The value of your Black Belt!

[Willannem]

I respected BB’s within my system because I know what they had to go through to get them. It’s hard for me to value the worth of other systems' BB's unless I’m familiar with their training.

When I was a green belt, I went to an open competition with our Soke. Right up until my fight, I was helping the judges score another event. Because of that, I had zero warm up time. I ended up taking second place in my event. Afterwards, several masters (and the guy who beat me) came up to me and told how much they admired my fighting skills. Along with that, our Soke told me he was considering placing me in the BB events for the next tournament (He didn’t but it was the thought that counts…lol). I felt like I had won the mental lottery that day. From then on, the color of my belt matter’d even less to me. It was the respect of my peers and those above me that gave me inspiration to improve.

[Traditional-Fist]

Like anything else nowadays you have to check the source of the black belt. It is not fair just to disregard blackbelt holders as worthless fighters because of the Mcdojo epidemic.

A well earned black belt gives the wearer credibility. And if you know the source of that black belt i.e instructor/school/style, then you know the value, or the lack of, that black belt

[White Warlock]

Patrick & Mr. Mike, good posts. It is, indeed, an achievement to complete the process and obtain a bb. In some ways i suppose i do regret not having played the process in order to obtain one.

[Steve_K]

You know, a lot of people have made analogies for the meaning of the black belt, which were all very good, and got me thinking. Forgive me if this analogy has already been made.

Patrick said earlier that a bb is like a diploma or a first dollar of a business, which are very good, as those things are great symbols to a person, but got me thinking about a perfect parallel, and I think I have one.

A black belt, is just like a wedding ring. There are plenty of places out there that just "hand out" black belts, just as there people out there that get married for the wrong reasons like money, social status, or just to feel like they got somewhere in their life. But then there are those who get married for the right, and only reason, which is love. They all have wedding rings, and they all wear them all the time. To those who got married for not wanting to have a child out of wedlock, or to simply look complete, that ring essentially means nothing, which is why many to most of those marriages end in divorce. However, just because there are so many people walking around with worthless rings on their fingers, is it right to say someone who truly loves his/her, wife/husband, that their rings are worthless? Of course not. To them it is a symbol of their devotion and commitment to one another, by willing to vow to spend the rest of their lives together, and the time, be it months or years, that it took them to get there. I know that, at least for a woman, if she lost her wedding or engagement ring, she would be heartbroken, even though she may be able to easily replace it, that is not the point. The ring she cares about so much was the one that there, and she wore on the most important days of her life.

The black belt that means so much to me, is the one that I never got to see for five years, and that sat on a table right in front of me, for the six hours I fought for it, and that I had to traditionally wait an entire month for before I finally got to put it on. That is the belt that means so much to me. If I lost it, I may or may not get a new one, because to me that belt would ONLY be a strip of black cloth, and mean essentially nothing to me.

Sure there are couples out there that truly love each other, that may not be married and may never get married, just like there are great martial artists out there, without a black belt. The only thing they lack is that special object that will take them back, and remind them of all those important times of their life, every time they look at it and put it on.

[IcemanSK]

I go back & forth on this subject. Does it mean anything it terms of my ability to defend myself or win a tournament because I have one? No. Does it say anything about my ability to teach my art? Maybe, but proably not. I think we all know great fighters who can't TEACH their way out of a paper bag. And other black belts who aren't the best fighters who are great teachers.

However, in terms of the accomplishment, it has a great deal of value. But as its been said, its an internal thing, its not the belt itself. I worked harder in training than I have than anything else I've ever done. The work involved in those belts (not to mention friendships, events, etc) is very special to me. My education degrees are tucked away somewhere, but my rank certificates are promenently (sp?) displayed in my home.

[patusai]

Worth? Depends. Guys came back to the states who trained for 18 months or so claiming Roku Dan. Shodan is not that big of a deal, realistically. It indicates that you have reach a point in training where you can begin learning. Even within major organizations there are problems. Sometimes higher grades are based on politics. I'm not saying always.

[Sensei Rick]

Black belts are like high school diplomas guys, not a college degree that I’ve heard some people describe. Many of people graduate high school. Some get straight 'A's some got straight 'D's. They both graduated. Obviously one is smarter that the other. Does the D student deserve his diploma less? Should you take his diploma away? If he can't answer questions in trivial pursuit, does he not deserve his diploma? If a 12 y.o. beats him at a game of chess, is the D student less of a high school graduate.

A black belt losing a fight is such a ridiculous analogy that I can't believe that it's come into play. Winning fight involves as many factors as surviving a car crash, and sometimes you just get lucky.

You are comparing 12 y.o. BB with yourselves..... or Bruce lee or funakoshi, or I don't know. Are you comparing them to other 12 y.o. What do you have in you, as a BB that other "citizens" do not? A skill set of kicking, blocking, punching, and you can remember kata. If said 12 year old has kicked, blocked, and fought as many times as you have in 5 years, is he less of a black belt. Why is his 5 years less valuable to him as it was to you? He conditioned himself and studied these things and put his time in.

Why shouldn't he have a black belt then? OH.... He's not as philosophical as you? Doesn't that really come with age? And if he has a teacher that is worth anything he probably has some stories told to him that mean very little now but will mean more to him when he is older. I have many stories of this nature that feature a "mythical" wise old instructor named Soto. Some students hear Soto stories and get what I’m trying to convey. Some though, will get them when they are older. I believe white warlock said that better than me though, lets move on.

Karate isn't about being better than everyone else in the world; it's about being better than yourself. Be better than y6ou were yesterday. And when you're older, like me, you discover there are two different types of karate. Old man’s karate and Young mans karate. Other parts of you develop as other parts fail. My knees are killing me these days but my mind is stronger than ever. I don't have to do a jump spinning wheel kick to defeat an opponent anymore, a simple joint lock will do. A high school graduate knows a certain skill set. He is to go to college and learn more though, kinda like higher Dan rankings. When I see a shiny new black belt with lots of writing and characters on it, I know what I’m seeing. I’m seeing a high school graduate. When I see an old tattered belt that has worn white with wear, I know what I’m seeing. I'm seeing a high school graduate that has gone on to further his studies.

How many black belts have you produced? Do you really understand your own belt enough to transfer that to another. If not, then how can YOU really judge what is a "real" BB. If so, then what are YOUR black belts like? When you try to make another person a BB, you really have to understand what one is. You find out what you DON'T know about what you THINK you know. If you have produced a black belt, how good are they. What kind of people are they. I have also seen black belt head cases. Psychotic people with rage in them. They had to get their BB somewhere. We have all seen them and we all know the inverse. A Wimpy BB that CAN’T fight.

Some people get a BB and they are an ‘A’ student, and they amaze people with their skill. Others get a BB and are a 'D' student and would not amaze people with their skill. But there are many factors like in a car crash. Body type, flexibility, mental ability, and above all nature. Some things cannot be changed even with the best instruction. If the student goes to school and does the work and earns the diploma, then they deserve the certificate.

Many of you post great things in this thread and many i agree with. I just think you need to see this side of the coin also.

[Sensei Rick]

With a legion of 12 year old dan grades who can't even tie their own belts,

When i see this tho, I wanna take their belt off and whip them with it.

[IronWarrior]

You yourself are the only that knows the value of the blackbelt you earned! I agree its 'given' out too easily in this day and age, I earned mine when I was 16 with 11 years already in spent in Karate that was 12 years ago.. Even back then I saw 10-11 year old blackbelts..lol! its just gotten worse today, my Sensei got his in 1973 and he told it was pure hell he went through then and 'everyone' he knew went threw the same thing to get theres..

[ladyj]

Sensei Rick enough said. I worked hard to get to black belt level and I continue to strive for excellence. I can not place a price on what I have learned and the things I am still learning. My belt holds an unlimited sentimental value. It is a reminder of the long hard road to BB, the battles I won and lost, and the blood, sweat and tears the belt its self holds. Each time I put my belt on it reminds me of where I came from and how I got here, and that I can pass this great knowledge on to others. You give them the tools necessary for the task but they make the choice to work with them or lay them aside.