Black Belt Essay
- Thread starter Bill Mattocks
- Start date
skribs
Grandmaster
For our 2nd degree test, one of the essays is "my favorite moment of Taekwondo." I keep offering advice for the people getting ready for this test, but so far nobody has taken it. My advice is the first two sentences of their essay:
My favorite moment in Taekwondo is when I met Skribs. It is an honor just to be in his presence.
My favorite moment in Taekwondo is when I met Skribs. It is an honor just to be in his presence.
Danny T
Senior Master
This is... Wow, Great, Awesome, Outstanding, Fabulous, Top notch, Magnificent and I even like it!!
I with Buka on 'if a student of mine wrote that I'd have it framed and hanging on the wall'. I've got several already that are inspiring but I'd really enjoy having something like this.
I with Buka on 'if a student of mine wrote that I'd have it framed and hanging on the wall'. I've got several already that are inspiring but I'd really enjoy having something like this.
Has more thought put into it than many actual essays I've reviewed in my time...
Love it. I'm not sure whether I'd accept it for someone's essay, but they'd certainly never get it back.
JR 137
Grandmaster
School teacher speaking...
I’m not sure what I’d do if I gave a student an essay assignment and got back a comic. I’d really like it and might incorporate it into future assignments, however it’s not what I actually asked for. The more I think about it, I’d accept it with a caveat - follow directions next time or I won’t accept it.
School teacher over
I really like the creativity and honesty in it. The writer is obviously very talented. If I were an MA teacher and an adult gave this to me instead of an essay, I’d kindly ask for an essay and ask to share the comic with others. Probably print it up all nice and hang it up too.
If the guy did the comic that well, I have no doubt he’d be able to put it into essay format very easily. The comic had to take significantly more time and effort than an essay.
I’m not sure what I’d do if I gave a student an essay assignment and got back a comic. I’d really like it and might incorporate it into future assignments, however it’s not what I actually asked for. The more I think about it, I’d accept it with a caveat - follow directions next time or I won’t accept it.
School teacher over
I really like the creativity and honesty in it. The writer is obviously very talented. If I were an MA teacher and an adult gave this to me instead of an essay, I’d kindly ask for an essay and ask to share the comic with others. Probably print it up all nice and hang it up too.
If the guy did the comic that well, I have no doubt he’d be able to put it into essay format very easily. The comic had to take significantly more time and effort than an essay.
KenpoMaster805
2nd Black Belt
In my kenpo karate class you have to do a essay once you get to black belt
Once you "get to black belt?" Or, as part of the promotional requirements for earning the black belt?
Just checking. Different folks time that up differently.
Oni_Kadaki
Green Belt
Well-said.
KenpoMaster805
2nd Black Belt
Orion Nebula
Green Belt
This was great! Thanks for sharing. I love out of the box stuff.
The whole concept of a black belt essay seems weird to me. I get the idea, kind of, but I don’t see how my ability to write is related to my MA ability.
I think it’s a common part of the “more than fighting” of many systems.
And thata the part that i get, sort of. That theres the art aspect, and enlightenment, and discipline and all that jazz. But i dont see where writing an essay comes into it. There are plenty of other ways to determine that, and imo an essay isnt actually determining anything. Its like a college essay-much more related to your ability to write well, then an actual portrayal of the impact its had on you. Just observing the person and having a dialogue about whatever the essay topic would be about would be more fair, efficient/effective, and meaningful.
The "more than fighting" can include a lot of things. I have some writing required along the way. For BB, I actually require an oral presentation. Why? Because my students are much more likely to need writing and presentation skills than fighting skills, and I can help with those, too. So I'm trying to kill two birds with one stone - get them thinking about the fighting/SD topic in a different way (another skill they'll be able to leverage) and help them work on their communication skills.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
To be fair, the essay was by a kid and very much had that flavor. The essays we are required to write have to be about MA in a bigger sense, not only what it did for us personally. That is tough when you consider the thousands of books already written about the subject.
JR 137
Grandmaster
I had to write an essay on “What karate means to me” when I tested for 1st dan way back when. I also had to discuss it in front of everyone in attendance, which were the other guy testing, my teacher, and the senior black belts. It turned into them asking me several questions.
The point is introspection. Then discussing said introspection. There weren’t any grammatical corrections, grade, etc. I know I’ll have to do basically the same thing again when I test for shodan again. Not sure of the exact topic, but I’m sure it’s going to be along the same lines. And I’ll have to discuss it with at least my teacher and Tadashi Nakamura (founder and head of the organization).
When I was in college I had a two semester long English class in which our professor handed out a sheet of paper to each student and said "You will have thirty seconds to write your answer".
Then she said "For the next two semesters you will write one paper each and every week on one subject. You pick the subject. Go."
I wrote Martial Arts on my sheet of paper. That was a no brainer for me. The girl behind me wrote the Boston Red Sox. The guy in front of me wrote "My dick" on his paper.
The prof, an awesome teacher, read out loud what everyone in class would be writing about. She said, "John will be writing about his penis". Everyone laughed, John apologized and was about to say what he would really write about - when she cut him short and said. "It's quite alright, John, no offense taken, but make no mistake, that's what you'll be writing about."
The poor bastard. It was the longest year of his educational career.
Then she said "For the next two semesters you will write one paper each and every week on one subject. You pick the subject. Go."
I wrote Martial Arts on my sheet of paper. That was a no brainer for me. The girl behind me wrote the Boston Red Sox. The guy in front of me wrote "My dick" on his paper.
The prof, an awesome teacher, read out loud what everyone in class would be writing about. She said, "John will be writing about his penis". Everyone laughed, John apologized and was about to say what he would really write about - when she cut him short and said. "It's quite alright, John, no offense taken, but make no mistake, that's what you'll be writing about."
The poor bastard. It was the longest year of his educational career.
