People tie their obi (belt) in different ways depending the art they are practising and the school they are learning with.

This is how we tie the obi at the Ku-ring-gai Dojo.

1. Start with the end (tagged or name end on the left hip) Tag up.

2. Wrap the belt around your waist, from left to right.

3. Do not wrap it around your stomach (which will restrict your breathing) but around the centre-line of the hip (that is measure the hip from it top to its base) and pass the belt around the soft tissue near the mid-point.

4. IMPORTANT: As you wrap the belt around your waist, be careful to ensure that it lays flat over itself and your body. There should be no kink or twist in the belt, particularly over your spine.

5. The belt should be long enough to go around twice and leave enough length at the end to tie it off. Bring the end of the obi UNDER BOTH bands and UP to the RIGHT.

6. Now pull the other end of the belt that you started with (the end with the Tag) from underneath the belt DOWN to the LEFT

7. Tying the Knot. The belt is tied with a Reef or Square knot. (Be careful to avoid ending up with a Granny or Granary knot, which is not as strong and will not lie flat – it is easy to spot the difference.) See here for more information on the different knots.

With you left hand holding the end that is DOWN and your right hand holding the end that is UP, cross the Right over the left and thread the left end through. Pull to tighten.