How to fold your Hakama
Edit June 2024 - I apologise for the quality of the images in this post, they were taken with a digital camera from the 2008 era
Some of you may or may not be aware that this coming Sunday I will be taking my Black Belt 2nd Dan (or Nidan in Japanese) grading in Ju Jitsu. The style of Ju Jitsu I do is called Go-shin Kempo Ju Jitsu and is based mainly at the Masters of Martial Arts academy in Accrington, Lancashire, UK. The association is a affiliated to the British Ju Jitsu Association Governing Body (BJJAGB).
We will be required to wear Hakamas for part of the grading, mainly to do Kata, then we’ll get changed back into the usual Gi (The name given for the Karate Style Pyjama suit for those of you not in the know). One of the criteria for the 2nd Dan grading is demonstrating that you can fold the Hakama correctly.
While I was searching the web I couldn’t find anywhere that resembled the way our Sensei’s wanted us to fold them.
I found this site which is a similar way but not exactly the same…
And then I found this one too, which at the bottom shows a way very similar to the way we have been shown…
So after practising folding a few times last night I thought I’d share my frustrations and show you this way to fold the Himo(the straps) of the Hakama. I start at this point because there are plenty of examples of how to get to this point on the web, including the two resources I mention above.
Step 1
Starting with the left side, take the long straps and fold them up and place them in a cross shape across the folded hakama…
Step 2
Bring the left short strap over the top of the hakama and place it over the two longer folded straps as shown in the photo.
Step 3
Thread the shorter strap underneath both of the longer straps and upwards as shown below…
Step 4
Take the left strap and move it back over itself to the left as shown…
Step 5
Thread the strap under both the short and long straps and diagonally upwards as shown…
Step 6
Place the strap along the diagonal line of the long strap, if its too long, tuck it under. This side is now finished…
Step 7
Bring the right short strap over the top of the hakama and place it over the two longer folded straps as shown in the photo.
Step 8
Again thread the shorter strap underneath both of the longer straps and upwards as shown below…
Step 9
Take the right strap and move it back over itself to the right as shown…
Step 10
Thread the strap under both the short and long straps and diagonally upwards as shown…
Step 11
Place the strap along the diagonal line of the long strap but thread it under the existing hoop from the left side, if its too long, tuck it under.
And that’s that.
Hope this helps someone.