Rank Stripes or just plan Black Belt

[TallAdam85]

Hey just wondering what people like better Do u like to have ur name and rank on your black belt or just ur name I am a fan of Name on One Side in english with stripes on the other Or just plan black belt with Name on one side in english only

what about you?

 

[pstarr]

We have the name of the system (Yilichuan) in Chinese on one end and the grade (in Chinese characters, not stripes) on the other.

 

[tsdclaflin]

Plain black, with stripes if rank requires. 1 Dan, no stripe.

 

[Brandon Fisher]

Black Belt embroidered with the kanji for Seijitsu Shin Do on one end and the persons name on the other in katakana if a english name. If they are japanese and their name translates into kanji it would be in kanji.

 

[MJS]

Hey just wondering what people like better Do u like to have ur name and rank on your black belt or just ur name I am a fan of Name on One Side in english with stripes on the other Or just plan black belt with Name on one side in english only

what about you?

My current belt has my last name on one side with stripes on both.

Mike

 

[gixxershane]

i just got my first degree black belt on friday 6-16-2006.. i have a red stripe on each tip.

 

[Kreth]

I have my name in katakana on one side, and the kanji for "Bujinkan Dojo" on the other.

 

[Grenadier]

I've had both.

My first Karate school used a single white stripe for shodan, and gave you an additional stripe for each rank beyond shodan. We were a poor school, and used medical tape as our stripes.

My Tae Kwon Do school used plain black, no stripes, but once you became Jogyonim (or higher), you could get your name embroidered (in Hangul, as best as the translation would allow) on one side.

My next Karate schools used plain black, no stripes. Those who were Renshi or greater, would get their names embroidered on one side (in Katakana), and the name of the system embroidered (in Kanji) on the other, and those same individuals had the option of using different colored (red and white) belts during formal events.

My current school uses no stripes, but you are allowed to have your name embroidered (in Katakana) on one side, and the system name (in Kanji) on the other side. One yudansha's belt is indistinguishable from another's, except for the name. That, and the amount of wear and tear...

 

[Brother John]

Plain black, with stripes if rank requires. 1 Dan, no stripe.

I'm with Claflin on this one.
Not a big fan of the "Name" on the belt. Motto? Ok. Name of the system? Ok...
not the name. If the people in my dojo/gym don't know my name.....then I'm doing something wrong (as I believe, to one degree or the other Every Shodan is an instructor). Why would I need my name on it??? Never made sense to me.
But to each his own.

I'm even drawn about each Black Belt needing to wear their stripes. I've heard arguments for and against it. I think I lean toward wearing them, but I respect those who chose not to for philosophical reasons. (humility...etc.) But I do feel that the head instructor of a school/dojo should wear their rank.

Your Brother
John

 

[Kacey]

I have several belts, all gifts from my instructor - the one I usually wear has rank stripes, as that is the standard for our association. One is plain (a spare - you never know when you might stupidly misplace your belt when cleaning out your gym bag... at least, I don't know... so I keep a plain one in my locker), and one has my name and rank embroidered on one end, and TKD in Korean on the other - a "dress" belt, if you will, used primarily for large-scale functions where there people around who don't know each other - mostly tournaments and seminars that include people from other organizations - the embroidery on the belt is larger and easier to read than most name tags

 

[Cirdan]

I am no BB, however most of my instructors in karate and JJ wear plain black belts. A few have their name and/or style embroirdered in gold. Rank stripes, either narrow golden ones or red tape, are used by one or two. The JJ 5th dans sometimes use red/black belts.

Personally I see no need for this and if I ever make it to black belt I will use a plain one.
Like a gi with too many patches it draws the attention away from where it should be, the art.

 

[ginshun]

I am personally not a black belt either, but I think that putting names and stripes and kanji and whtever on a belt makes it look pretty hokey.

I'd go with just plain black, no writing or stripes of any kind.

 

[Brother John]

Personally I see no need for this and if I ever make it to black belt I will use a plain one.
Like a gi with too many patches it draws the attention away from where it should be, the art.

I know folks who agree with this view. I understand it too. BUT: If you take into mind that your rank was an honor bestowed on you by your instructor....then wear the rank they give you.
simple I guess.

Like I said, I guess I could go either way.

Your Brother
John

 

[fnorfurfoot]

Black belts in my system have red stripes on both ends of the belt. No embroidered names. But that is just preference. There is no rule against having something written on the belt. Going through the ranks we used to sew stripes made out of velvet (black for the brown belts and red for the black). When I opened my own school I bought myself a new belt and had the stripes embroidered on the tips. I personally think that it looks better. When I would go back to my instructor's school there were a number of Black Belts who had red electrical tape on their belts. That annoyed me. Have some pride in your belt.

 

[Cirdan]

I know folks who agree with this view. I understand it too. BUT: If you take into mind that your rank was an honor bestowed on you by your instructor....then wear the rank they give you.
simple I guess.

I am not quite sure I understand what you mean..
In the dojo I will of course wear whatever is required, but extras on black belts tend to be optional if allowed.

 

[IcemanSK]

My preference is for my name embroidered in Korean on 1 end & the art on the other. I'm not a fan of stripes. But my instructor has us wear name in English & rank stripes on one end & the art in Korean on the other. It's even fancier for masters & grandmasters. I honor my instructor & his choice of belt & uniform.

 

[Flying Crane]

plain black, no matter what the level. No stripes, no embroidery, nothing.

 

[trueaspirer]

My bb has my name in english and the dan stripes on one side, while the other side has the name of the association in english and korean on the other with the other set of stripes.

 

[Kenpodoc]

I prefer plain black, no name, no stripes. I wear 2 red stripes formally out of respect to my instructor. The Black and stripes also gets me better partners at seminars. My uniform of choice is loose pants, a Tee shirt and no belt.

Jeff

 

[Jimi]

When I used to wear a belt more frequently, I wore a plain black belt. When I acheived 3rd (Sandan) Dan, the belt was presented to me already embroidered with my name on one end and tae kwon do w/ 3 stripes on the other. The belt that I recieved as a gift from Henry Sotelo had some sort of kanji on one side ( I belive it stands for karate)w/ a small round patch w/ a Kenpo K on it stitched to the belt. There are 2 red and white ribbons (white then red then white again for each ribbon) stitched to the same end of the belt. Nothing on the other end. A strange note to that is that one of the ribbons is placed over 1 of the 2 kanji on the belt, I could see the underside of the kanjis stitching, but can not make it out without removing the ribbon. I find that strange. I agree to a point with some that a name need not be on the belt, but at times I can see the need to identify ownership, as some people will steal a belt rank and claim it as their own.