Anyone heard of this?

[Headhunter]

so I was talking to a old friend today. I knew he was testing for black belt in kenpo soon so I asked but he said they'd refused to grade him....the reason being....his gi had a hole in it and apparently that's disrespectful....

The hole was apparently in the trousers on his knee so a common place to get a rip but either way that's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. The guys not exactly well off so he couldn't afford a new gi and I know him. He's extremely talented and think he should've made black belt a long time ago but they refused because of something so dumb. I honestly don't know how having a hole in your gi pants is disrespectful.

 

[Dirty Dog]

It's certainly not something that would have caused us to hold up a promotion.

 

[JowGaWolf]

so I was talking to a old friend today. I knew he was testing for black belt in kenpo soon so I asked but he said they'd refused to grade him....the reason being....his gi had a hole in it and apparently that's disrespectful....

The hole was apparently in the trousers on his knee so a common place to get a rip but either way that's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. The guys not exactly well off so he couldn't afford a new gi and I know him. He's extremely talented and think he should've made black belt a long time ago but they refused because of something so dumb. I honestly don't know how having a hole in your gi pants is disrespectful.

All I can say is train hard and forget about the belt.

 

[Tez3]

I honestly don't know how having a hole in your gi pants is disrespectful.

I can imagine having a rip that showed your credentials would be embarrassing but one elsewhere isn't disrespectful though it would have been respectful to your friend to find him another Gi bottom if it worried them so much.

 

[jks9199]

If the organization's rules for testing are to be in a clean, proper uniform, then showing up with an obvious whole is a violation and disrespectful of the judges. A needle and thread can close a hole. Though I would say that the requirement should have been made clear, and his instructors should have prevented the problem before putting him up for black belt.

It's not something that I would have failed him or refused to test him over, either -- but it's not my organization.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I wouldn't stop someone from testing because of a hole in the knee, unless they'd been previously told that was a show-stopper. In fact, I'd probably only stop their test for it if I'd specifically warned them about that hole (or a similar issue) recently. There are reasons why things like that can be important (depending what you're trying to do with the training), but I have a hard time seeing it as a reason to stop a test unless it's something that's routinely stressed.

At the same time, I can't imagine showing up to test with a tatty gi. At worst, I'd either stitch it up real quick, or buy an iron-on patch to put inside that knee. Either could be done in a minute or two, once the materials are acquired. Or, in an emergency, duct tape and a black Sharpie will make it hard to spot the hole. So, while I probably wouldn't stop the test for it, I'd almost certainly make a point of it with them.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Honestly it sounds like it might be political. If he should have tested a while ago and has the skills, then they choose that as the reason to cancel his test (I'm assuming last minute enough he couldn't patch it), sounds like he pissed off the wrong person for whatever reason, and this was the way they found to deny it.

 

[Steve]

I'm not sure I get how he doesn't know. He's testing for black belt. I presume he's been there for a while. He just have known the standards,

If not, sure. That's crappy. But I'm not buying it. I sense there's more to this story.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I'm not sure I get how he doesn't know. He's testing for black belt. I presume he's been there for a while. He just have known the standards,

If not, sure. That's crappy. But I'm not buying it. I sense there's more to this story.

It could be a made up one to prevent him from testing. Or a rule they normally ignore, but chose to enact for him day of. I might be being cynical, but I've seen people prevent testing for BS reasons before.

 

[Steve]

It could be a made up one to prevent him from testing. Or a rule they normally ignore, but chose to enact for him day of. I might be being cynical, but I've seen people prevent testing for BS reasons before.

Possible, but let's be real. It's pretty damned unlikely. If they disliked this guy that much, he would've been driven away in some manner long before his black belt test.

Maybe I'm giving kenpo too much credit.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Possible, but let's be real. It's pretty damned unlikely. If they disliked this guy that much, he would've been driven away in some manner long before his black belt test.

Maybe I'm giving kenpo too much credit.

I hope you're right on that.

 

[Steve]

I hope you're right on that.

No real way to tell for sure. One person here knows one half of the story, and it's slanted in one direction.

 

[yak sao]

No real way to tell for sure. One person here knows one half of the story, and it's slanted in one direction.

So you're saying there's a hole in his story?

 

[Headhunter]

It could be a made up one to prevent him from testing. Or a rule they normally ignore, but chose to enact for him day of. I might be being cynical, but I've seen people prevent testing for BS reasons before.

It's not a rule at all. I trained there for years and never once was anything like that said. Hell I've seen people grading just wearing street clothes and still get given the belt

 

[Headhunter]

I'm not sure I get how he doesn't know. He's testing for black belt. I presume he's been there for a while. He just have known the standards,

If not, sure. That's crappy. But I'm not buying it. I sense there's more to this story.

Because it's not a rule. It's never been said at all until this time

 

[Steve]

So you're saying there's a hole in his story?

Sort of. I think we are hearing on side of a story that has more than one side.

 

[drop bear]

So you're saying there's a hole in his story?

Nice one.

 

[drop bear]

Possible, but let's be real. It's pretty damned unlikely. If they disliked this guy that much, he would've been driven away in some manner long before his black belt test.

Maybe I'm giving kenpo too much credit.

He didn't have a single person who could loan him their pants. So mabye.

 

[Headhunter]

Sort of. I think we are hearing on side of a story that has more than one side.

Is it a bird is it a plane? No it's that joke going way over your head lol

 

[_Simon_]

In Kyokushin it was probably the more ripped your gi the better XD