I am not a belt, I am a human being!

[ckdstudent]

I suppose that might be a slight difference in ideology between our arts. Choi is supposed to teach you how to defend yourself, any other benefits (which are there such as discipline, confidence, and so on) are purely side effects of the way we train and not the reason that we train that way. As such Choi is very much a non-traditional art (hell, its only fifteen years old), so it would be hard to ditch tradition in favour of cash when we've not really had time to build up much of either.

 

 

[--]

I guess tradition wasn't the right word. Dedication is more like it. It's not really the art that matters. Some instructors are good, others are jerks. I'm just saying that it shouldn't be about money and belts. That's what we call Egojutsu.

 

 

[ckdstudent]

Actually on that I do agree with you, dedication is an essential. The problem is that as an art gets bigger, and this is any art, not any particular one, you will always get those coming into it purely for the money. Its a fact of life, a pity, but it happens. Some martial arts actually try to minimise this by requiring certification in order to start up a Choi, when the certificate can only be granted after you've attained a certain rank and standard. Being a young art we have an advantage in this. Anyone teaching Choi badly is simply expelled from the art, because the name is copyrighted and so cannot be used by anyone whom Grandmaster Choi has not given permission to use it. With something like Karate or Tae Kwon Do, or even Kung Fu the fact that there are different styles makes it inevitable that you will get those purely in it for the money waving the flag of the style, and of course it is hard to do anything about them because then you'd have to decide what exactly the style was, which would upset those doing things differently but still well.

 

 

[--]

Way back in feudal Japan, if that kind of thing happened, one school would challenge the other, usually to the death. The sensei left alive would continue teaching. The dead one quite obviously would not.

 

 

[ckdstudent]

Yes. Way back in feudal Japan. Unfortunately murder purely because you don't like the way someone teaches is no longer condoned in many countries. Even if it was wouldn't it be easier simply to talk to the students, explain to them the problems with what they're doing, and then if they still want to do it let them and if not allow them to enter your school instead?

 

 

[--]

True, there are much more civilized ways of going about it, but feudal Japanese tended to be a bit touchy about honor, their family lines and martial arts included. If you don't believe me, read Hagakure. That book will scare you.

 

 

[ckdstudent]

Honour is overrated.

 

 

[KickChick]

Funny .... when I saw this "ancient" thread resurected again .... this incident that happened just the other day came to mind.

 

I was dropping my son off at his baseball game just before my TKD class (I had my dobok and black belt on) and sat for a while on the bleechers.

 

One of the dad's says to me "Whoa look out!" ... are you black belt?"

 

...uh, no "I" am not, but I wear one! I am not a belt, I am a human being!!!

 

As a woman I find men can be truly irritating towards me when they see my black belt or hear that I am one (I don't bring it up). "Oooh I better watch it around you" .... blah blah blah ..... It's downright condescending at times.

 

_________________

 

KarateForums Sensei

 

1st dan Tae Kwon Do (ITF)

 

Cardio/Fitness Kickboxing Instr.

 

[ This Message was edited by: KickChick on 2002-06-24 15:48 ]

[--]

Nothing is better for the masochist ego than getting beat down by a woman half your size and one-third your weight.

 

 

[Sin Style]

being a higher ranked belt doesn't make a you a better figher. i beat up a karate black belt very easly and had a negative view of karate for a while, now i think hes just a lame fighter and total respect for karate.

 

i always think of belts a reward for commitment