Caring for your Jodag
For your convenience we have made a short video for you to understand how to take excellent care of your Bokhin Ayin Jodag (Wrestling Jacket). Please CLICK HERE for the link to our video.
For a summary of the video content, keep reading.
Before we begin, you should know the following elements of your jacket. “Mur” is the shoulder of the jacket, “Senchig” is the armpit area of the jacket (a popular place to grip in this wrestling style), “Hanchui" is the sleeve, “Toli” is the emblem on the back of the jacket, “Bus” is the belt of the jacket, “Zhaam” is the collar of the jacket, and “Hormoi” is the bottom of the jacket.
How to fold and care for your jacket: The Senchig must be folded in and the connecting part has to be more towards the outside. If you fold it towards the middle (as shown in the video), the shoulder will get tighter and the Senchig will poke out when you wear it, making it look bad and feel uncomfortable. This is one reason why the proper folding of your jacket should be taken quite seriously. If you take the time to fold the jacket correctly while it is new, it will develop it’s own beautiful shape. Do not wear the jacket too high onto your shoulders or it will be uncomfortable and ugly. It is important to turn out the sleeves of the jacket and allow for it to rest lower on your upper back (see video for reference). Don’t worry! It will loosen up over time. If it feels a little stiff or tight at first, it’s simply because it is a new jacket and hasn’t been broken in yet. The more you train with it, the more comfortable it will become. If you would like to clean your jacket, we recommend you simple take a wet rag and wipe it down between training sessions and allow it to air dry. In the grasslands the jackets are not traditionally washed in any way.
Tying the belt: Although there are different belt style and different ways to tie the belt, there are some basic guidelines to follow. First, don’t hike up the belt high on your stomach. It should be tied lower on the waist. If you have a bigger stomach or belly, the belt should be tied bellow the belly and allow the belly to hang over the belt. Put the belt string through the metal loop and then pull across the opposite direction in order to pull the belt tight. From here you can either make an initial tie by the metal loop and then circle the string around your waist or you can skip this step and circle the string around your waist to the back of the jacket and tie the string there/ tuck in the remaining string. It’s your choice if you would like the string to go through the loops of the belt. Make sure the belt is tight but comfortable, pulled down bellow the belly, and also adjust the shoulders of the jacket to make sure it is sitting low down across the upper back.
How to respect your jacket: If your jacket is placed on the ground during training, never step over it or put your feet on it. Also, when storing your jacket between training sessions, the jacket should be placed somewhere high up in your house, maybe on a shelf or cabinet. Having the jacket in a high place signifies your intentions of going to a higher level with your own training and wrestling. Mongolians believe that each person has a “Himur” or “Flying horse” spirit, and if you place your jacket high you are keeping your own personal flying horse soaring in the sky. These traditional rules should be observed anywhere in the world in order to preserve and respect Mongolian culture.
