Black Belt -- What Does It Mean to You?

[StudentCarl]

I wasn't even thinking of the skilled trades. I was just thinking of general conversation. Telling your kids that they must master addition and subtraction before they can move onto multiplication, for example.

Also, "mastering" basic skills is not the same as being a master in any way. It simply means that you have learned the basics and can consistently perform them. I learned and could consistently and correctly perform a front kick and a reverse punch, probably during my first month of class back in the seventies. I had "mastered" two very basic skills.

As far as the skilled trades go, there are various requirements that one must meet to be a master tradesman, all of which presume that you have long since mastered the raw basics of your craft.

As for deeper understanding, that generally goes with mastery well beyond "mastering the basic," which is primarilly a physical endeavor in the martial arts.

I understand and don't have a problem with your ideas. I just don't like the idea that when you use the word as a verb 'master' it has a different standard from using it as a noun 'master'. I have no problem using the term 'proficient' with first dans, but their heads are inflated enough already that I don't like saying they have mastered something because I still expect them to continue to improve. That may be nitpicky, but as an English teacher during the day I dislike using word in confusing ways. I think that having different standards for verb and noun is lost on many, but if others don't see the problem, fine.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I understand and don't have a problem with your ideas. I just don't like the idea that when you use the word as a verb 'master' it has a different standard from using it as a noun 'master'. I have no problem using the term 'proficient' with first dans, but their heads are inflated enough already that I don't like saying they have mastered something because I still expect them to continue to improve. That may be nitpicky, but as an English teacher during the day I dislike using word in confusing ways. I think that having different standards for verb and noun is lost on many, but if others don't see the problem, fine.

It isn't lost on me at all. Rumy's context was correct for how he used the word and there was no confusion whatsoever. I personally use the term, "proficient" because I feel that it conveys more accurately what I am trying to communicate, particularly when talking about new first dans.

As for overinflated egos and first dans, tell them that their black belt is a token for completing the basic class. And never tell them that it is anything else. That would solve the problem fairly quickly. I don't have that issue in my classes, as we don't use belts or otherwise wear rank.