BACKGROUND

[0001] Martial arts may feature a belt or“obi” as a component of the attire or uniforms. These belts are often made of thick cotton and are about 2 inches, or 5 cm, wide. The martial arts belts are often tied in a koma-musubi knot, also called a square knot or reef knot. In many martial arts the color of the belt signifies the user’s rank or proficiency.

[0002] A common problem for martial arts instructors across many different martial arts disciplines, such as Judo and Jujitsu, is disheveled martial arts belts across an entire class of students. The students’ belts constantly become untied or fall off completely during various activities. This is especially true of very young students. In some cases, instructors can spend up to half of their teaching time just re-tying younger students’ belts.

[0003] The martial arts belts, however, often have a required appearance handed down within the tradition of the martial art or sport. This codified appearance also applies to the knot of the belt, which is tied according to specification, including the tail ends of excess belt, and usually has a prescribed appearance within the martial art or sport.

[0004] Although the knot is a part of the tradition in the study of the martial arts, the knot is generally complex and difficult for youngsters to tie. Normally, a student learns to tie the knot by wrapping the belt around his or her waist twice while attempting to tie the complex knot while simultaneously holding the belt in place around the waist. Many students, especially young children, find it especially difficult to tie the ends of the belt in the knot while simultaneously holding the belt about their waist, resulting in a substantial amount of time spent on practicing tying the knot instead of the martial art techniques.

[0005] Most martial arts are taught from a very young age, and therefore tying the belt is not just a difficulty, but a large distraction for the instructor, who spends a great deal of the martial arts class tying belts or teaching belt- tying instead of instructing the class. Untied belts or disheveled looking belts are unappealing to the tradition of most martial arts, and can impede the proper gripping, stance, and learning of the techniques of many martial arts.

[0006] To overcome this problem, prior references have disclosed martial arts belts with pre-tied knots. One such belt is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,532,600. The belt is provided in two parts. A first part is in the form of a standard length of stitched fabric which is twice wrapped around the waist of its wearer and, instead of being tied by a knot, the loose ends are secured in overlapping arrangement by hook-and-loop fastening strips. The second part is in the form of a detachable pre-tied knot. The second part is secured to the first part by hook-and-loop fastening means. Drawbacks of such arrangement are that the knot portion may come unattached during combat, and the overlapped fastening means is not very strong.

[0007] U.S. Patent No. 6,996,855 discloses a martial arts belt having a traditional appearance whereas the belt has a pre-tied frontal knot that is stitched or glued in place. The belt opens from the back and fastens by hook- and-loop fastening strips there. One drawback of this arrangement is that during combat or from repeated use, the hook-and-loop strips may easily come undone and therefore the belt no longer serves its function.

[0008] U.S. Patent No. 5,539,933 discloses a belt having a waist portion secured with a hook-and-loop fastening system whereas the front of the belt is provided with a length of stitched fabric which can be tied by the user. This belt does not feature the pre-tied knot. The mid-portion of the length of stitched fabric is permanently secured to the belt thereby leaving loose ends on either side of the mid-portion. The loose ends can be tied and knotted together by the user.

[0009] Thus, there remains need for a ranking belt used by martial artists, especially younger or beginning students, that is easy and swift to don and does not become undone during practice or combat.

SUMMARY

[0010] Martial arts belts are provided. In an implementation, a ranking belt for martial arts has a single-wrap elongated member, a permanently pre-tied knot of traditional appearance, and a customized loop-securing system behind the permanently pre-tied knot. A fastening mechanism, such as a hook-and- loop fastener closes the belt and affixes the loop system in place to provide a high-strength belt. The customized loop-securing system, which is a part of the permanently pre-tied knot, allows the free end of the belt to be inserted and looped through and then folded back onto itself into a hook-and-loop fastening system, for example, securing the belt in place around the martial artist’s waist, and providing sufficient tensile strength to pull or carry the martial artist user as is sometimes required in Judo and other sports and disciplines. The permanently tied knot saves the time and effort of constantly retying knots in conventional martial arts belts, especially for children participants, without compromising the strength of the belt.

[0011] This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Certain embodiments of the disclosure will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements. It should be understood, however, that the accompanying figures illustrate the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologies described herein.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a diagram of a front view and a rear view of an example martial arts belt.

[0014] Fig. 2 is a diagram of a mechanical loop of a permanent knot of the example martial arts belt and formation of an interlocking loop of the example martial arts belt.

[0015] Fig. 3 is a diagram of a closed configuration of the example martial arts belt. [0016] Fig. 4 is a flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing an example martial arts belt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] This disclosure describes example martial arts belts. In an implementation as shown in Fig. 1 , a martial arts belt 100 has a permanently “pre-tied” knot 102 that does not itself come untied since the belt 100 relies on a different fastening mechanism than the tying of a conventional knot. The pre-tied knot 102 has two permanently attached belt ends 104 for appearance, that are part of the pre-tied knot 102, but mimic the loose belt ends of a conventionally tied martial arts belt. The belt 100 is fastened, however, with hook-and-loop fabric segments 106 & 108 & 110 at an end 112 of the belt 100 opposite the knot 102. The far end 112 of the belt 100 is passed through a mechanical loop 114 portion of the pre-tied knot 102, and the hook-and-loop segments 106 & 108 & 110 enable the belt 100 to fasten securely to itself around the waist of the user. This saves an enormous amount of time during martial arts classes in which students are constantly having to retie conventional belts.

[0018] More importantly, the example belts 100 described herein maintain the same, or improved, functionality over conventionally tied martial arts belts. For example, the example martial arts belts 100 described herein can be used as a handle, as allowed by Judo rules, to pull or lift an opponent who is horizontal on the mat during competition or during matwork practice in Judo, or can be used to pull or throw a standing opponent, as allowed by the rules of Judo or other martial arts disciplines. The example martial arts belt 100 allows students to easily don their ranking belt 100 in a swift and easy manner and spend the time on learning their art, not tying conventional belts. The example belts 100 are superior to prior art attempts to improve belts in that they do not break apart, unravel, or become detached from themselves, as in the prior art patents cited above. The example belts 100 look the same as traditional martial arts belts in appearance, but will not come apart, unravel, or appear disheveled at any time when fastened.

[0019] In an implementation, the example martial arts belt 100 has an elongated fabric member for forming a band around the waist of a martial arts user. The knot 102 is permanently tied at a first end 112 of the elongated fabric member, the permanently pre-tied knot 102 is made of a segment of the elongated fabric member itself. However, the permanently pre-tied knot 102 is different from traditional martial arts knots, in that the back part of the knot 102 provides the mechanical loop 114 for receiving the second end 112 of the elongated fabric member, which is passed through and folded back around the mechanical loop 114, on the backside of the belt 100 and backside of the knot 102.

[0020] A segment of the elongated fabric member at the second end 112 of the elongated fabric member has the hooks component 106 of mateable hook-and-loop fastener patches 106 & 108. Another segment of the elongated fabric member has the receiving loops component 108 of the hook- and-loop fastener patched 106 & 108, for receiving the hooks 106 on the other segment of the elongated fabric member after passing through and around the mechanical loop 114 on the backside of the knot 102. The elongated fabric member makes a loop interlocking with the mechanical loop 114 of the knot 102 to close the martial arts belt. The belt is sized to go around the waist of the martial arts user to leave enough length for the free end 112 to reach the end with the permanent knot 102, and to fit into the mechanical loop 114 affixed behind the main body of the permanent knot 102. The free end 112 of the elongated fabric member folds back onto itself, inside the belt 100, facing the user’s body.

[0021] The mechanical loop 114 of the knot 102 is flat as it consists of the elongated fabric member laying flat against the back of the knot 102 in a vertical or partially vertical manner, for example. The interlocking loop of belt 100 formed of the second end 112 of the elongated fabric member passing through the mechanical loop 114 also lies flat with respect to the belt 100 itself. Hence, the mechanical loop 114 and interlocking loop 112 do not“stick out” from the martial arts user any more than a conventionally tied martial arts belt does, especially considering that conventional martial arts belts are often wrapped around the user’s waist twice, and the example martial arts belt described herein only needs to be wrapped around the user’s waist once.

[0022] The mechanical loop 114 of the knot 102 and the elongated fabric member are of sufficient tensile strengths to enable the martial arts belt 100, when closed, to pull or carry a weight of the martial arts user, in most cases, maintaining the functionality of a conventional martial arts belt for disciplines like Judo.

[0023] In an implementation, the knot 102 of the example belt 100 is both permanently tied and also sewn together at one or more points to provide the mechanical loop 114 of the knot 102 with high tensile strength.

[0024] In the same or another implementation, the example martial arts belt 100 also has an area 110 of the loops 106 & 110 of the hook-and-loop fastener added on a back surface of the mechanical loop 114 of the knot 102, in addition to the area of loops 106 on a segment of the elongated fabric member described above. This area of extra loops 110 further secures the closure of the belt 100, and“locks in” the pre-tied permanent knot 102 into the fastening scheme, thereby increasing the fastening force between fastened layers of the belt 100, thereby increasing the strength of the belt 100 for pulling, throwing, or lifting an opponent in the relevant martial art.

[0025] Depending on the style of the particular belt 100, the example martial arts belt 100 has the elongated tail members 104 of the fabric sewn onto an inner aspect of the knot 102 to visually mimic tails of a conventionally tied knot of a conventionally martial arts belt. In some implementations, one of the tails 104 may be the same length of fabric from which the permanent knot 102 is constructed. The addition of the one or more tail members 104 to the knot 104 completes the appearance of a traditional martial arts knot, while the features of the example martial arts belt 100 remain in order to provide the benefits of a strong belt 100 with neat appearance of a traditional knot, without having to hand-tie the permanent knot 102.

[0026] In an implementation, the example martial arts belt 100 may have a unadulterated segment of the elongated fabric member, for contacting the inner surface of the mechanical loop 114 of the knot 102, this unadulterated segment devoid of the hooks 106 and loops 108 of the hook-and loop fastener patched. This unadulterated segment of the belt 100 can allow the user to quickly find the belt’s proper size for the user’s waist, and to quickly align hook segments 106 and loop segments 108 for fastening the belt 100 for use.

[0027] Other fastening means can be used beside hook-and-loop fasteners. For example, clips, buttons, zippers, or conventional belt fasteners can be used to fasten the belt end 112 to itself in some instances, depending on the martial arts discipline.

[0028] The example belts 100 generally provide a usable belt 100, all in one piece, with a permanently pre-tied knot 102 of traditional appearance on one end. When wrapped around the user’s waist once, the free end 112 comes around to fit into the mechanical loop 114 of the affixed, permanently pre-tied knot 102, and then fastens to itself to provide a closed belt 100 of traditional, or greater, strength.

Example Method [0029] Fig. 4 shows an example method of making a martial arts belt. In the flow diagram of Fig. 4, operations of the example method 400 are shown in individual blocks.

[0030] At block 402, a permanent knot is tied near an end of an elongated fabric member suitable for making a martial arts belt, leaving, for example, a 9 inch section of the elongated fabric member as one tail of the knot.

[0031] At block 404, a separate piece of the elongated fabric, for example an approximately 9 inch long piece, is inserted inside the knot, and secured between folded sections of the knot, for example, to simulate a second tail of the knot.

[0032] At block 406, parts of the knot are stitched permanently together, forming a mechanical loop at the back of the knot.

[0033] At block 408, an area of loops of a hook-and-loop fastener are attached to a backside of the mechanical loop of the knot.

[0034] At block 410, an area of hooks of the hook-and-loop fastener are attached on the back of the elongated fabric member near an insertion end of the elongated fabric member.

[0035] At block 412, an area of loops of the hook-and-loop fastener are attached on the back of the elongated fabric member a distance from the area of hooks of the hook-and-loop fastener.

[0036] In an implementation, the areas of hooks and loops are replaced instead by multiple sections of hooks alternating with multiple sections of loops, for an adjustable belt. For example, each hook and each loop section may be 25 millimeters in width, and attached at 45 degree angles with respect to the width of the elongated fabric member.

[0037] For using the example martial arts belt 100, a user holds the insertion end 112 of the belt 100 in one hand and the permanently pre-tied knot 102 in the other hand. The user inserts the insertion end 112 of the belt 100 into the mechanical loop 114, which is behind the face of the knot 102, and in an implementation, is part of the knot 102. In an implementation, the user closes the belt 100 up to a gap portion of the belt 100 between the area of hooks 106 and the area of loops 108, which is devoid of hooks and loops. At the gap portion of the belt 100, the user folds the insertion end 112 of the belt 100 back onto itself, thereby mating and fastening the hooks 106 to the loops 108 of the hook-and-loop fastener. The hook 106 and loop 108 fastening sections are turned inside against the user’s waist, making them unviewable and inaccessible for unfastening the belt against the user’s intentions.

[0038] The mechanical loop 114 of the knot 102 and the interlocking loop formed by the elongated fabric member, as secured by the placement of the hook-and-loop fasteners 106 & 108, for example, make the belt 100 strong and the closure of the belt unbreakable, which is advantageous in martial arts, especially in the grappling-style martial arts. Even when the belt 100 is handled, pulled, and twisted, the fastening of the mechanical loop 114 of the knot 102 and the interlocking loop formed by the elongated fabric member and the placement of the hook-and-loop fastener make the closure of the belt unbreakable by an opponent in the martial arts, or by practice martial arts activities.

[0039] While the present disclosure has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate numerous modifications and variations there from. It is intended that the appended claims cover such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the disclosure.