When did you honestly feel you were a 'black belt' in your art?

[Deaf Smith]

You know, when I first started in the martial arts at SFA, I felt I would be happy just obtaining a green belt. Then it became a 'red' belt (like a brown belt.) Well later, much later, I made the dreaded '1st dan'.

Thing is, I felt no different than before when I was 1st Gup. No magic wand effect. No Bruce Lee ability came over me. Bummer it was I tell you.

I can say with honesty it took years for me. That dan rank didn't change me except in one way, and here is the way.....

I felt now I had to live up to it. And living up to it wasn't so easy.

It took alot of practice, pain, and time to do that! I mean alot. I'm still doing it now.

How long did it take you to finaly feel you were capable, really capable, as a 'black belt' is supposed to be?

Deaf

 

[MBuzzy]

Still don't.....maybe a few more years. I've only been a 1st dan for 2 years now.....

 

[Punchy]

I'm with you...when I got my BB, I had this incredible realization that people were going to expect me to know what I'm doing.

I've achieved "BB" in two different MA and with both it took a definite growing in period.......maybe a year or so as I think back.

By the same token, I remember guys who got their BB and could barely fit their heads through the door the second they put it on

 

[hogstooth]

I don't think you are supposed to feel different in terms of being a miraculously changed man. The quest doesn't end at 1st dan. You are still at the cross roads with a long way to go. This is why it is said to be a life long pursuit.
You should feel more confident in your skills. And you should feel a sense of great accomplishment. After all you trained to earn it and you should feel proud. But it doesn't end at 1st dan and maybe that is why you don't feel like a BB.
I think the problem is we all enter the arts with a misconception that a BB is the end all to everything. If you make BB you have done it. Well you don't feel like you've finished the race because you haven't. Your only half way. I have been training for 30 yrs and I do not feel like I have ended the race because I haven't. Maybe when I reach 10th dan. If I don't keel over first.
It sounds like you are the kind of person that is never satisfied and is always stiving to improve and you may not feel like you have made it. But that is the ultimate goal and whats so great about the arts, mastering yourself, and there is no time limit on that.

 

[hogstooth]

By the same token, I remember guys who got their BB and could barely fit their heads through the door the second they put it on

Then they are not BB's in the truest sense of the title. There is more to being a black belt than proving you are proficient in your art. Humility and respect are huge factors. Having an ego the size of Texas is not a good trait to find in a BB. Sounds like future McDojo owners. :ultracool

 

[arnisador]

When I got my next promotion, to the next level of BB!

 

[terryl965]

Twenty five years leter when my GM said I was really starting to understand everything, until then I was just waiting for approval.

 

[Kacey]

That's an interesting question... I mean, in many ways, it's like asking someone if they feel "older" on their birthday. I suppose it was when I stopped being excited every time I looked at it, and started creating new goals for the next steps in learning more, but I'm really not sure at this point how long that took.

 

[chrispillertkd]

You know, when I first started in the martial arts at SFA, I felt I would be happy just obtaining a green belt. Then it became a 'red' belt (like a brown belt.) Well later, much later, I made the dreaded '1st dan'.

Thing is, I felt no different than before when I was 1st Gup. No magic wand effect. No Bruce Lee ability came over me. Bummer it was I tell you.

I remember going to the next class after I got my I dan and could barely do a reverse turning kick (reverse roundhouse) that night. This was after I used the same kick for breaking during my test! I also kept getting distracted by my own reflection in the mirror; I couldn't tell who that new black belt in class was. I also had to keep doing things like taking the trash out and mowing my parents' lawn. Kind of a downer in that I got no superman cape with the promotion. Then again, my instructor has said that if someone's not already a black belt he wouldn't test them in the first place, so I guess I was ready even if I didn't feel like it.

I can say with honesty it took years for me. That dan rank didn't change me except in one way, and here is the way.....

I felt now I had to live up to it. And living up to it wasn't so easy.

It took alot of practice, pain, and time to do that! I mean alot. I'm still doing it now.

There are times when I still don't feel like a black belt and I have been one since 1989. I'll be testing for V dan this weekend and I was thinking today how I finally feel like I'm getting the IV dan material down O.K. Part of the problem is that there are days when I feel like I have to perform every technique ... well, not perfectly (although I sure would like to) ... but better than I do. Grand Master Chuck Sereff has said that "Good technique is forged on the anvil of hard training and tempered with sweat." It's good advice, I think.

How long did it take you to finaly feel you were capable, really capable, as a 'black belt' is supposed to be?

Deaf

Well, it depends on what you mean by "black belt," really. A I dan in ITF Taekwon-Do is defined as a beginner (beginning black belts range from I-III dan). I usually feel like that. IV dan is the beginning of the "expert" range (IV-VI dan). I don't feel like an expert very often.

Pax,

Chris

 

[YoungMan]

When I looked in the mirror for the first time and saw the organization black belt around my waist. No feeling quite like it.

 

[Josh Oakley]

I can't imagine I'd ever feel like a black belt. I don't feel like a brown belt. I didn't feel like a white belt. Like my instructors like to say, when it comes down to it, the BB is just a belt. Your credentials are in your head and heart, and expressed more honestly in your movements than around your waist..

The way I put it, my belt is for people above and below me, as the belt is a form of commication of the knowledge I'm supposed to have and the level of skill I'm supposed to be at. I've never needed a belt to tell me that. In my bones I am me. Whatever label another puts on me is for their benefit. I don't cease to be a fighter when I take off my gi.

And quite frankly, a person can go out and buy a belt or be awarded one and still feel like a black belt. Another person can rise to be a legitimate master and never feel like a black belt. So really, when it comes to what a black belt is, it does not necessarily correlate to what someone feels.

 

[BrandonLucas]

This really is a great question, and it's interesting because everyone has different views.

For me, I don't feel like a blackbelt, mostly because I've just started back after 5 years of being out of TKD.

But, back when I was attending class regularly, I still didn't really feel like a blackbelt. I knew I had earned the rank, but I didn't feel like I should be looked up to by the rest of the class for acheiving the rank. I just felt like I passed another test, and that there would be many more to come.

Now that I'm going back, I certainly don't feel like a blackbelt, or even a white belt. I really think it's going to take a few years until I feel like I'm worthy of my belt again, but I'm not sure I'll ever feel like a blackbelt...but I do intend on opening a school at some point, so I should feel confident enough to teach what I've learned.

The thing is, for me, a blackbelt has always been this mythical thing, like Excalibur, which is why even though I've achieved the rank, I still don't feel like it's a part of me yet.

It's the holy grail of martial arts for me, and I'm still chasing it.

 

[kidswarrior]

My experience is a little weird (so what's new ). Stayed in the green-brown range for several years, slowing, then flat out refusing to test again with the ego maniacal Grand Master (a legend in his own mind), whom I only saw on tests--my instructor/local dojo was great, hence my hanging in with a system/school even without getting promoted for a couple years past the *expiration date*.

So, I felt I was the equivalent of the BB's in the studio at about green (and had more time in than many). But it wasn't till I finally left for another school, and after a little catching up and filling in, the instructor promoted me straight to 2nd. Then I began to feel like I didn't deserve it, and started to really work hard to live up to it. That was eight years ago. Still working.

 

[dancingalone]

I felt like a black belt after I passed my shodan test. It was long and included me demonstrating comprehensively all the basics, kata, and bunkai a shodan in my system is expected to know. There was also a free fighting component (not free-sparring, big difference) with single and multiple opponents. Believe me, I earned it.

 

[foggymorning162]

In the spiritual sense I feel more like a BB than I do skill wise. I think we have all seen BB with more raw talent and skill than any one person needs but their attitude is a far cry from what a BB should be. I personally strive more for the attitude of BB ( good thing because my skill isn't always there). I still need a lot of work either way but spiritually at least I'm closer.

 

[Sukerkin]

When I got my next promotion, to the next level of BB!

Pretty much what I was going to say, Arni .

For me, I always have the sneaking suspicion that those who reckon they are more than worthy of their rank are holding themselves to too low a standard.

Once you've reached dan grade, you've proven that you can learn to mimic techniques and have the character to keep at practising. From then on, it's learning how to actually understand and execute techniques and grasping how they fit together in your art.

It's analagous to learning how to paint at a college. You learn techniques as you advance through classes but you don't start to become an artist until you have 'graduated'. From that point on, refinements and inspiration come to you through practise and study and your journey as an artist has begun.

 

[Em MacIntosh]

I believe a BB signifies you're serious about the art. Now the learning can begin.

 

[Kwanjang]

when I made the other black belts nervous to spar with me.

 

[morph4me]

Probably about 5 years after I was promoted. That's about when I started feeling like I was understanding the art, my understanding has changed the longer I've been training, but my rank remains the same

 

[Mimir]

I have only had my 1st dan for a few weeks. I tested in August, but just graduated and physically got the belt Oct 2nd. I am still excited to see the belt and black trim on my uniform. I still have to "check" to make sure the belt has my name on it. For me the biggest thing that I have felt is the responsibility that seems to settle around me whenever I put them on. I remember how I looked up to the black belts when I was a gup and now I am the one being looked up to. It certainly make me want to work harder to get better. It will probably be a long time before I settle into my rank, probably about the time I am getting ready to test for my next rank.