Seriously. Take a shower.

[Kacey]

I teach middle school in addition to Taekwon-Do, and we get kids occasionally who don't shower. One, in particular, was homeless (he and his mother were living in a car) - his problem was based on lack of access, so we let him in early, and he showered in the locker room and washed his clothes in the Home Ec room - since his mother wouldn't take handouts, we also had him wash the gym loaners. Kids like those I understand.

I also understand the kids who live with parents who smoke heavily, wear the same coat every day, and don't realize how badly it reeks of smoke. If gentle hints don't work, we wash their stuff too. Those kids are usually clean in their persons - they just don't realize their outer clothes smell because they're used to it.

We also get the occasional emotionally-disturbed student who doesn't bathe for psychological reasons. I understand them too. We spend a lot of time, generally in close contact with their parents (although not always... sometimes it runs in the family) trying to change things. Sometimes it works... sometimes it doesn't.

Then there are the kids who hit puberty and don't realize what a difference it makes in their body odor, or how frequently they need to bathe now - or the need for deodorant. That's just normal middle school kids, and the other kids take care of it if the parents don't.

Then there are the kids who were never taught, or who were taught specifically not to bathe, for a variety of reasons, mostly because they don't either. I feel sorry for those kids - it's not really their fault - but they're really hard to be around after a while.

 

[Thesemindz]

Could be. The worst of the countercultural offenders I've encountered have been hippies, the occasional scadian, and the anarchists I escorted with at the clinic. The anarchists were by far the worst. I suspect they fantasized about a violent overthrow of Proctor & Gamble. I never brought it up with them, and I should have. I'm sure it made things that much more challenging for the patients entering the clinic.

Hey! I'm an anarchist and I shower once or twice a day! We aren't all stinky and filthy. Just because we don't support the state doesn't mean we don't support good hygiene!


-Rob

 

[Flea]

Duly noted Rob, and I probably feel a greater sense of reassurance over that than I should foran online conversation. I've met my share of clean anarchists, but they've been in the minority. I'm glad to know there are more out there. I'd give you the :bow emoticon if I weren't on my phone right now.

 

[Omar B]

Firstly, this thread is hilarious. Secondly, I think we have found "sweaty kid!" We all remember that kid from kindergarten who was always drenched in sweat. Always wondered what happened to him.

At our prep school we had the usual health classes and in gym class one day they gave us all bags of toiletries, you know, deodorants, soaps, etc. All with nice, clear instructions. Not odd? Didn't think so.

 

[Grenadier]

Some people simply sweat heavily. That really can't be helped much, but I do allow those who wish to bring a small hand-towel with them to class, to "towel off" once in a while.

Some cultures simply accept body odor as the norm, and that one shower a week is what they'll normally take. Some of those cultures compensate for this by using large amounts of scented powder, deodorant, etc., but to me, they end up smelling like rotten rose petals.

The important thing is to get an authority to make an announcement to the general class, that we live in a culture where anything above a mild base level is not considered acceptable. I've given the "speech" to the class once in a while, where there would be individuals consistently coming in with malodorous gi's, and so forth.

Having a nasty stench in class is distracting. Since I don't allow distractive things onto the floor (such as hot pink shirts for those who wear them underneath their gi jackets, jewelry, dirty hands, razor sharp fingernails, etc)., I treat this in the same way as any other potentially distracting manner, in that the class comes first, and that some sacrifices must be made to maintain uniformity. This uniformity includes cleanliness.

If the stench-ridden individual does not get the message, I'll flat-out tell him / her (yes, there have been a couple of women) that they need to freshen up before coming to class.

 

[Thesemindz]

The point about sweat is a good one. I've trained with guys who almost never sweat, and I've trained with guys who sweat like a faucet, constantly. I think most of us fall somewhere in the middle, but there are definitely people on both extremes. I'm fine with a student tucking a hand towel into their belt or gi to wipe their face off, in fact I'd prefer it. I don't really like drowning in another dudes sweat. But the flip side is I will occasionally encourage them to train with sweat in their eyes. You can't always take the time to wipe it off during a fight, and if they do when we're sparring, I always seize the opportunity to attack.


-Rob

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Some people simply sweat heavily. That really can't be helped much, but I do allow those who wish to bring a small hand-towel with them to class, to "towel off" once in a while.

Some cultures simply accept body odor as the norm, and that one shower a week is what they'll normally take. Some of those cultures compensate for this by using large amounts of scented powder, deodorant, etc., but to me, they end up smelling like rotten rose petals.

The important thing is to get an authority to make an announcement to the general class, that we live in a culture where anything above a mild base level is not considered acceptable. I've given the "speech" to the class once in a while, where there would be individuals consistently coming in with malodorous gi's, and so forth.

Having a nasty stench in class is distracting. Since I don't allow distractive things onto the floor (such as hot pink shirts for those who wear them underneath their gi jackets, jewelry, dirty hands, razor sharp fingernails, etc)., I treat this in the same way as any other potentially distracting manner, in that the class comes first, and that some sacrifices must be made to maintain uniformity. This uniformity includes cleanliness.

If the stench-ridden individual does not get the message, I'll flat-out tell him / her (yes, there have been a couple of women) that they need to freshen up before coming to class.

I sweat like a leaky faucet. I always pack a hand towel in my gym bag, and I keep both handy on the dojo floor when I'm training. However, sweat by itself does not stink. Some body odors are carried by sweat, particularly by people who eat certain foods (garlic, for example). And of course, sweat breeds bacteria and that stinks bad. If I do not take a shower when I get home, yeah, stinky boy me. But I definitely have several hours before I begin to reek.

 

[Flea]

See, I'm just the opposite. I really don't sweat, even in an old-fashioned southern heat wave. Not sure why that is. I still take a blazing hot shower after workouts so I don't get stiff. It does make me a little squeamish around the faucets though.

 

[MA-Caver]

When I worked as a tour-guide for an internationally famous cave, I've had to deal with people at close-quarters... especially going down a 260' deep elevator shaft, and walking through narrow cave passages and passing other groups going in or out. As Flea mentioned there are certain cultural differences that make for strong body odors. But it also extends to regional visitors and from multi-racial, socio-economic differences, so I know what she is saying, yet people are going to be people and so we can be polite if we have to deal with them on a daily or regular basis. It's fair to say this thread is more about tact and diplomacy than about offensive personal habits.
I can appreciate hyper sensitivity as well with a blind/deaf father, he could probably tell me my whole day without my saying a word.

To those who we have to deal with daily, it I think is okay to say something about what bothers you tactfully as opposed to dealing with a one-off stranger that just might be having a bad day/week/life.

 

[Flea]

It's fair to say this thread is more about tact and diplomacy than about offensive personal habits.

Yes. With the caveat that good hygiene is itself a form of diplomacy and respect to those around you.

 

[Lee Mainprize]

I had one guy in my class like this - when it came to grappling it was awful - I politely ask him to shower before he came to class.

No-one should have to train with a partner like this!

 

[Blade96]

I wash before i go to karate.

 

[Cyriacus]

Mm. I think the scent of Sweat, Grit, and Motor Oil (Dont ask) really add to the atmosphere of the Training Environment Incidentally, im usually quite clean, so im exempt from such things. But i really dont mind