Yasashii Do: How to Tie Your Belt

	1)Begin by placing your belt slightly below your navel, about six-eight inches should hang down in front of you. Wrap the other end around your back.
	2)Wrap the belt twice around you, stopping after the second wrap, crossing the end you wrapped around you over the other end. Note: Your belt should never have crossed sections in the back, the first wrap should fit to your back, the second wrap snugly against the first wrap.
	3)Feed the section you crossed over in step two under all previous wrapped sections, so that it is behind both of them against your body.
	4) Both sections of your belt should now be approximately the same length, the section in your left hand may be slightly longer.
	5)Take the section in your left hand, tie it around the section in your right by crossing the left under the right, and then pulling it through on the right side.
	6)Final step, grasp both ends of the belt and tug both with a quick, firm tug to ensure the knot is tight. Both ends should be the same length.

Different martial arts styles traditionally wear their stripes on different sides, depending on the origin of the system. Chinese stylists usually wear sashes instead of belts entirely. American Kenpo wears stripes and bars on both sides of the belt. Korean systems typically wear their stripes on the left side of the tied knot. We are primarily a Japanese system, and Japanese/Okinawan systems wear their stripes usually on the right hand side.