Is the awe still there...was it ever?

[stone_dragone]

This is specifically for the kyu/gup/non-black belt folks, but if newer (last year or so) black belts want to chime in, please do.

I remember being a yellow belt at a tournament and being in almost awe if a black belt that I didn't know struck up conversation with me, all the more so if it was a higher degree fellow. Do folks still feel like that? Did they ever or was it just me?

Another thread got me thinking about that.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I only got my black belt about 10 months ago so I am by no means someone who has trained MA their whole life and I can assure you that you are not alone in that way of thinking. I still remember my first night as a white belt, I was in awe of the black belts. Firstly it was because of the stigma that revolves around a black belt but as time went by it was more about how knowlegable they seemed to be and how fluent they were in sparring/line work/forms etc. Even the most difficult stuff just seemed to come naturally for them and they always had good manner.

 

[Blade96]

Yellow belt here. 8th kyu.

nah......I see my BB's as pretty much just like everyone else (except for rank and qualifications, of course and of course snobbiness and cliquey)

But maybe it doesnt faze me anymore because my best friend in my dojo is a Sandan.

some people said how comfortable i seemed there even as a white belt...I wasnt afraid in the least to go and talk to someone higher.

 

[Bruno@MT]

Nope, not really. Their high level comes from time and effort invested.

I may have thought like you when I was 18 or so. At 33, I don't think martial arts masters are better or more awesome than me. They may be better at the art then me, but they are still as human as I am. When it comes to computers or other skills, I can run circles around many of them.

Don't get me wrong. I have a LOT of respect for the people who dedicate their life to the mastery MA, but not to the point where I would describe it as 'awe'.

 

[Cirdan]

Can`t say I ever was in awe just because a black belt wanted to talk to me. Been on a first name basis with my teachers since day one. I might be in awe of someone`s ability, but they are still as human as me.

 

[Drac]

I was never in awe..

 

[rlobrecht]

I've definitely been impressed with some black belts, especially some of our very impressive pre-teen and teen black belts. I can't say I've ever been in awe.

That said, I do see it in some kids. My son and I tested for our last test (1st kup) at a different branch than our normal school. After finishing our pattern and pad work, we moved to the back of the dojang to get our sparring gear ready, and several low belt kids made comments about how "cool" we looked, and how good we did.

Rick

 

[Grenadier]

Even though I've been in the martial arts for over two decades, the awe will always be there to some degree.

I've been fortunate to have partaken in various seminars that had some pretty big names teaching them. Some are / were US National team coaches, others are chief instructors of a particular system of martial arts.

There was always that edginess when the seminar first started, not necessarily because of them, but because of the fear of messing up in front of them.

Yes, that even included Ridgely Abele, who was a teacher of mine for several years (and a fantastic one at that).

In each of those cases, the instructor of the seminar knew how to break the ice, and really made the participants feel welcome there. In doing so, and dispelling the "awe" aura, they were able to get people to relax, and enter a better mindset for learning.

There are few things worse than going to a seminar, and being so edgy around the instructor, simply because of the fear of screwing up in front of him / her. With that much edginess, you tend to get stiff, and trepidatious. Trust me on this, and it also works the other way around, that it's difficult for an instructor to teach a tense and edgy student.

Those above folks were able to teach the seminars using methods that everyone could understand, and after things were done, the participants all felt as if they had come out for the better.

Yes, I made mistakes at their seminars, but because they had everyone feeling more relaxed, we simply made corrections, and smoothly moved on.

I'm still in awe of those guys, not out of edginess or the fear of failure, but now out of having a healthy respect for their being excellent teachers, and more importantly, great human beings.

 

[repz]

As a kid I was, but now I feel like the black belt that never was due to bad luck and money issues, now i believe that all black belts are not created equal. I have seen white belts with better skills than most black belts. And I know some systems train in a certain way that makes it hard to reach black belt than others, where other styles its easier to reach bb.

I remember I tried out this class (style and school isnt important) and the instructor was telling me some off the wall things! About how he was shot, how he killed as a marine, how his system was deadly, how this and that and this... I read and joked about people like this, and here I was talking to one. And yes, he was legit, 9th dan, was in tv and fighting events, and was well respected, but woah, the things he said. I think that was his way to spread awe and deep respect as if he was inhuman. That turned me off bad, and its the only system i wanted to train in, and the only one in my area... oh well.

 

[Bruno@MT]

As a kid I was, but now I feel like the black belt that never was due to bad luck and money issues, now i believe that all black belts are not created equal. I have seen white belts with better skills than most black belts. And I know some systems train in a certain way that makes it hard to reach black belt than others, where other styles its easier to reach bb.

True. BB in Genbukan is a 10 year path, whereas it is much shorter in Bujinkan.

Not that this does NOT mean I think less of Bujinkan. It just means that the black belt MEANS different things. 10 years under a good teacher in Bujinkan should in my opinion be equal to 10 years under a good teacher in Genbukan. It's just that the Belt levels have different meanings.

Also to go back to the topic: When my sensei started with Genbukan, he started out as white belt, just like everyone does. Yet he already had dan levels in goju ryu karate and modern jujutsu. Belt color can be deceiving.

 

[chaos1551]

The black belt makes me stop and listen more intently when they speak about the art. Then again, there's only one black belt at my school--the instructor.

I recently had a very good eye-opening group session last week. Grenadier spoke about getting "people to relax" and being "edgy around the instructor" and my experience was along those lines. I always feel like I do better when practicing alone than when I go to classes. Last week I attended a class where only two of us showed up and we worked intently on refining forms. I felt very uncomfortable practicing in front of people who were looking for things I could improve on. It's one thing to show a technique or form to my instructor once and have him teach me how to do it better, but it's another thing to have him show me how to do it better, then do it better for him to have him show me how to do it even better and on and on for over an hour. I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown... until something snapped. I relaxed. It truly sunk in that I was just not going to do the forms as well as him right off the bat. I wasn't going to do it perfect that day. I was going to mess up and he was going to help me and that's what we're all about doing. Even though I knew this already, I was able to hit a new level and relax that much more. What Grenadier says about an instructor being able to teach better when their student is relaxed is truth. It felt like some tension in the room dissolved. Some level of stress seemed to leave my instructor and the class experience became a little more personal and comfortable. My instructor even started to tell stories (something he only does when he's in a very good mood). I no longer have butterflies in my stomach about going to class.

I hope I'll perform as well in classes now as I do alone.

 

[Shifu Steve]

To me the belt itself means nothing. I respect the discipline behind the practitioner that has earned it. When I earned my black belt I was less concerned with that as I was with the lessons and hard work that got me there. But like someone said earlier, not all are equal. Some so called black belts are atrocious and an embarrassment to their lineage. I started training with a guy that is still what I guess would be the equivalent of a green belt or something 2 full "ranks" shy of his first teacher rank. He stopped training at our school because he had to move but had trained long enough that he had a phenomenal foundation. Today I consider him one of the hardest working martial artists I know and his skill is exceptional. There are children that have his rank.