tsukimaster

A great article for practitioners at any rank............. Anybody who actually wants to be a Black Belt must surely not understand what it means to be one. It is a cause, a cross to bear, a responsibility, and an obligation. It is a banner that advertises that the wearer is committed to serving the needs of others. It is an invitation to deny one's own needs and step outside the self. It is a moral straight jacket that takes away our nonchalance and casts us in the role of teacher, protector, guide, and role model. It asks us to guard every word, and every action so that we do not betray its' noble purpose. Take up the belt and one must take up all it represents. Reject it and one must relegate ones' self to the pitiful condition of those who gape in horror at the atrocities of society but do nothing. Taking up the belt means never again being a casual observer when an intolerable situation exists. It means never again being silent when wrong is committed or people are being oppressed. When you put on the belt you cannot take it off again and just be who you want to be when it is convenient. You must wear it every hour of every day for the rest of your life, and you must be who the belt demands that you must be. From the day you put it on nothing but truth must ever come from your lips, and nothing but honor and dignity must ever be manifest by your presence. From that day forward you must never dishonor another, and cannot shrink from your obligation to assist others in need. Unless a person has a back and legs strong enough to carry this burden they should not pick up the belt, but if you do pick up the belt do so with the knowledge that it will lead you to places where others cannot go and you will see vistas reserved for the few, and life will be an experience well above the ordinary. Earl J. Tharp March 8, 1999

Over the years I've seen students do everything from washing their belts three or four times a day until it hung properly, others have soaked their belt in woolite for a few hours, and one student who worked in a bakery said that he wore his belt into the humidity room where bread is kept. The moisture made it sag in a few minutes. But as mentioned by many others here, the best advice is to train in it. Prematurely relaxing the belt is something akin to adding rank stripes unjustly.

There is a huge stigma with re-breakable boards. In my experience re-breakable boards are viewed as the easy way out. I've never used them myself, maybe because of the stigma. And as we all know, they warp and become weak. I recommend no one uses them.

Progress is never alone in the martial arts. While you assist others learn what you already have, they will help you learn about yourself. Thus you will mature and grow. Be confident in what you have been taught, stay true to the way and you will prosper.