Black Belts

[Chaos]

Hi everybody! I'm recently very interested in buying a new black belt, and the tokaido ones seem to be quite good quality (even if they are more expensive). But i hesitate : should i take cotton, or silk for my belt? I'd like my belt to be resistant enough to endure hard labor, and maybe silk is not resistant enough? Moreover, do you think silk is too "shiny"?

Thanks a lot

[ksan]

I would contact isami and buy from them. Silk obi`s are ussually not advised and much more expensive...

Osu

[Brad]

Really depends on you but for me i dont really like silk as a black belt. May be for a going out t shirt. But at the end of the day a black belt is a black belt. And that show alot of sweat and even more to achieve that in life.

[jcbel]

I noticed that whatever material Kyokushin black belts are made of they stay black, unlike other styles where the fabric frays and becomes white... (probably silk?)

[seienchin]

I've never had to buy a black -belt. The organisation that I graded with provided one....

[Chaos]

Thank you all for your comments!!

[seienchin]

Chaos - how insensitive of us - we didn't even stop to ask if this means you are a new shodan? If so, congratulations! Sorry for missing this little detail....we are not a subtle bunch, we karate-ka.

[Spirit]

This is a personal issue...
Yes it is nice to own a Isami belt which was designed with the IKO (first 1).
Though a silk belt is also nice too, just not seen very much in Kyokushin, though I do have 1 and wear it often.

Silk (make sure you get silk not satin) belt can be purchased from many manufactures other than Takaido. If you need info then pm me.

Silk is one of the strongest materials so no it is not weak and is very strong. Shinny only at first.
Before you wear it (if you can) go to the ocean and sock it (or warm water in a bucket and add sea salt and sock for 24 hours) then hand ring it out, hang dry. Once dry, then wrap around a piece of wood, say a railing on stairs or wooden pole and draw it back and forth (both sides) from end to end.
This will get rid of the shinny surface and work the material open and loose so you can tie the belt without it coming apart.
As time goes on the belt will fray and turn white, this works into the old tail that as we train we return to the beginning, hence white belt.