Rank when changnig dojo/dojang/etc

[Shinobi Teikiatsu]

i really like wearing a white belt. nobody expects anything from you.

jf

That reminds me of a statement I made while I was in band back in middle school.

I played the euphonium and was first chair all the time. My best friend was second chair, but eventually got beaten out and became our permanent third chair (not that it was his designated spot, but he constantly got beat out by another one of the players). The four of us (there was a fourth chair) got to talking one day, and the conversation went as such

Rob: To tell you guys the truth, I think the ones that have it the worst here are the first chair and the last chair.
Best Friend: Why is that?
Rob: Because when you're first, and you stay first, you're EXPECTED to be first, and once you start to fall off, you're pushed to keep being first. Being last chair is the opposite. You pretty much are the weak link, but if you somehow manage to make it up to any other chair, then the teacher knows you have the capability to be good, and pushes you harder and harder to be, and then gets disappointed if you don't make it.
Second Chair: What about second chair?
Rob: You have to live in the shadow of first chair. You're too good to be in the lower ranks, but not quite good enough to show off. You also have to be able to be the balance between the first and third chair, because if you aren't able to keep up with the first chair, then HE sounds like the bad one, and if you can't keep up with the third chair, then you and the first are ruining it. You have to be the one that connects the group.
Best Friend: And me?
Rob: Yeah, no one cares about you, really. You're not competing with him to be second chair, you've been third forever. You're not bad enough to be last chair, but you don't apply yourself enough to get up high enough in the seating arrangements. If you play awesome, then you make 3/4 of the section sound awesome, so everyone loves us. If you suck, then 1/2 still sounds good, and the other half people know are just there to make sure there's a balance in the band. All you really have to do is know the music, and nobody expects anything from you.

Kind of a long allusion, but your comment reminded me of that discussion.

 

[Phoenix44]

When I switched arts I put on a white belt. And I never presume that I know when something the instructor demonstrates is "wrong." I may ask questions, like, "When we do this, aren't we vulnerable to that?" I listen to the answer, practice the technique as I'm taught, and then consider for myself what would work better for me when sparring or in a defense situation. I look at it as expanding my repertoire.

I agree with Jarrod's point about nobody expecting anything from you when you wear a white belt.

 

[Bruno@MT]

I should have been more specific but I was reading where people within the same art would be dropped back to white belt when they changed between schools within that art due to the number of schools that just give away ranks, etc.

Also, do these factors include blackbelts, etc?

Definitely not within Genbukan. The curriculum is set per grade, so e.g a 5th kyu in my home dojo will have the same value and meaning as a 5th kyu in any other dojo.

If you switch organizations to a totally different system I think it is only normal that you wear the white belt again. Just because you earned something in one art does not mean you know anything about another art.

 

[Aniela13]

The dojo I switched to allows students who have studied elsewhere to continue to wear their former ranks, but it is up to the individual students. We still wear the uniform appropriate to our rank in the current dojo, so others can still see with a glance that, for example, my black belt must mean I'm from somewhere different because I'm wearing a blue gi, not black...and we start learning from the white belt curriculum.

Personally, I prefer being held to the higher standard that comes from my instructors recognizing that I am working toward my second black belt. Given that I had two years of inactivity, I'm afraid without that extra push I wouldn't have worked so hard to perfect what I'm learning...but that's me.

There is, however, an ever-growing part of me that longs for the day when I will earn the rank of instructor at my new dojo, and for the first time wear a belt that they have given to me. I suppose all things change in time...I did not see that longing coming, but I don't think it would have come had I started out as a recognized white belt again

Just my two cents...and some reflections just for kicks

~Ani