The first technique every grappler learns and the one most never learn well. Four methods from beginner-basic to competition-proof, with video from a 6th degree black belt.
Learning how to tie your BJJ belt properly is the quiet first test of every new grappler. The belt keeps your gi closed while you roll, marks your rank on the mats, and, tied badly, comes undone forty times a class until it becomes everyone's problem. Watch any competition and you will see athletes retying between exchanges, which is exactly why the knot you choose matters: some hold for a round, some hold for a whole tournament.
Below are the four ways to tie it, ranked by how well they hold, plus the video where Professor Milton shows the details no text can.
BJJ uses one of the slowest, strictest ranking systems in martial arts. Adults progress through five ranks, and the trip from white to black typically takes about a decade:
Tying it correctly is partly practical and partly respect: for the rank, for your training partners, and for the art. It is also simply required, a loose flapping belt interrupts training for both people. So let's get it right.
Pick a method on the left. The bars show how well each knot survives live rolling.
Text gets you most of the way, but the tension and the final cinch are easier stolen with your eyes. Here is the man himself.
Come in and we will fix it in ninety seconds, then teach you what the belt is actually for. Your first class at Kioto BJJ in Oakdale is free, taught by a three-time IBJJF Masters World Champion.
The best knot is the one your hands can tie in a few seconds without thinking, because mid-class is no time for origami. Start with the standard knot, graduate to the pro lock when it starts failing you, and save the double water knot for competition. Once it is tied, keep it in shape between classes with our guide on belt storage and care, and if you are still working out the rest of the fundamentals, our beginner and fundamentals program covers everything from the knot up.
Snug enough to keep your gi closed through rolling, loose enough to breathe and move freely. Most grapplers land around two fingers of slack. Competitors often tie tighter to deny lapel and worm guard grips, while gi-guard players sometimes prefer a touch looser.
Usually one of three reasons: you are using the basic knot, which loosens by design, the belt is too stiff and new to hold a bite, or the knot was never cinched against the belt layers. Switching to the pro lock method fixes most chronic untying overnight.
There is no universal rule, but the cleanest look is both tails even in length and hanging symmetrically from the knot. Even tails are also the sign the belt was tied from the true midpoint, which is what keeps the knot centered through a round.
Every belt on the rack starts with a white one tied for the first time. Yours starts with a free class at Kioto BJJ in Oakdale, under Professor Milton Regis, 6th degree black belt and three-time IBJJF Masters World Champion.
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