So you are a black belt, that must mean you can beat me up right?

[terryl965]

When someone ask me about it I usaully say something like Yea I have Black Belt and also own a brown belt but my best belt is kinda of a biege color and then I start to laugh at them and chuckle and they start also.

I have only been in one circumstance where the individual wanter to test me and he was so drunk that when he swang at me he fell and hit his head on the bar stool and that ended the fight, for about two week everybody thought I hit him that quick where nobody could see it. Everytime I tell that story I chuckle because he probaly still thinls I was that good.
Terry

 

[searcher]

This may seem to simple, but it has worked for me. I just ignore the question and eventually it gets dropped. I live in a small town where Myself and My students have gained a rep as "ones to not be messed with." This is very funny since I and my students try to give any sort of public display. We just keep our mouths shut and let them think what they wish. I think that going out and giving any kind of show is fruitless and potentially harmful for your own well being and that of your students. Fight one fight against the local bad boy and you will be fighting for the rest of your life. Having done this while traing in other towns and schools, it gets old very fast. You should only answer reasonable questions and not ones that will lead to confrontation. JMHO.

 

[IcemanSK]

This doesn't happen very often since I am 37 years old and associate with more mature people.[/quote]

I'm 38, but I can't say that I associate w/ more mature people. A lot of friends are MA-ists, too.

But you're right, it does change as you get older. People tend to a bit more mature about such things. They don't to their police officer friends, "Are ya gonna arrest me?" etc.

 

[cali_tkdbruin]

I am just curious if any of you all have been in a similar scenario where you expose your rank (not particularly showing it off) you could have known the other person for a long time, and you get certain responses like: so that means you can beat the crap out of anyone, or that must mean you can beat my tail sort of thing.

I reached Black level after years of training, but nobody knows about it except my immediate family. Can I go out and kick all ***? Uhh, NO. That's not happening sports fans. But I can do OK,

 

[D.Cobb]

I am just curious if any of you all have been in a similar scenario where you expose your rank (not particularly showing it off) you could have known the other person for a long time, and you get certain responses like: so that means you can beat the crap out of anyone, or that must mean you can beat my tail sort of thing.

If this has ever happened to you, I am curious as to how you have dealt with these or similar scenario's.

=)

I usually get, "Oh so I'd better not pick a fight with you then...", and I always ask, "would you pick a fight with me if I wasn't a black belt?"

--Dave

 

[Makalakumu]

I work and teach MA in a very poor part of town that has alot of crime.

At work, I teach an MA class, so there is no way to keep it a secret. My students have been labled "at-risk" and there are certain sets of behaviors that are associated with that. One of them involves asking inappropriate questions and acting out inappropriately. Thus, the question above comes up alot and it is usually accompanied by a threatening gesture or some sort of posturing.

My response is to stay totally calm look them in the eye and invite them up to join the TSD class at school or come a train at my dojang down the street. Then I smile tell them that if they train with me for three months straight and earn their first rank they can find out for themselves.

At my public dojang, the rules are completely different. In school, the environment is controlled and the kids are conditioned to a certain extant. Outside of that environment, anything could (and often does) happen. Dojo-storming is a very real possability...particularly the type that involves some disturbed yahoo from the streets. My response is to lock the door when we are training with a note indicating that new students are to contact the instructor before enrolling. The other thing that I do is that I only advertise via word of mouth. This creates a little work for people who want to find me because they have to chase trail of rumors...that is they are in direct contact with one of my students...which is what I prefer anyway.

So, I guess the bottom line in this post is that I take this attitude seriously. There are alot of people surrounding me that think either "he's a blackbelt so he can kick ***" or "I don't care if he's a blackbelt, I'll kick his ***." The former flows right into the latter with some people because now there is a threat in the hood and for liability sakes, we as MAists just can't deal with it in the "Old School" way anymore.

 

[BlackCatBonz]

I am just curious if any of you all have been in a similar scenario where you expose your rank (not particularly showing it off) you could have known the other person for a long time, and you get certain responses like: so that means you can beat the crap out of anyone, or that must mean you can beat my tail sort of thing.

If this has ever happened to you, I am curious as to how you have dealt with these or similar scenario's.

=)

i always say in a quite serious tone, yes.

 

[searcher]

I usually get, "Oh so I'd better not pick a fight with you then...", and I always ask, "would you pick a fight with me if I wasn't a black belt?"

--Dave

Very nice response and post.

 

[rompida]

Man, I hate when people say/ask things like that. It makes you feel bashful about something you would normally feel proud of. when I was younger, I had "friends" that would try to get me into fights just so they could see what I could do. Nowadays, I don't have too many instances of that.

But, when asked that, I just tend to say something along the lines of "it just means that I have learned alot, and that black belt doesn't/shouldn't necessarily mean the person is Jet Li."


But, I've heard things like...

Aw, I'll just shoot his @ss!
Do you think you could take "insert name of a big dude here"?
Don't make me come over there and show you something!

and my personal favorite..

"I don't need that stuff, I streetfight"

 

[D.Cobb]

Very nice response and post.

Hey, thanks very much.

 

[Hand Sword]

On top of others thinking that I thought that I could beat the crap out of them, I would usually get " I used to do what you do too" and it always seemed that they out ranked you. If you were a black belt, then they were a second degree, etc...

 

[D.Cobb]

On top of others thinking that I thought that I could beat the crap out of them, I would usually get " I used to do what you do too" and it always seemed that they out ranked you. If you were a black belt, then they were a second degree, etc...

It's kind of like my favourite saying, "The Older I Get...The Better I Was!!".

--Dave:rofl:

 

[Drac]

I've heard that a lot as well.Being a bouncer, I also get a lot of similar situations

Dude, I've been there..I'll bet we could spent hours swapping old bouncer stories..

 

[bushi jon]

I usualy say I can but I dont like touching cr-p!

 

[kelly keltner]

I don't recall being in that situation but, I'd problably say yeah then walk away from the schmuck.

kk

 

[Adept]

Dude, I've been there..I'll bet we could spent hours swapping old bouncer stories..

Heh, it is one of the perks of the job. Just when you think you've seen it all...

 

[Korppi76]

Sometimes I have been asked that can I beat someone up and I usually say "probably not" and then they usually goes like "Oh, ok then".

 

[Tony]

Well in my opinion no one is invincible whether you are a grandmaster or a street thug. I know I will live longer than someonoe who is boastful of their skills because there is always someone better and more aggressive.
I'm a brown sash in kung fu and have been training for 7 years and in 2 months I am grading for my black sash but by no means woudl i say i was dangerous or hard! I avoid confrontation at all costs and even if i became a much higher grade I would still try to keep my training a secret!
I will only discuss what i do to people who are MAs themselves because I love learning about other arts and people such as close friends or people who are genuine.

 

[Drac]

Heh, it is one of the perks of the job. Just when you think you've seen it all...

I hear ya there..I was going to write a book called about my years as a bouncer..The problem is NO ONE would believe the crap we've seen, most would think I'm making these incidents up..We would know better...

 

[hong kong fooey]

well I am not a blackbelt but I have run ito people who find out that I am into martial arts and they say stuff like ohh so you could just beat the crap out of me right? so I try my best not to let people know my rank