dig up some pics of japanese ladies in hakama, you'll see they tie theirs higher than the men do. That might persuade your sensei if he's after something "traditional".

Short answer - I tie my obi on my waist where it wants to be.

kvaak
Pauliina

I second Pauliina - women and men are just not built the same; a belt around your hips is just decoration, and probably pretty annoying!

Women have a natural waistline several inches above the hip and that's where a belt is tied. To try otherwise - as most of us have done as newbies - is to spend all your time being uncomfortable and distracted instead of training.

It's as simple as anatomy and shape. I believe men tie theirs lower for the same reason men wear pants lower around their hips. Tie it where it fits and stays.

If I tie mine tightly around the narrowest part, it ends up bothering the bottom of my ribs. So I tie it a little looser, and it rests just on the tops of my hip bones. Seems to work well, and nobody has said anything.

Pauliina Lievonen wrote: Your sensei has got to be a man.... Dig up some pics of japanese ladies in hakama, you'll see they tie theirs higher than the men do. That might persuade your sensei if he's after something "traditional". Short answer - I tie my obi on my waist where it wants to be. kvaak Pauliina

I'm with Paulina here. Traditional dress has women's obis tied higher than men's. I believe I dug that up, on a wiki article, on the subject last week.

I tie my belt where it wants to be. Last thing I need is any more wardrobe malfunctions in the middle of a class. I've just managed to get things to stay where I put them as it is.

Definitely at the waist. However, if you have a pair of ill-fitting pants (as are most of the cheaper dogi pants cut for men) it might not matter and your dogi just wont feel like it stays in place regardless of what you do. I broke down and got a pricey women's-cut dogi from bu-jin -- totally worth it. the jacket is tapered at the waist and the pants are elastic which you can also add customizations (extra room for hips, shorter pants, wider waist, etc.)

I'll second that about the dogi from Bu-Jin. Even if the pants come untied, the elastic keeps them up! And I had my sleeves cut a little short, so I don't have to roll them up. Fewer lumps to land on when rolling. I got the medium weight one, which is still very sturdy, but has been comfortable through all our hot weather.

The Bujin womans gi top is a wonderful product.
In terms of standard gi pants, the first thing I do with any gi pants is remove the drawstring and put in a non roll waistband elastic instead.

OT (I'm male, but agree - tie it where it fits), but wrt rolling up the sleeve mentioned in Linda's post....

One of my past sensei used to unroll sleeves when we rolled them up. Rationale (I think) - an "out there" uke ain't gonna roll up his/her sleeve, or wait for you to roll up yours before attempting to control you for a wallet grab or a tummy stab. They may even just grab the sleeve (as would be done in Judo). He wanted us to learn to grip and to do our waza with the sleeve on the arm, as it may occur when you're wearing a jacket on the way to the store, ATM, or fuel pumps...
Cheers,
Walter

Similar to the obi, the weapons belt worn by police are available in both men's and women's styles. The Sam Brown for men is straight and the Sally Brown for women is curved to fit them better.

A belt's function is to keep your gi top in place. So tie it where it can fulfill its purpose.

Karo (who refuses to follow any "traditions" unless they have a rational reason)

This came up because my sensei and his wife went to a seminar not too long ago with Chiba Sensei. At this particular seminar, Chiba Sensei proceeded to walk around the dojo and retie the ladies obi's lower on their hips.

As for my gi, it fits alright. The only problem is my top just doesn't seem to stay closed as well with my obi tied low on my hips instead of at my waist though.

To kind of caveat off what Janet mentioned...it seems BuJin is relatively 'woman friendly." They also make hakama designed specifically for woman. I know nothing about it other than that I came across it on their website the other night...but it seems like a good idea. I hope you find a solution to the obi issue!
all the best!

Ashley Carter wrote: This came up because my sensei and his wife went to a seminar not too long ago with Chiba Sensei. At this particular seminar, Chiba Sensei proceeded to walk around the dojo and retie the ladies obi's lower on their hips. As for my gi, it fits alright. The only problem is my top just doesn't seem to stay closed as well with my obi tied low on my hips instead of at my waist though.

eeeewwwhhhh.
Why was he touching anyone's belt like that?
Mary