Where does the tradition of using a belt as a trophy in combat (and similar) sports come from?

[Bisected8]

I was wondering this the other day. According to Wikipedia it’s a trend, but the article doesn’t say anything on where it comes from.

[Darryl_Lict]

Here’s an article on the history of boxing belts.

It is believed that the first championship belt was awarded in 1809 to Tom Cribb after his defeat of Jem Belcher.

[SpoilerVirgin]

@Bisected8

I was wondering this the other day. According to Wikipedia it’s a trend, but the article doesn’t say anything on where it comes from.

One of the objects in A History of the World in 100 Objects is a ceremonial ballgame belt made in Mexico between 100 and 500 A.D., so this type of ceremonial belt has a very long history.

[Max_Torque]

The best info I’ve found on the subject, though there’s not much in the way of citations in this one-paragraph column: ESPN Magazine. The gist: there are records of awarding prizes to fighters as early as the 8th century BCE, including a two-handled cup (which sounds a lot like a modern trophy).

The first real “modern” belt appears to have been given to (or perhaps made by) John L. Sullivan in the 1880s when he wanted to cement his claim to being the world boxing champion. Why he went with a belt rather than a trophy isn’t clear to me. The article’s author speculates that the tradition of belts and boxing came from a practice of boxers wearing a belt or sash of their sponsors’ colors, then taking the colors of the loser to wear as a sort of “spoils of combat” or something. The ornate trophy-belt would thus be the next logical step.

[kanicbird]

Could this be related to martial arts where a belt is awarded for passing onto the next level?

[Chronos]

Personally, I always figured that it was related to the weightlifting belt that an athlete might wear while working out.

[johnpost]

the championship belt was actually preceded by the by championship suspenders.

the winner would put on such a long and vigorous display of jumping up and down in celebration that on occasion some guy’s pants would fall down. officials then decided to award championship suspenders, which were placed on the winner while they were still and catching their breath.

participants thought these too dorky so a championship belt was created. this has evolved into a less functional and more ornate belt.

[Max_Torque]

@kanicbird

Could this be related to martial arts where a belt is awarded for passing onto the next level?

The story I’ve heard for martial arts was that, in ancient history, a person kept the same belt as they trained, never bothering to wash it. Over the years it would become dingy and stained, changing from white to off-white to brown and finally black. A black belt was evidence of the hard work and sweat expended through years of training. So, in working toward your black belt, you’re striving to gain a piece of filthy wardrobe. The modern system of brightly-colored belts is a Western invention to make people feel good about progressing in their studies.

[mbh]

Wikipedia disagrees:

Black belt (martial arts)

Origin

The systematic use of belt color to denote rank was first used by Kano Jigoro, the founder of judo, who first devised the colored belt system using obi, and awarded the first black belts to denote a Dan rank in the 1880s. Initially the wide obi was used; as practitioners trained in kimono, only white and black obi were used. It was not until the early 1900s, after the introduction of the judogi, that an expanded colored belt system of awarding rank was created.[2] Other martial arts later adopted the custom or variation on it (e.g. using colored sashes) to denote rank including in arts that traditionally did not have a formalized rank structure. This kind of ranking is less common in arts that do not claim a far eastern origin, though it is used in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.

Misconceptions

One common idea concerning the tradition of belts claims that the belt ranking system is an ancient aspect of traditional martial arts and that early martial artists began their training with a white belt, which eventually became stained black from years of sweat, dirt, and blood.[citation needed] In fact, Japanese Koryu instructors tended to provide certificates.[3]

In some arts and schools there is the (often only half-serious, though equally often rigorous) opinion that the belt should not be washed; the idea that by doing that one would “wash away the knowledge” or “wash one’s Ki away” might be related to this myth. Apart from risk of the dye running, there is the problem that as most modern belts are made with a cotton or nylon outer shell, but polyester batting and stitching to fill out the belt, the different shrinkage of cotton and polyester in hot water could cause the belt to come apart