How to Tie a Karate Belt (Obi)

Achieving a neat and secure knot is essential in martial arts, reflecting discipline and respect for the craft. Traditional tying methods often result in uneven overlaps at the back, leading to discomfort and a lack of uniformity. Master the art of tying your martial arts belt with Kataaro's step-by-step guide, offering a refined technique that ensures a smooth, professional appearance from front to back. For a free printable version for yourself, or to handout to your students, Download How to Tie a Karate Belt PDF now.

Whether you're practicing Karate, Taekwondo, Jujitsu (BJJ), or Judo, this method delivers consistent results across all disciplines. Additionally, our premium belts are designed to maintain their form and stay securely tied throughout your training sessions.

Explore our full range of custom martial arts belts to find the perfect fit for your discipline.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 - wrap martial arts belt around your body

STEP 1 - WRAP AROUND

Start tying your karate belt by holding the label end of the belt (shown with a "K") across your abdomen, in front of you. It should hang a few inches longer than the length you want the belt to be when it is tied. Wrap the other end of the belt behind you and around your waist.

Step 2 - wrap karate belt a second time around your body

STEP 2 - WRAP AGAIN

Now, wrap the belt around your waist a second time while maintaining the position of the label end of the belt. Keep the belt taut against your body so that the friction of the belt will help to keep it in place.

Step 3 - cross the belt in front in X shape

STEP 3 - CROSS OVER

Cross over the front of the label end of the belt and adjust the belt. The two ends now make an “X” shape directly in front of you.

Step 4 - tuck belt under both layers and up

STEP 4 - TUCK UNDER

Tuck the non-label end of the belt under both layers of the belt and straight up towards the ceiling. Pull both ends of the belt, one up and one down, to take up slack and start to tighten the knot that is starting to form.

Step 5 - fold belt end down parallel to label end

STEP 5 - FOLD DOWN

At this point, fold down the non-label end of the belt parallel to the label end. The label end of the belt should still be on your far-left side. The label end is now slightly longer than the non-label end as you continue to tie the karate belt.

Step 6 - cross label end under and across to right leg

STEP 6 - CROSS UNDER

Now, cross the label end of the belt under the non-label end, moving it to your right side. As you pull the ends away from your body, a gap between the belts will appear where the label end will loop around in the next step.

Step 7 - loop label end around and through knot

STEP 7 - LOOP AROUND

Next, loop the label end of the belt up and around the other end, through the gap created in the previous step (the label end does a "backflip"). Pull it through the top of the knot opening. During this step, hold the non-label end firmly in place so that it does not twist. Otherwise, the back surface of the belt will be face-up when the belt is tied.

Step 8 - pull both ends of karate belt tight

STEP 8 - PULL TIGHT

Finally, pull both ends outward and downward to tighten the knot. If the belt ends are not the same length, untie the knot and adjust the length. The final length, from the knot to the belt ends, should be about 12 inches for karate and taekwondo styles but shorter for grappling styles such as BJJ/Jujitsu and Judo. Your karate belt is tied!

How To Choose Your Belt Length

Choosing your martial arts belt length is largely a matter of preference, but there are some things to consider for best fit and best practice. A belt length that allows for about 12 inch belt ends is ideal in most cases, but consider a shorter length for grappling disciplines such as Jujitsu (BJJ) and Judo. Our Belt Size Calculator can help determine this overall belt length. Be aware that there is no industry standard for marital arts belt sizes, so the length of a Size 5 in one brand may be a different length than a Size 5 in another brand. Purchase a belt based on length rather than size.

How To Keep Your Belt From Coming Untied

When choosing a belt it is important to understand that a number of factors will affect the ease of tying and maintaining the knot. A greater width, thickness, or firmness will all make a belt more difficult to tie and keep tied. For youth martial artists, or if you are concerned with your marital arts belt coming untied, choose a narrow width or soft firmness when purchasing. Kataaro has options for martial arts belt firmness on many belt styles.

A newer martial arts belt may also tend to come untied during training and sparring. To break in a new karate obi or taekwondo belt, tie the knot and loosen it multiple times to start the break-in process. While not wearing the belt, try bending the knot area both lengthwise and widthwise to soften the fibers. If you wash your belt, as do most jiu-jitsu practitioners, try adding fabric softener to the wash.

How To Tie Your Belt to a Belt Display

Are you tying your belt to a martial arts belt display? This method is ideal since there will be no added bulk in the back of the display like there would be with basic tying methods. The steps are relatively the same, but there are some additional tips and tricks that can be helpful, such as adjusting the belt for knot centering, and for even length. Click the link for a video showing how to tie a karate belt to a martial arts belt display.