My Viewpoint On Belts And Rank

[PhotonGuy]

No one can specify a blanket time period because people are very different. Not to mention their train methods and frequency.

At my first dojo tests were scheduled every four months. So if a test is coming up and you ask if you're ready and the instructor tells you no there would be no reason to ask again if you're ready to test in that test and doing so would be like asking, "Am I ready? Am I ready?" but that doesn't mean you can't ask again four months later when the next test comes around and I see nothing wrong with that.

That's just how it was done at my dojo, different dojos have different systems of course but at my first dojo they held rank tests about every four months. In such a system I don't see anything wrong with doing what I mentioned above (asking if you're ready to test in the next test when it comes around if you weren't ready when they had the previous test.)

 

[PhotonGuy]

BL had no sash because he only trained about 2 years in WC and didn’t even show up to his teachers funeral…but you are correct that no one cares.

Bruce Lee didn't have rank belts in his system of JKD but he did have rank patches, you would wear a patch on your uniform to denote your rank.

 

[E0richt]

Bruce Lee didn't have rank belts in his system of JKD but he did have rank patches, you would wear a patch on your uniform to denote your rank.

you didnt understand the answer.... the point was that BL was not a master when he decided to found his JKD system. He didn't need a rank to have his own style of martial art....

 

[PhotonGuy]

you didnt understand the answer.... the point was that BL was not a master when he decided to found his JKD system. He didn't need a rank to have his own style of martial art....

Well the arts that he trained in didn't have rank to the best of my knowledge, so no he wouldn't've had any rank when he founded JKD, although whether or not he had any certificates to be an instructor I don't know.

 

[E0richt]

Well the arts that he trained in didn't have rank to the best of my knowledge, so no he wouldn't've had any rank when he founded JKD, although whether or not he had any certificates to be an instructor I don't know.

from my reading, I do know he did not have a certificate...

 

[PhotonGuy]

from my reading, I do know he did not have a certificate...

Well in post #63 you mention that Bruce Lee was not a master, but that would depend on exactly what you define as a "master."

 

[E0richt]

Well in post #63 you mention that Bruce Lee was not a master, but that would depend on exactly what you define as a "master."

ok...my definition as to a lack of how one becomes a teacher of a style of kung fu... I assume when one is considered knowledgeable by the instructor one gets something that connotes one can teach on their own... I have heard it could be a certificate, or something that conveyed principles or something along that line... either way, BL did not get that, in fact from an earlier post by another member he did not attend his instructors funeral... thats as far as I cared to take it and I am not sure what the dispute is here... basically, BL did not get a blessing from his instructor to teach. If you have data that contradicts that, I would be open to look into it further.

 

[PhotonGuy]

ok...my definition as to a lack of how one becomes a teacher of a style of kung fu... I assume when one is considered knowledgeable by the instructor one gets something that connotes one can teach on their own... I have heard it could be a certificate, or something that conveyed principles or something along that line... either way, BL did not get that, in fact from an earlier post by another member he did not attend his instructors funeral... thats as far as I cared to take it and I am not sure what the dispute is here... basically, BL did not get a blessing from his instructor to teach. If you have data that contradicts that, I would be open to look into it further.

I see, well just like how the definition of what a black belt is varies quite a but the definition of what a master is also varies quite a bit. Whether or not a black belt is a master depends on what you define as a black belt and what you define as a master. For instance, apparently in some of the Korean arts "master" is simply a title that means instructor, just like how in some of the Japanese arts an instructor is called a sensei in some of the Korean arts an instructor is called a master. So in such arts if you do any teaching whatsoever you're a master so to speak.

As for Bruce Lee not getting a blessing from his instructor to teach, Bruce Lee had many instructors. Im not aware whether or not Bruce Lee got blessings from any of his instructors to teach but even if he didn't that doesn't mean he couldn't set up his own school and start teaching with himself as the head teacher. There is no law that says you need blessings or certificates to teach martial arts, at least none that Im aware of, so for Bruce Lee to do that, yes that is definitely a possibility.

 

[E0richt]

I see, well just like how the definition of what a black belt is varies quite a but the definition of what a master is also varies quite a bit. Whether or not a black belt is a master depends on what you define as a black belt and what you define as a master. For instance, apparently in some of the Korean arts "master" is simply a title that means instructor, just like how in some of the Japanese arts an instructor is called a sensei in some of the Korean arts an instructor is called a master. So in such arts if you do any teaching whatsoever you're a master so to speak.

As for Bruce Lee not getting a blessing from his instructor to teach, Bruce Lee had many instructors. Im not aware whether or not Bruce Lee got blessings from any of his instructors to teach but even if he didn't that doesn't mean he couldn't set up his own school and start teaching with himself as the head teacher. There is no law that says you need blessings or certificates to teach martial arts, at least none that Im aware of, so for Bruce Lee to do that, yes that is definitely a possibility.

yes, this is basically the point I was trying to make as one can teach without being certified as an instructor in a particular system / style. So it sounds like we agree...

 

[Stuarto91 1]

That depends on your teacher. Not all teachers are going to tell you up front what you need to work on, particularly if you're at a large dojo. In such cases you might have to ask. You might have to ask your teacher what you need to work on, ect.

Our school gives every new student a syllabus that shows the requirements for each and every belt up to shodan. So, you already are aware of what you need to practice and know for the next belt. My aikido school did this as well. They gave us a new student book and it also showed the requirements. I don't know if every school out there does this but I think it's a great thing to have for students.

 

[PhotonGuy]

Talked to a kid a couple weeks ago. He was graduating from a Comp Sci program and was telling me how he used AI to do all his classwork. While at the same time telling me he didn't really learn anything.

View attachment 33049

For once I agree with you.

 

[PhotonGuy]

Our school gives every new student a syllabus that shows the requirements for each and every belt up to shodan. So, you already are aware of what you need to practice and know for the next belt. My aikido school did this as well. They gave us a new student book and it also showed the requirements.

Not all dojos do that but I do think its a good thing that dojos should do. After all, where I went to college, when you enrolled and declared a major you would get a piece of paper that would say everything you needed to do to get a degree in that major, all the classes you needed to take and all the credits you needed to get and so forth. I see no reason why dojos shouldn't be run that same way, where you're told everything you need to do for each belt, up to and including Shodan which is First Degree Black Belt. Colleges do it that way, at least the college I went to did, so there is no reason why dojos shouldn't do it that way too.

I don't know if every school out there does this but I think it's a great thing to have for students.

As I said above no not all dojos do that, systems on belt promotion vary from dojo to dojo and they vary a lot, perhaps they vary as much as the martial arts themselves vary, but if you're dojo doesn't do it that way or if you're unsure about something you might have to ask, that was the mistake I made at my first dojo, I didn't ask.