IcemanSK

First, congratulations on your First Dan. Why isn't your instructor buying your belt for you? The main difference between satin & cotton belts is how long they last. Satin are shiny, but they don't last very long with regular use. Cotton are much more durable. I prefer a belt that is going to last because I intend to wear it for a long time. I like EosinPanther.com They're not cheap, by any means, but the quality is fantastic. I asked a similar question to your's on this board in 2005 & several folks pointed me there. I've bought several belts from them & the quality is top-notch!

As Harlan & other pointed out, there may be many reasons for this guy's inability to give you the response you were looking for. I've often seen the role of Uke as needing to be an actor, in a way. It often amounts to "pretend your in a bar and I'm the guy you think did "X". Now, throw a punch at me." Most students aren't the kind of folks who can put themselves in that position quickly, if at all, & pretend they are that sort of person. (And, if ya think about it, that's a really good thing. A room full of folks who could do that would make me really nervous!) Now add the fact that, as their instructor, we intimidate them a bit. They know that, as they push, or throw the punch (or, whatever) the result is them (and the room full of others) being shown why that's a bad idea. It would be hard to put much into it. After a numbers of years of trust, then that is more easily done. My senior student trusts me now, but it took a few years before he would really give me what I want him to do.

As has been said above, where I've trained gup/kyu students spar with Dan rank all the time. In the situation described in the OP, the repeated challenge after the request was denied that is the issue at hand. I'll tell a story from my early gup student days that happened in my dojang. One day, before class started, 2 Dan rank were sparring as the rest of us stretched, awaiting our master's (a Korean man) arrival to begin class. One of the BB's, was our dojang's champion. He had done quite well at World Championships a few years before. The other BB, was a young Korean master our master had brought in to groom to perhaps take over a branch dojang. As the 2 men sparred, one accidental low kick, turned into a cheap shot. And next thing we know, these two are going at it in a real fight in the middle of the floor! Our master walks through the door just as the other BB's in the room are struggling to separate the two men. How did my master handle this? He told the young Korean master to leave immediately, just as he was. Don't change, just leave! To our champion, he said to get dressed & see him in his office. This was only to give the 1st man time to leave the area to prevent a dust-up in the parking lot. He told our dojang's champion that because of his actions, he is no longer welcome as well. Neither man ever came back. Our dojang really never missed either man. If I was the CI in the OP above, the Dan rank would be longer welcome to train their as of that moment he laid out the kyu student. I would speak with the kyu student & explain that the manner in which he asked the Dan rank to spar was inappropriate, & to not do it again, or he too, would be shown the door. In Korea, the OP's Dan would get away with that. Not in my school. It's not acceptable behavior.

This is exactly right. There may be issues with this child that which you are unaware. How your instructor is dealing with this is between the student, & his mother & is absolutely none of your concern. I'd suggest you focus on your own training. It's the only thing you do have control over.

A mix of Korean & English. Korean for commands, but English for most of the techniques. My problem is that I'd trained under several masters (both Korean & American) that the same technique or stance might have been called different things in different schools. Therefore, I might call a certain technique 2-3 different things in the same class. For example, I might call it a low block or a down block. Or a front stance or square stance or long stance. Luckily, my students are smart & they have learned what I meant to say.

I had trained for more than 20 years when I was asked to teach at a local community center. I had lost touch with my master, but wanted to give my students a lineage and connection beyond my name in the Art. I sought out my current grandmaster because he had a good reputation. After being with him for 8 years, he's always kept his word to me. That's how he has gained my respect.

Like medical doctors, lawyers, or ballet dancers, martial artists PRACTICE their Art. We can loose ability if we don't train. But, like those mentioned above, we don't loose what we've earned simply because we're out of practice. The rank we keep. The ability, we need to keep sharp. As was said above, "a humble student or sensei will defer teaching until she or he is polished. On the question of "what if you don't test, but you keep training. Should you be given higher rank?" No. Although I trained for 19 years (under someone who was less than honest) I remained a 2nd Dan that whole time. When I moved on, I tested for 3rd Dan. I certainly learned a lot in that time, but all that gives me is a bit of wisdom (and grey hair) for my relatively low rank. I don't have time or energy to waste playing "what if" in regards to rank.

In my 30 years of training, I've seen several "career" brown belts. Two guys come to mind. In class every time the doors were open, always uke, always willing to help out. The familar theme I noted in these 2 guys (and several others I've met) is a sense that they were stuck in the past in their lives, as well as the in the dojang. They liked their lives the same way it was 5-8 or more years before (when they became brown belts) and wanted to keep it that way. I'm not saying that this is the case with every long time brown belt, but when I see one, the question I wonder is "why?" Why aren't they moving on to the next step? They might learn something in the next step that they can't learn where they are (in themselves in not the Art). And they might have something to contribute that they can't in their current rank.

Good mouthpieces are vital for sparring. I don't know about the one you mentioned, but for say, $20, your mouth can be protect against hundreds of dollars of dental work. In my 30 years of martial arts, I've had good ones & bad ones. I got kicked wearing a cheap one & one of my teeth was moved permenantly. Now I have a dentist-made mouthpiece. They can start at $150.00. But it's better than $600.00+ for tooth replacement.

You might also consider EosinPanther.com A great belt with great embroidery. Made in the USA. I've gotten several belts from them. They are fantastic.

I think there's an ebb & flow to what is "in" with atheltics or training or MA. So, folks remember the popularity of X, or Y & say, "since it's not like it was, X is dead." Heck, it can simply be, "since it's not like I REMEMBER IT, it must be dead." Living in Southern California, what's hot is minute to minute. There's lots of nostaglia, but little sense of history. Here we have guys like Benny Urquidez & "Judo" Gene LeBell. Even Gene was considered by some to be "outdated" or a "has been" until he started coaching Ronda Roussey. Now, he's a genius & contemporary.....again. It will come around again.

I often see kids (& less often) adults wearing their full uniforms out & about at the grocery store, restaurants running errands etc. (not part of a demo at that location). I'm not a fan of it at all for a few reasons: Inviting unwanted comments, may stain the uniform permenantly, takes the uniqueness of the uniform for training away...just to name a few. What do you think about wearing full MA uniform outside of class?

I agree with the above who say, "speak with your instructor." What we all think matters little to what goes on in your individual school.

Run, do not walk away from this guy. Would you put up with that from any other business that wanted your money? That sense in the back of your head is a good thing & needs to be listened to. There are many other folks who you can learn from that you don't have these questions about. All my best to you.

The Taekwondo org. I'm with is very formal. All BB's are referred to as Mr., Miss, or Mrs. All 4th Dan & above, Master. All 8th & 9th Dans, Grandmaster. My GM, a 9th Dan Kukkiwon, has never called me by my first name, even in casual conversation. Always addresses me by title. My first master was a Korean 5th Dan & asked us to call him Mister. Of course we did, both inside & outside of class. I carry that tradition with my students. However, when we have visiting Masters & GM's, they are to call them by their title. I've trained in Arts where it's much more relaxed & enjoyed it; but formality is a hard habit for me to break.

Funakoshi Gichin-> Lee, Won Kuk-> Uhm, Woon Kyu-> Park, Hae Man-> Edward Sell-> Me My lineage in Taekwondo Chung Do Kwan

I'm a student of GM Edwars Sell (9th Dan Chung Do Kwan & Kukkiwon). He is a student of GM Park, Hae Man. GM Park is a student of GM Uhm Woon Kyu. GM Uhm was a student of of GM Lee, Won Kuk: the CDK founder. I am a 4th Dan Chung Do Kwan. We do a few of the old school CDK forms (which are actually Karate kata: Bassai Dai & Empi) but, for the most we follow the Kukiwon curiculum & the Tae Guek poomsae. That doesn't mean, however, that we follow Olympic-style sparring, necessarily. So schools under GM Sell, some do not.

Not a bad beating, but a funny story that goes with the theme. I was a 2nd Dan (about 20 years old) in a regular sparring class working with a white belt student. The wooden floor was a former dance studio with a lot of polish on it. It got VERY slippery when wet with sweat. Sparring clas was always popular at this dojang, & it wasn't uncommon to bump into a member of another sparring pair next to you. As I was working with this white belt, a side kick came from the pair next to us, missed it's intended target & hit me square in the chin. Knocking me on my butt. I knew the guy I was working with didn't hit me, but who did? The two guys next to us were a blue & a brown belt in their late 30's who had been friends for severl years. While both showed concern for my well-being, neither fessed up to throwing the kick. One of these guys was a lawyer. I wound up going to urgent care that night & receiving 3 stitches under my lower lip. I trained with both of these guys for several years after & neither would ever tell me who threw the kick.

My GM began the study of Chung Do Kwan while stationed at Osan Air Force Base in Korea in 1961. In 1967, he came back to the US & opened a dojang. He was the American representative when the Kukkiwon opened in the early 70's.

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion just because you didn't ge kyu rank certificates. The quality of instruction is not based on we Hether or not your were handed a piece of paper.

It is standard for TKD to give gup (Korean for kyu) certs., as well as Dan/Poom certs.

In Kukkiwon (commonly, although wrongly termed WTF) Taekwondo, one receives a BB Certificate. If the student is older than 15, it is a Dan certificate. If 15 or younger, it is a poom certificate (think jr. BB). An unreputable school might give a fake KKW cert to a student. Yep, it happens often. In fact, I'm sure that every org. from every Art that gives certs. have had someone make fakes at one time or another. Just like folks have made phoney US bills.

Let's give a hypothetical that many of us may have at least seen. Bill Wallace kicks with only his left leg & only throws 3 kicks (roundhouse, side kick, & hook kick) but he does it with amazing speed & accuracy. You know one of three kicks is coming, but, the question is, can you stop it? Few people could, in his prime. At 65 years old, it's not much easier now. The answer is to give them angles & to be either inside or outside of their range. The answer is Simple, but that doesn't make it Easy. It's Simple to climb Mt. Everrest (just put one foot in front of the other & get up the mountain). But that doesn't mean there is anything Easy about it.

EosinPanther.com They're in the US, but I'm sure they will ship to the UK. They can do anything you can think of & they are fantastic belts!

I recently met Ernie Reyes Sr. & had him sign a magazine cover from 1981. I asked him if the belt he was wearing was the same one on the cover. He said it was. It was brownish grey, and the embroidery was unreadable. I was surprised the white cotton of the belt wasn't showing through. It was a well-worn belt, to be sure. Every belt wears differently. As MrGoju said, "it does reflects your journey."