Ceremonies for promotion

[Aiki Lee]

Sorry to reply so late to what was my own thread, but things have been hectic for me lately.

To describe the experience, my sensei said that back in the philipines they would strike you across the back with shinai, but he started doing the belt whippings because he thought they were less cruel. He didn't smack us as hard as he could but still I felt it odd as he had us lie on the ground and paddled us with belts. At first it was humilating and I was upset by it. I spoke up to the head instructor of the school and was told to examine it from another point of view. My aikido teacher is a old man and is doing what was done to him since he started a hundred million years ago. I recognized he is not being malicious or trying to humiliate anyone he is just doing what he regards as a silly right of passage.
Because me, and my other instructor were concerned how it would look to new people or even people with some bad hazing experiences we don't want them to have to relive we have changed the procedure to something a kin to a knighting ceremony where he strikes you gently on the shoulders. This is much more acceptable to me and I'm glad he was willing to change it.

 

[Indagator]

I'll never forget my first grading. I was training with a shidoshi-ho, under a shidoshi who was based about 300km away. Anyway I got an email one week, from the shidoshi, basically saying he was going to be in town and would like to catch up for training. I was working nights so I had to arrange a special training session, with just the shidoshi, the shidoshi-ho and myself.
Nobody mentioned anything at all about grades, or anything along those lines, but in hindsight I can see that the training session did involve a subtle questioning and observing of my knowledge and abilities at certain aspects of our art.

Afterwards we went back up to the shidoshi-ho's house for a cup of tea and a chat. During the conversation, the shidoshi casually asks "So how long have you been training now?" to which of course I answered. We talked a little bit about some of the training I had done and so forth, then he asked me to stand up.

I was still in my gi and obi, and he looked me up and down before saying (again very casually) "I don't think that belt is quite the right fit for you." He then promoted me on the spot, and my shidoshi-ho gave me one of his old green belts.

It was definitely in the spirit of the way our dojo does things. He knew a lot more about where I was at and what I had been covering than I had realised. And his subtle extraction of information from me during the training session itself was masterfully executed.

Went home happy that night!

 

[FrontKick-Jab-Punch]

Wow, this was a super-interesting read. Thanks for starting it off, Battousai. ; ) I'm revisiting it a year later and reopening it, if anyone wants to join me.

It makes me think about the differences between old-fashioned, traditional ceremonies and made-up ceremonies based on marketing strategies that are meant to make a accomplishment seem valuable to the paying student. I mean, at some point, they were all made up. But older made-up things seem to have more meaning. Then again, if my understanding of belt rankings is correct, we only added many colored rankings recently. It just used to be white... black. But for goal-oriented Americans who want to see progress for their dollar (and effort!), this wasn't enough. I know one studio I taught at a long time ago used to have a little something for every stripe you got on your belt... and there were like 9000 stripes. A little much for me.

At my studio, we just got the simple one that's been described by many - the student steps forward and removes his belt, a few nice words are said, the instructor ties on the new belt, and everyone claps. Back to work. In one sense, I appreciate that, because it implies that earning any particular rank isn't really a big deal. Just a step along the way. Now don't sit on your high horse too long, it's time for some push-ups, or whatever. But the wistful side of me would be a total sucker for some sort of pseudo-archaic ceremony with lit candles and memorized, intoned words and what-have-you. I think that's the product of watching too many movies and animes.

As to belt-whipping, I've never heard of that and it does smack of frat-boy hazing to me. But not if it's coming from an older foregin gentleman. I think that would mitigate the awkwardness a little (as opposed to some 30-year-old douchey caucasian guy guffawing and whacking me with his belt). I think I remember having to take a bunch of round kicks for my 1st degree black belt, but that was a long while ago and my instructor at the time was not entirely sane (more on him another day, for sure). We also got hit with bamboo sticks in class - sometimes hard enough to bruise or form a lump - and no one dreamt of complaining. Those were different times and I don't know how a belt beat-down would go over with people today, especially parents (although I'm notorious for having a "if they don't like it, they don't have to train with you" mentality. Not super empathetic when it comes to new people complaining about old traditions). A year later after you posted this originally, how is that turning out? Any update?

So the question is: what would be the ideal belt promotion ceremony? I feel that something special ought to be done for black belt, but maybe less of a deal made out of anything leading up to black belt (I also kind of don't value 6th grade and 9th grade graduation in school, so you can see that I'm a jerk anyway). Celebrating every little thing someone does leads to inflated self-esteem which isn't something a martial artist (or anyone, says I) really needs.

More thoughts on this old topic? Or only me talking to myself? Eh, I don't care. I enjoy my own company. =) But fire back if you like.

FKJP

 

[Aiki Lee]

I personally like a distinction between testing for something and a sort of graduation ceremony. When being awarded a new rank I think you should be allowed to feel proud of it for a moment and have everyone else be proud of you and not have to worry about being thrown around like a rag doll or smacked at the ceremony. During the actual testing? Go for it, but if you're going to do a ceremony I think it should be more of a demonstration thing as opposed to some kind of hazing ritual.

So my aikido sens went back to wacking you on the bottom with your new belt and now also has everyone throw you around for like a good 20 minutes too. It's not malicious so I'm not discouraged, but I wonder about any other people who may be too timid or embarassed to sign up if they see such a thing. If they don't understand it they could make a bad judgement on it and it could limit the number of new students wanting to come in.

 

[Big Don]

In the Marine Corps, there is (or was) a tradition of getting one's stripes 'pinned on' by passing through a gauntlet of one's fellow Marines of that rank or higher, each of whom would 'pin on' the new stripes by punching on the shoulder with great force. One typically ended up bruised for a couple days. It's been banned (so I hear), but it has always been seen as a unit cohesion tool, something that builds camaraderie and represents a welcoming to the team in a warrior-based culture; civilians are typically horrified, but they don't get it.

It's a 'macho' thing. I suspect it may have bled over a bit from the military to the civilian world. Probably should not have done so.

The Army does (did) this too. Son of a B that hurt