How to Secure Slippery Hair for Contact Martial Arts?

[Outmoded]

I normally have my hair free, but for martial arts I pull it back into a loose (secured at shoulder height) ponytail with a seamless nylon hair tie. I can see that this definitely causes hair breakage though, and was planning to switch over to using a silk scrunchy, however, I noticed the other day, that even my nylon hair ties will no longer stay in my hair (my hair has become too slippery), so, I think silk might be a lost cause? How should I secure my hair without causing damage, if ties will not stay in place and I am unable to use anything that would be dangerous to fall on or otherwise pose problems for hand-to-hand combat, fencing, and archery?

I thought, what the hell, and just did class with my hair down once, but for my hair's sake, I should probably not repeat that experience - wound up being thrown to the ground, by my hair, and then having my opponent step on it in order to stop me in my tracks from rolling away... ow.

Oh, I should also add that I am terrible at doing even the simplest braid (I need a lot more practice), let alone anything more complicated (and I simply cannot make myself resort to a man-bun, even if I could master it, because of how ridiculous it makes me look).

[lapushka]

I would do a nape braid (plain English), loose at the nape (so don't tighten it to your head too much), then fold it up your head, a couple times under if it's too long, and secure with pins. If you have spin pins, use those. It will be flat to your head, which you will appreciate if you land on your head, in which case, might want to use the regular bobby pins then rather than the round spin pins.

[Outmoded]

Ah, that sounds good. I do not suppose you could provide a reference how-to image or the like? I am pretty thick when it comes to this kind of thing and have never used pins before. Is bobby pins the way to go, rather than spin-pins? as I do get thrown on my back with my head hitting the mat... pretty much every part of my head that has hair makes contact with the floor, or someone else, at some point or another.

How likely is this to come loose? I mean, I end up in head-locks and things like that... I wouldn't want someone impaling themselves on a loose bobby pin.

[lapushka]

Ah, that sounds good. I do not suppose you could provide a reference how-to image or the like? I am pretty thick when it comes to this kind of thing and have never used pins before. Is bobby pins the way to go, rather than spin-pins? as I do get thrown on my back with my head hitting the mat... pretty much every part of my head that has hair makes contact with the floor, or someone else, at some point or another.

How likely is this to come loose? I mean, I end up in head-locks and things like that... I wouldn't want someone impaling themselves on a loose bobby pin.

I did the unbraided version for a long time, but with a claw clip, so I doubt that helps any.

Maybe there is already a YT tutorial online somewhere for this style; could be worth it to look for it?

[Outmoded]

Thank you for all the suggestions guys; I think some kind of braiding is probably the way to go, I would not even necessarily need to put it up on my head, as long as my hair stays out of my face and the length stays put behind my shoulders, it should be fine. Is it possible to secure the end of a braid with one's own hair without causing tangles? I have also read that some people on LHC braid a ribbon into the bottom inches of a braid, in order to tie it off without worrying about the ribbon slipping out, something like that sounds like it would work pretty well for my purposes? It certainly sounds safer than using pins.

[Mariekeeee14]

Thank you for all the suggestions guys; I think some kind of braiding is probably the way to go, I would not even necessarily need to put it up on my head, as long as my hair stays out of my face and the length stays put behind my shoulders, it should be fine. Is it possible to secure the end of a braid with one's own hair without causing tangles? I have also read that some people on LHC braid a ribbon into the bottom inches of a braid, in order to tie it off without worrying about the ribbon slipping out, something like that sounds like it would work pretty well for my purposes? It certainly sounds safer than using pins.

Morgan Donner made an excellent video about tying off hair in a historical manner (I’m on mobile so I can’t link it right now) and I think it has all the answers you need!

[Kat]

I had aspirations to take a karate class once (then never had the chance), and I think my plan was either Heidi braids, or my hair french-braided with the length of the braid tucked up into the "pocket" created by the french-braided section. Secured with my plastic "Good Hair Days" pins, so they'd be more likely to break than gouge my head upon impact. (Or, as someone else mentioned, both could be secured via ribbon/yarn/string if you wanted to go that route.)

[Outmoded]

Morgan Donner made an excellent video about tying off hair in a historical manner (I’m on mobile so I can’t link it right now) and I think it has all the answers you need!

That sounds excellent; if you have the link handy at some point I'd love to watch it (I am still trying to figure out, from a written tutorial, how on earth one inserts a ribbon into the bottom part of a braid... I certainly appreciate videos)!

[foreveryours]

Cornrows. Doesn't have to be tight but there's no better way to secure a head of not crazy long hair

Something like spin pins, if you take a hit to the head, even if you've got padding, you can get seriously hurt.

NO HARD POINTED OBJECTS

[Cyclamen]

French braid or braided bun. But I would start the braid at the top of the head and u-pin it into a bun. That way the bun would stay on top the head and not slide down. Or do two buns if your hair is really heavy.
It's hard to find good sturdy u-pins though. You only need two for braided bun to stay.
I've seen good reviews of Bunheads pins, but I haven't tried them myself.