questionable thought?

[yireses]

If you say that your shcool is a unique Chinese system, and that it is a Traditional school. I believe that they should not use any type of belt. Because the belt system is not a Chinese tradition. Is that a questionable thought? M I wrong?

[Rotten Head Fok]

I agree, I think monitary reasons are behind this. Is it questionable ? sure. I don't think your wrong in pointing it out. I think that we martial artist need to look at it in terms of today's student. As I read more from old masters and new, even here at KF about keeping an open mind to new ways. I don't see where a student of the chinese arts wearing a ranking belt will tant the style it-self.

[Luckykboxer]

well i think one thing that people dont think about when they are complaining about belts is the following.

 

martial arts for these instructors has to be a full time affair.

 

what i mean is the truely great teachers of any martial art do it all the time, they dont do it as a hobby.

 

Sure you can probably get the occasional good instruction from a teacher that has a day job selling copiers, or selling cars, but i dont think it will be close to a full time instructor.

 

now the cost of living, especially in the united states is high enough that to make a living and support yourself with any kind of lifestyle you ahve to do one of a couple things.

 

either

 

A. be independantly wealthy so you do it for the love of the art.

 

B. have a few students who are willing to pay your living and be as hard core or traditional as you want to be.

 

C. have many students paying reasonable rates.

 

now the problem is unless you find some extremely wealthy people who want to be traditional and pay you several hundred dollars a month you have a problem.

 

Most people do not have the mental fortitude to stick with something long term without seeing results of some kind.

 

over the years it has been a proven fact that when you add belts, add stripes to the belts, and give peopel smaller goals to reach they stick with it longer and you have a more successful school.

 

now you are always going to have those people that are going to do it no matter what, for however long it takes, just for the love of it.

 

Generally speaking its never enough to pay the bills.

 

the largest segment for any martial arts are kids, and kids require constant motivation. Hence the belts.

 

Sure you can have a traditional kung fu school....a traditional Karate school(2 belts white and black)... a traditional fighters school.... or whatever you want.. and i can probably guarantee that your school will be one of the best at what it is you are trying to do... all three of you!

 

Its an unfortunate side effect in my mind of the cost of living going up.

 

I am sure back in the days when these traditions were the law that the schools didnt have much in the way of bills, and the masters didnt have much in the way of needs. Students devoted their lives or portions of it to nothing but training.

 

Unless you are in thailand at a muay thai camp, in Japan at some of the live in schools, in china in the live in schools.... I cant imagine this working anywhere.

 

That is my take on it.

 

I can very well be wrong.

 

But from all the studys i have done, all the interviews i have done, and all the thought i have put into it this is what i have come up with.

 

I dont think that adding this measure to any system will taint that system.

 

As long as the instructors are making sure the students are "earning" and learning all the curriculum, and are not just selling belts.

[sAtelitte]

i agree with luckyboxer,

 

My Sifu is a full time instructor, without the income from the students he would have a hell of a time keeping the academy running. Judo used to be the most popular MA in belgium (hyped when belgian judokas started earning silver and gold medals during the olympics), doubt most people even knew about shaolin kung fu when he started the academy. I think he had little choice in introducing a belt system to keep his students from leaving.

 

Honestly, i think the belt system does have a bit of a negative influence. With a belt system you determine the number of moves, techniques and forms a student most know. So isn't it a bit watered down then due to the sifu's personal choice

[Mayo]

The belt system, I agree but then I disagree. I have been trying to teach a few of my friends the Seven Star Praying Mantis system after they watched my brother and me sparr several sessions. And they commented that I could fight, they had already known I could fight. Just now they believed me. So anyways, they said they wanted to learn, I gave it a shot.

 

What I learned is. It is difficult if not impossible to keep a students attention and make them push themselves with out having a set goal!

 

I was trying to teach by expierience How the masters would teach, I will show you basics, then we will go slow type of training.

 

One of the students decides he will settle, he dose not have to kick as high because it is practice he will kick high when he needs to but he dose not need to so there is no point, he would make comments, " A horse stance?! Is there a doggy style stance! " So I called it quits after these jokes and lack of respect continued. Sat down and started thinking about my old instructor of TieKwonDo. Well of course there were belts, but the belts put a limit on me. Which I thought on that long and hard. The limit was set where I could master those techniques, then move on into more techniques, ect.

 

So, I am making my school more like a gym, strict, where they learn in segments. And will most likely be going on a grading system, just so they know I am teaching them, and they are not waisiting there time.

 

So me from expierence can tell you why they incorperated the belts.

[Zhong Gau]

gee,

 

I thought belts were implemented for a goal orientated society so Mr. and Mrs. Smith could feel they were actually getting something for their money.

[iron duckee]

implementing the belts also has a lot to do with marketing. to a lot of the new people interested, it's encouraging to come in and see that there's a lot of "high level" practitioners; thinking to themselves, that they too, can reach that same level.

 

a bit off-topic, but for myself, i would find it more impressive to see a lower belt performing high level techniques..

 

anyways, juss my 2 cents..

[xiong chuan]

Often time belts and sashes are needed until the student realizes it's not about the belts and sashes. They are a good motivation tool.

[Gary]

If a school wants belts then use belts.If they want sashes then use sashes. If they want to use different colored shirts then do that. If it makes the people happy, why do you care? If they want belts,what does it matter to anyone outside of that school. It has nothing to do with the material or the teaching.

[Joe]

we where taught the belts where just used to show who was further along in the art nothing else.