Bill Smith
Green Belt
The "Kenpo Rank" post was burning my eyes. Too much reading there - "OVERLOAD". Anyway, towards the end of that post topic some of the people got off the subject. I wanted to say a few things.
Rank was never a thing with me (maybe when starting Kenpo), my thoughts is it just a belt that holds your pants up. I go by the knowlegde of the person/instructor, rather than their rank. Once you think you can't learn anymore, you need to learn another stlye. No matter how much you know, there is always something else waiting around the corner.
When I did my demonstration at the gym for a new school, I wore my gi top and pants and left my belt on the bag. It wasn't that I was shamed to wear it (I'm not) but I wanted the people who were participating in the demo to know that if they were coming to me for training, it wasn't for my belt but my knowledge. And please, I'm not honking my own horn, I'm still in my journey for knowledge in Kenpo.
And just as Mr. C had said earlier, he is as much as a student as we all are. I had a talk with Mr. Mills a few years back and he pretty much said the same thing. So lets focus on the material at hand and not so much on the belts. I've told my students, that once you stop focusing on the belt, you'll start learning and understanding Kenpo.
Just my thoughts, no intent to upset or anger.
Yours in Kenpo,
Bill Smith
Rank was never a thing with me (maybe when starting Kenpo), my thoughts is it just a belt that holds your pants up. I go by the knowlegde of the person/instructor, rather than their rank. Once you think you can't learn anymore, you need to learn another stlye. No matter how much you know, there is always something else waiting around the corner.
When I did my demonstration at the gym for a new school, I wore my gi top and pants and left my belt on the bag. It wasn't that I was shamed to wear it (I'm not) but I wanted the people who were participating in the demo to know that if they were coming to me for training, it wasn't for my belt but my knowledge. And please, I'm not honking my own horn, I'm still in my journey for knowledge in Kenpo.
And just as Mr. C had said earlier, he is as much as a student as we all are. I had a talk with Mr. Mills a few years back and he pretty much said the same thing. So lets focus on the material at hand and not so much on the belts. I've told my students, that once you stop focusing on the belt, you'll start learning and understanding Kenpo.
Just my thoughts, no intent to upset or anger.
Yours in Kenpo,
Bill Smith
