How Do You Tie a Jiu-Jitsu Belt?
Fold the belt in half to find its centre, hold that centre against your stomach, then wrap both ends around your waist and bring them back to the front. Pass one end up under both layers, cross that end over the other, tuck it through the loop and pull both ends tight.
That is the whole thing. The reason it gets written about so much is not that the knot is hard, it is that almost nobody gets it to hold on the first few tries. The steps below are the version we walk beginners through on the mats, with the corrections built in.
The Method, Step by Step
- Close the gi first. Left side over right, held shut with one hand. The belt is what keeps the jacket closed, so tying it over a badly wrapped gi means undoing everything a minute later.
- Find the centre of the belt. Fold it in half, pinch the middle, and hold that point against your stomach roughly level with your navel.
- Wrap twice. Take both ends around your waist, cross them behind your back, and bring them to the front again. You should now be looking at two flat layers of belt across your front.
- Even up the ends. Pull until both ends are the same length. This is the step people skip, and uneven ends here stay uneven in the finished knot.
- Pass one end under both layers. Take either end, feed it upward underneath both layers of belt, and pull it through until it sits snug against you.
- Tie the knot. Cross the end you just pulled through over the other end, tuck it up through the loop that forms, and pull.
- Tighten outward, not downward. Pull both ends straight out to the sides. The knot should end up flat and horizontal across the front of your waist.
Why Your Belt Keeps Coming Undone
Three things cause almost every failure, and all three are fixable in the steps above.
- One wrap instead of two. A single wrap gives the knot only one layer to bite into. Two layers is what makes it hold.
- A vertical knot. If the final knot sits at an angle or points up and down rather than lying flat across your waist, it will work itself loose the first time someone grips your belt. Tightening outward instead of downward fixes this.
- Tied loose to start. A belt loosens as you move. If it was comfortable-but-slack when you tied it, it will be undone by the second round.
Even tied perfectly, a belt comes off sometimes. That is normal. You step to the edge of the mat, retie, and step back on. Nobody stops the class for it.
How Tight Should a Jiu-Jitsu Belt Be?
Tight enough that you cannot slide a flat hand between the belt and your gi, and loose enough that you can breathe normally and bend at the waist. If you have to retie every few minutes, the problem is almost always that it went on too loose, not that it was too tight.
Which Way Does the Bar Face?
Coloured jiu-jitsu belts have a black bar sewn near one end, which is where stripes get taped as you progress. It is most commonly worn on the wearer's right side, though academies differ on this and plenty of people never think about it at all. If you turn up with the bar on the wrong side, nobody is going to say anything.
What About Kids' Belts?
The knot is identical, just on a shorter belt, and most children can tie their own within a few weeks of starting. Learning to do it without help is genuinely part of the program rather than an afterthought. Students under 16 also progress through their own set of belt colours, working through grey, yellow, orange and green stages before the adult colours begin, so a child's belt changes more often than an adult's does.
How Long Should the Ends Be?
Once tied, the two ends should hang roughly evenly and reach somewhere around mid-thigh. Much longer and they get in the way and get gripped. Much shorter and the knot has too little to work with and pops open. Belt sizing runs A0 through A5 for adults and M0 through M4 for children, and if the ends are wildly wrong after a correct knot, the belt is the wrong size rather than badly tied.
Learning It on the Mats Instead
Reading the steps is one thing, doing it with the belt in your hands is another. If you are near Manotick or south Ottawa and thinking about starting, you do not need a gi or a belt to try a class. Our free trial is done in ordinary athletic clothes, and you can read what a first session actually involves in our guide to what to expect at your first BJJ class and what to wear. When you do get a gi, a coach will size the belt with you.
The knot is the easiest thing you will learn in jiu-jitsu. Everything after it takes longer.
Ready to Put One On?
Gracie Barra Manotick runs 51 classes a week for ages 3 through adult at 5700 Longshadow St, and every program has a beginner path. Have a look at our programs or the full weekly schedule, then book a free trial when you are ready.