Recognizing Black Belts of other styles in dojo.

[jaymac]

How do you feel about a dojo that will allow new students to join and recognize them as a black belt even if the style different? A school just opened near me (I am not considering joining) that has accepted students from completely different styles and allowed them to wear their black belt ,that they had earned from another intructor, while training. While watching the class, I was amazed that this head instructor would want to misrepresent his style so badly. Many of the Black Belts in the class looked lost, while lower rank students who started at white belt looked more representative of the instructor. Truthfully, I am not really sure what the style was, it looked like a mixture of everything. I was just curious if anyone else has ever seen this before. Maybe I am wrong in my opinion, but if I ever decided to quit my style and try something completely different, I think that I would want to start at white belt.

[italian_guy]

In my dojo there is this policy: we have two diffent classes (I attend both) traditional karate, and sport karate. In the traditional karate if you come from a different style you have to wear white, because kata and kihon are different in the other style and you have to start from scratch. In sport karate you can wear the belt you have earned in your previous style because kumite is somehow style independent.

[Steve_K]

The school I earned my black belt from, we completely recognize a black belt from any style, as a black belt and show them complete respect. If they are from a different style, they often teach some of their art to the students, but if they are there to learn our art, we teach them as if they were a white belt.

We believe in the belt ranking system enough that, if you have a black belt, you deserve to wear it, but we don't believe in it so much to the point that, if you're not a black belt in our specific style, then you HAVE to wear a white belt.

Some styles may disregard others and only respect their own, with the mentality that, if you want me to respect you, you have to devote yourself to MY art.

Where I train Jiu-Jitsu, I wear my TKD black belt. Everyone there knows my rank is in TKD, and if I roll with someone I've never met before, I make a point of telling them it's a TKD black belt, and not Jiu-Jitsu. Again it goes back to my mentality of, I earned my black belt, and I want to train in it, but I'm not so hung up on belt ranks that I feel the need to go back to wearing a white belt.

To me, telling a black belt that "you have to put on a white belt to participate" is very disrespectful to the hard work they put forth prior to attending that particular class. At the least, they deserve the respect of being allowed to wear their own belt, and simply being recognized as someone with experience and knowledge. However that black belt, must also respect the rest of the class as having more experience in that particular style than he/she does, and respect the teacher as the head of the school, and remember that he/she is there to learn, and not to prove something.

[leonardo]

In my opinion, the color of the belt is nothing. The most important thing is your real level: how you perform karate.

When you practice, in couple or alone, the tecnique shows whos level is higher, not the belt.

[MartialArthur]

In my school, I ask the student if they want to wear their black belt. In our org, we have a rank called "1st degree probationary black belt", and that is where I put them. they are allowed to wear their existing belt. In order to earn their "1st degree decided" they must learn all of our material and test just as any other probationary black belt does. This usually takes many months to over a year.

If it has been many years since he stopped training, I will evaluate the individual and place him at an appropriate color belt rank. I do not like someone with decent skills to train as a white belt because it's not fair to the true white belts - those without training and knowlege of MA.

[DragonMike]

We also test in coming black belts. After they learn our forms and variations of techniques they are recognized as black belts.

[UseoForce]

At my school, several arts are taught. We have a Tang Soo Do blackbelt and a TKD blackbelt in my Combat HApkido class. My instructor encourages them to wear their black belts during class, and they line up at the head of the line when we bow in and out.

However, Combat Hapkido is completely different than TKD or TSD. So, they still earn separate combat hapkido rank even though they wear their blackbelts all of the time. They have to progress through Combat Hapkido as a separate art.

I think its good to wear your highest belt. For many reasons, but how about this one: For my last test I had to do some kickboxing. I was testing for purple, and I was set against a yellow belt. I thought I would take it easy and slow, but turns out the "white belt" was ranked in several other arts! He was a handful.

[P.A.L]

my sensei let them have their belt inside our dojo but if we go to another kobayashi dojo with him they need to wear a color belt.

[Meguro]

Isn't it the same thing as a licensed tree surgeon seeking the same rights and priveleges as brain surgeons to treat people's neurological disorders?

Permitting a student to wear a black belt or any other rank obtained in a different style, may make economic sense. Afterall, who wants to drive away business? However, a student who joins a school and expects special treatment because of the rank achieved in another style is full of ego. It's better to put on the white belt like any other newby and start from the end of the line.

A rank has relevence within the system it was obtained. While some of the skills may be transferable from system to system, the rank cannot. I'm only talking about switching from completely different systems, for example Judo to Karate, or Karate to TKD. Obviously, switching associations within the same style is a matter of politics and is not pertinent to this thread.

[karatekid1975]

In our school, there's a BB from Isshin Ryu. He's good. You can tell he studied elsewhere. But he didn't train for a number of years, but he advanced faster than most (not a BB yet though). He retained most of his technique, which I admire a lot. But he had to learn our curriculum. I was just working with him tonight on our bo form. He will probably pass me in rank, but that's fine with me.

We also have a few from different schools that were allowed to wear their BB's. But, like it was said above, they learned our curriculum and tested into our system.

For me, if I change styles or schools, I don't mind wearing a white belt (I have an article on the KF article section about this). I wear a white belt in Jujitsu, eventhough in TKD, I'm a 1st gup/kyu. It doesn't bother me. But if I reach BB and move again, and the instructor decides that I wear my BB, it's up to them, not me.

My Jujitsu instructor actually doesn't mind what belt I wear. But I choose to wear my white belt, eventhough I did wear my red belt once. But I felt weird about it LOL.