What is the real value of a Black Belt today

[RCastillo]

Originally posted by Ronin
I share your thoughts as well I do agree some people have lost a step or two, myself being one of them. I went through having a lot of training partners that all vanished after our school closed down. I lost a lot of friends and some of them have returned and have lost the desire to really work out. Some just like to B.S. about the old days. I remember desiring my BB more than dating the hottest gal on the planet, that like everything changed in time. Here I am on the verge of my BB test and for some reason almost as if to postponed it and stretch out the past memories I dilly dally around and am under the belief that "I dont have it like I use to " and am hesitant to accept my rank. I dont know if its because I will be a black belt in an era where the flame is almost dead. Who knows? I struggle daily to rekindle the flame. I also frown on mysef for dedicating time to this forum when maybe I should be working out, maybe I shouldnt work on debates and work more on my skills. Well who knows what the tide brings in, and tomorrow the sun will rise. Perhaps then I will find the anwsers. Good post.

This reply by Ronin is almost scary. It sounds exactly like me all over again. Granted, my situation is not unique, but it seems that everyone else seems to do well, and I don't. So to see someone else in the same situation is almost unreal!:asian:

 

[Nightingale]

the value of a black belt...

about $6 at your local martial arts supply store.

It's the value of theskill of the person wearing the belt that is important.

The value of earning the rank is the same as it has always been, and buying a rank makes it worthless.

The issue is how to tell the real thing from the imposter, and the easiest way to go about it is to watch and listen.

 

[satans.barber]

I think a black belt means something different to each person inside.

If it means nothing to you inside, but you like wearing or showing it to people, then it's a little worthless! You might as well have sent of for one of those £99 video courses including black belt and certificate they advertise in Martial Arts Illustrated

My black belt grading is in 4 weeks, and I'll have trained for it for 6 years. If I do manage to get it, to me it will symbolise commitment more than anything else, and hopefully a little understanding!

Ian.

 

[Michael Billings]

Good luck on your test. It means what it means. And who cares what other's think of it's value. I think that is what was meant by it's value is internal.

It is more than that in truth. It is an external symbol of a journey each individual made on his own. Discounting of course, those who purchased them via internet with "No lessons, no instructor, and not certified". You get what you pay for, and hopefully so will those who seek to defraud the innocent by marketing themselves that way. Additional credentials for the wall if you are already a black belt in another system, to me, is even worse .... because you know exactly what you are doing and it degrades the instructor and association which may actually have promoted you.

DONE with the RANT! Moving on. Home from teaching tonight, tired, worn out, but feeling good about my students and where they are going and how they are committed to a not so easy road. I am proud of all of them.

Oss,
-Michael
Kenpo-Texas.com

 

[yilisifu]

You will become another link in a long chain. Make sure that you're a strong one......never rust out.

 

[theletch1]

The belt only means as much to the individual as the art means to that individual. I take my kenpo almost like a religion and strive to be the absolute best that I can be. I have traveled the threefold path as diligently as possible and know that when the time comes to accept the responsibility of training the future BBs of this fine art (my own grandchildren, perhaps) that I will do my best to impart to them the heart and soul of what I feel about every rank I have attained in this art. The association that I have made with many of the other practitioners on this forum gives me continued hope that at least on some level there are still men and women who take this thing we do as seriously as it deserves to be taken.

respectfully
theletch1
:asian:

 

[GouRonin]

Ricardo, I think you have some valid concerns.

I've long been a proponent about belts being worthless today but I think that we also have to remember that times change and so do people. We don't live in the same world anymore and standards change whether we like them to or not.

It's ok to be idealistic about something that was and ok to hold yourself to that standard. I do that myself. We all have our particular idea of what was and is. Many times people often lament for the good old days. But that was then and this is now. Change is a part of life.

The same change should also allow you to avoid being tied in, and give you the freedom to explore. It's possible to hold obligations but many instructors hold unrealistic views of the depth of their obligations as do students. I suppose the trick is to determine what depth you are willing to work with.

Finally, I will leave you with the thoughts my first boxing coach gave to one of his fighters when he was thinking about not being sure if he wanted to continue. The speech is paraphrased of course:

"You want to leave? Fine quit. No one will care. No one but yourself. If you don't have what it takes to be a champ on the inside for yourself, then no one is going to strap a belt around your waist. Its one less person that the rest have to fight against to get to the top. Except they didn't have to take you out to get there. You took yourself out. When gut check time came around you were absent and no one will have to live with that but yourself when you're old and you look back and wonder where you could have gone because you never took a shot at it.

So quit. If you imagine losing before you even get in the ring then I don't want you in the ring at all. I've got guys who can barely walk and chew gum who come out every single chance they get because they want something so bad they can taste it in every bite of food they eat and every glass of water they drink. They pay the price day after day and that is what being a champ is all about. A champ starts on the inside.

So quit. It's one less person for me to have to train and more time for the others who want to be here. But don't ever kid yourself that someone other than yourself made you quit. You quit because you didn't have what it takes to be a winner and if you can live with that for the rest of your life and want to apply that attitude to everything else you do then there is the door. If not, strap some gloves on and get back into the fight, but the choice is always yours.

 

[baronv]

Like everywhere else, I see a lot of people getting into MA just to "get a black belt". Heck I see people who have trained years less than me somehow getting the same rank as I, it's just sometimes the masters stop caring and just want o keep their student's attendance in class up so they can continue getting money from them. Unfortunately that means that the insructors give away belts a lot to people. Heck, due to the advancement method at my school myself and some of my friends can be black belts right now, but we've gotten to the point where we all accepted the fact that it'd be really sorry for us to become black belts and know that we weren't that good to really accept it. I fear though that some of our peers do not see it the same way and would gladly take the next belt as a way to impress their co-workers around the water cooler.

 

[Crazy Chihuahua]

"Average People don't get black belts". Acheivers earn black belts

If only that were true.
Welcome to the modern world of commercial martial arts, ladies and gentlemen.
It should be a realistic goal for every hard-working, committed, dedicated, loyal and genuinely interested student to attain at least a first degree black belt. The reality is, however, that people can now buy their black belt, and thsi is indeed a sad thing.
I'm glad some of you out there are still with me in the belief that a black belt should be something special and unique, while also unifying. You guys are the people I don't mind seeing wearing that black piece of satin or canvas or the once-black-now-greyish-white rag (of you guys I am jealous, because my last belt was a Tokaido, but my new one is a Proforce that just doesn't want to fade and I really miss that look, *sigh*) that you tie on every day to train with.

You're the people who keep us strong and I can only hope that I am one of you.

 

[Goldendragon7]

The belt is only a symbol of achievement based upon the opinion and curriculum of the person doing the promotion.

Since there are no "world standards", there are many - many variations.

I agree with many of the posters............. it really is really not what you wear or how many stripes you have, but what you know and how you share that knowledge is what counts.

The Kenpo Flame is in your heart not on your belt.

:asian:

 

[Michael Billings]

Well said and so true.

-Michael

 

[GouRonin]

Originally posted by Crazy Chihuahua
If only that were true.
Welcome to the modern world of commercial martial arts, ladies and gentlemen.
It should be a realistic goal for every hard-working, committed, dedicated, loyal and genuinely interested student to attain at least a first degree black belt. The reality is, however, that people can now buy their black belt, and thsi is indeed a sad thing.
I'm glad some of you out there are still with me in the belief that a black belt should be something special and unique, while also unifying. You guys are the people I don't mind seeing wearing that black piece of satin or canvas or the once-black-now-greyish-white rag (of you guys I am jealous, because my last belt was a Tokaido, but my new one is a Proforce that just doesn't want to fade and I really miss that look, *sigh*) that you tie on every day to train with.
You're the people who keep us strong and I can only hope that I am one of you.

It must really piss you off then that Joe Foster re-organized his system to allow everyone to grade two belt levels up after paying the grading fee so he can pay his lawyers to stay out of jail after being convicted on sex charges against his students. But I suppose it would also piss me off if the guy who did that to a system I was studying also started a video grading service through the internet.

But...that's just me.

 

[Crazy Chihuahua]

Not really. Not everyone qualified to test up and only a few qualified for two ranks. I only tested up one belt and I was glad of the chance.
I'll thank you not to make assumptions about what pleases or angers me, but for future reference, making assumptions about me is one of the things that angers me.

 

[Crazy Chihuahua]

Oh, and the videos.

They are a home study program for people who want to learn the art but can't get to a school. You still pay a test fee and you have to send a testing tape for inspection by a board of examiners member, which you can fail on. Buying the videos does not mean you automatically fly through the system, you still have to be proficient. And they are also available to regular students as a training aid. They were in production long before any of that started and they are on our website to allow people all over the world access to one of the greatest systems of kenpo available today. Buy one, you might learn something, plus, I'm in a few of them, so there's a bonus

 

[GouRonin]

Originally posted by Crazy Chihuahua
Buy one, you might learn something

It's possible. But I don't support convicted pedophiles.

 

[Chaos]

I know this one is out of the blue and it is a strange reversal of the topic, but I am curious to know, If one with a Black Belt status were to wear a White Belt would that be deceptive and dishonorable or would it be the opposite? I would think that since you could assume that the man or woman wearing the belt was of low rank would that be thier failing or yours as a honorable person. I personnaly think it rides on the line. Your opinions?

 

[Crazy Chihuahua]

At a tournament, you should wear your highest rank, any other time, that's your perrogative, i guess....

 

[Michael Billings]

Without the context (tournament, your own school, another system, or visiting another school in your own system, etc.), the question has too many variables and I cannot answer it with any degree of certainty.

There is nothing borderline about it, unless you are trying to be deceptive (like at a tournament) ... then it is plain wrong.

You may want to start this question as a new thread.

-Michael
Kenpo-Texas.com

 

[Nightingale]

Originally posted by Chaos
I know this one is out of the blue and it is a strange reversal of the topic, but I am curious to know, If one with a Black Belt status were to wear a White Belt would that be deceptive and dishonorable or would it be the opposite? I would think that since you could assume that the man or woman wearing the belt was of low rank would that be thier failing or yours as a honorable person. I personnaly think it rides on the line. Your opinions?

It depends... is that person wearing a white belt to deceive, or to accurately reflect his or her knowledge of the particular art in question?

I have seen black belts switch styles and put on white belts, because they are beginners in their new art... they tend to advance quicker, but they're still white belts. Personally, I switched schools and chose to tie on a lower rank, because it was an accurate reflection of my knowledge in comparison to the other students in that school. They had a different curriculum and different requirements. When I compete, I still wear a brown belt, because that's the level I last competed at, and it wouldn't be fair for me to wear a yellow belt and fight yellow belts, because I can hold my own with the brown belts most of the time. I wear a yellow belt in the studio only, out of respect to my new instructors and the other students. At seminars and tournaments, I wear my highest rank.

 

[Steve Howard]

I think Nightinggale hit this one right on the head. The proper conduct in the proper context. Right on, Nightinggale.

Steve Howard
www.kenporaw.bravepages.com