How to Tie Your BJJ Belt? Let’s Get This Right!

There are various methods of tying your BJJ belt. Some fighters prefer having a tight belt around their waits, but those who like playing with the gi’s lapel prefer the belt loose.
Tightening your belt can deny your opponent opportunities to play worm guard.

• The Primary Method of Tying a Jiu-Jitsu belt:

The first method is basic for karate, judo, and jiu-jitsu fighters. The procedure is simple and appropriate for beginners without prior skills in any grappling combat sport.

Here are the steps to tie your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu belt:

• Straighten the belt in your hands and determine the mid or the halfway point on the belt

Some prefer marking this point with a sharpie to avoid stress each time.

• Place the belt on your navel and keep it there, with both sides going around your back.
• Bring both tails to the front by crossing and passing them, and pull the tails away from your navel to make the belt snug.

Once you confirm that both sides are of equal length, bring the tail on your dominant-hand side and place it underneath both tails.

• Position the topmost tail over the bottom one to form an X. Reaching through the loop you create, take the top tail and pull it back via the loop.

As you form the loop, you may note that the bottom tail tends to twist. You’ll need to rotate it to flatten the tail to fit well.

If you’re a beginner learning how to tie Jiu-Jitsu belts, this standard method is the easiest and quickest. However, the knot tends to unfasten too often. Luckily, you can swiftly retie this knot within the allowed twenty seconds.

• Tying Your BJJ Belt the Pro Way

BJJ pros and advanced students prefer tying the belt tighter during fights. Having to retie the knot every now and then gets in the way of their winning strategy. The procedure is similar to the standard knot, up to the looping process, where it differs slightly.

Here are the steps to tie your BJJ belt like a pro:

• Straighten the belt in your hands and determine the midpoint
• Take both tails, cross them at the back then bring them to the front
• Pass the left tail under the layers, then pull both tails away from your navel to adjust the tightness
• Pass the right tail under the left tail beneath the belt layers, crossing it to the left side to create a loop for the left tail to go through
• Pass the left tail through the loop you created using the right tail and pull both tails to tighten the knot, and you’re ready to roll!

• Tying Your BJJ Belt the Gracie Barra Way

This tying method, originally the Gracie brothers, is the least secure. Most modern fighters shy away from it because it often comes loose, causing distractions.

The procedure is similar to the standard knot, so you’ll start by extending the belt around your waist to have both tails at the front.

The difference in the Gracie method is in creating the knot. Instead of looping the tails through the belt layers, you tie them directly into a knot at the front.

• The Double Water Knot: The Unbreakable Knot

The strongest way to tie your BJJ belt is by unbreakable or double water knot.

It’s the perfect knot if you don’t need the stress of having to retie your belt during the fight or practice. It’s also easy to tie in the following steps:

• The first step is tying a granny knot on one end, then taking the other tail around your waist to the front.
• Hold both tails at the front and tie the water knot to create two or double water knots.