Belt question

[Snakeeel]

Str33t Guy wrote:

So which belt do you think means more, the black belt that almost anyone can get if they apply themselves long enough or a belt that says middleweight champion of Minnesota (or where ever)?

 

If I were a boxer then the Championship belt of wherever but I'm not, so my brown belt that I worked my butt off to get would mean more to me.

[MASIsshinryu]

In a well run dojo, with a good instructor, you should not see people fail upper belt tests, or any test for that matter, unless something happens which prevents them from completing the test at all. A good instructor will discourage testing until you are truly ready for it, perhaps even refuse to test an over anxious student who is not at the right level of skill.

 

I have not studied under instructors who charged for belt tests, but I know exactly what type of dojo you are envisioning ("$150 a month, paid up front for a year, and you are Guaranteed a Black Belt!"). No, I do not hold those belts in any level of regard, much less high regard.

 

However, I have also seen people claim competition titles which they did not earn, or which resulted from competitions which place so many rules and restrictions on the fighers that it almost loses its relationship to what is "Street Effective."

 

In short, I would value a belt based on an understanding of the dedication, effort and skill that earned it, be it in "the ring" or in the Dojo, not simply by the nature of the belt.

[STR33T GUY]

Dear Snakeeel

 

Wouldn’t you rather have a blue belt in Kung Fu San Soo and a trophy for being a city wide Kung Fu San Soo champion than a black belt and no trophy?

[Shorin Ryuu]

A trophy? A belt?

 

I'm in a system that uses belts. But I don't attach too much stock to belts or trophies.

[STR33T GUY]

But I don't attach too much stock to belts or trophies.

 

I hope your not one of those people who put stock into how many posts one makes on a MA forum.

[isshinryu5toforever]

I think we tend to forget that the measure of a man is not in whether he can beat another man with his fists, but if he can defeat that man with his heart. There is a man who is a good friend of our dojo, and he can do the Bruce Lee 1 inch punch and break 6 bricks, but he would never hit you. He could talk you to death before he would punch you one time. For him, it is not whether he can hit you hard enough for you to give up, but whether he can get you to give up without having to hit you. I understand what your point is about being able to compete, but you must understand what the belt is representative of. As I've said before there is a man who I saw at every tournament who was about 65 years old maybe older. He stayed a brown belt for an extremely long time, but when he finally earned his black belt he was the happiest person I'd ever seen. They presented it to him in a ceremony between the black belt and colored belt competitions. I have almost never seen a harder worker in my life. To say he didn't deserve that belt for all the work and dedication he put into his martial arts would be wrong. I have seen many people who are more physically talented than he is, but I have seen few of those people who would be willing to stay a brown belt for over 3 years. You can't just look at the outward physical tools someone has, because the measure of a man is in his heart. It isn't in his arm or in his leg, it is behind his ribcage.

[Shorin Ryuu]

I hope your not one of those people who put stock into how many posts one makes on a MA forum.

 

Exactly.

 

*Nods gravely*

 

You have a long way to go, grasshopper.

[Rathe]

St33t, you seem like your just trying to start trouble. Your presenting the weakest argument of all time for anything your speaking. I think you need some growing up. Belts, trophies, this is superficial and for someone who is so insecure with themselves they need shiny things to make them feel better. The black belt or any belt is symbolic of your skill and that is all. Its something physical for you to be proud of. A championship belt is for those guys that put extra large tires on their car to make themselves feel bigger.

[STR33T GUY]

Exactly.

 

*Nods gravely*

 

You have a long way to go, grasshopper.

 

LOL

A championship belt is for those guys that put extra large tires on their car to make themselves feel bigger.

 

Wrong!

 

It’s an achievement that most can’t obtain. I suppose you diss Olympic medalists too.

[scottnshelly]

now kids...

 

i don't think that either side is neccesarily right or wrong here. i can see - if i use my imagination - str33t guy's point about belts losing their value with bad schools. but if that's true then, what's so special about a trophy.

 

I worked hard for my belts, so i take offense to this, however, i am just guess that you've been through a bad experience or something.