Long hair and martial arts

[Becky9679]

I've recently started a martial arts class and I'm wondering what the most practical thing to do with my hair would be. Up until now I've always just braided it for exercise but in martial arts if I'm doing bending/rolling moves the braid does tend to smack me in the face now and then and generally get in the way a little. I'm not sure if a bun would be secure enough and again would probably get in the way with doing rolls (I know you're supposed to avoid touching the floor with your head when you roll but I am only just starting!)

I can't be the only person on here who does martial arts, and it seems like plenty of martial artists from various disciplines had rather long hair in the past (in movies anyway!), so what do you do to keep your hair in check?

[GeoJ]

I now prefer to French braid my hair, and then make a nape bun with the hanging braid, securing it only with schrunchies. I can put my protective gear for sparring over that hairstyle, and it generally stays out of the way when on the ground, too.

Through trial and error I came to that solution. Claw clips hurt and kept breaking in my hair, hair pins poked into my scalp and fell out onto the floor. Hair sticks went flying out of my hair, and loose braids hit myself & others in the face (not to mention got very beat up).

[goldloli]

Yeah I've had the same problem with gymnastics and martial arts ever since my hair passed waist length. One time an instructor stepped on my braid yanking some hair out. Buns don't work due to rolls, even low down ones are not appropriate if you fall on them, lie down or do backward rolls. I do 2 french braids to get hair off face and shorten length a lil, then i tie/band both those together in a loose-ish low pony, if i pony them close to the nape they still whack me in the face. I wanted to do crown braids since it would look cuter but there never is enough time.

[Shorty89]

I do karate and I do a french braid and then tuck it up under the french braided part and tied it with an elastic.

[Charybdis]

I have this vague recollection of seeing a photo of arc691, who has knee+ length hair, doing martial arts. I think her hair was in a simple braid, either English or French. Anyway, you might ask her what worked well for her, as she has a LOT of (very beautiful) hair to manage.

[young&reckless]

I braid and then tuck it under mines strap or side of my bra. Just make sure you have enough slack for full head movement.

[Rivanariko]

I would usually just do a simple braid and then tuck it in my shirt and tie it down with my belt to make sure it stayed there. Not ideal, and occasionally it would work its way out and get in the way, but most of the time I was fine with that.

[Rosethorn]

I usually just do one braid and stick it down the back of my uniform. My braid was referred to as "a weapon" by an instructor, once. :)

[Long_hair_bear]

Braid then turck it under my uniform. :)

[Quixii]

When I did gymnastics, I most often did a sock bun. Which seems counter productive, because it makes your hair look even bigger. But I found that it "squished" enough when rolling to not feel in the way.

But of course, I have to share our very own arc61's picture (which links to her blog post):
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x472/andrearcolson/colson038.jpg (http://691superlonghair.blogspot.com/2013/02/long-braid.html)
Here's a post describing a style she does for actual class [clicky (http://691superlonghair.blogspot.com/2013/01/taekwondo-hairstyle-double-buns.html)].

[MandyBeth]

Depending on what type you are doing. If you are doing major ground work, anything other than a braid is usually a problem. Anything that can break or fall out is not good.