The wearing of belts in chinese martila arts !?!?!?!?

[Chaz]

I think belts are important not for the student, but for the teacher more than anything. It is important if your school is big, and like I said before. It gives people something to work for that don't always have a direction. (Especially for kids!)

I don't think it's a bad thing either way. Even in ancient Wing Chun schools were known to give white belts and then your accomplishment was measured by how hard you worked and the belt slowly getting dirter from your blood sweat and tears. It's the same concept with colored belts, just modernized.

[CadetRay]

In triditional chinnese MA there is no such thing as belts maybe the kind to keep your pants up but not the ones to determin your rank.the rank is determind on how long you have studied the art. dont you cal your training partner or whatever si han,si dai thats basiclly the rank.

[Faust]

In the traditions I trained in, street clothes are worn during training. The respect comes from seniority and human interactions with that specific group. I think the belt thing really came from more of a Japanese tradition, with recent adaptations from the Taiwanese and various Chinese groups both in Asia and in the rest of the world.

I was told that the teacher wears the sash differently than the students in certain Chinese arts.

[fallen_milkman]

I was told that the teacher wears the sash differently than the students in certain Chinese arts.

Honestly, every Chinese art is different, like every Japanese art is different. Shaolin-do, for example, adopted the Japanese Okinawan belt system when hiding from the Chinese government.

[Oopgrub]

I'm proud of my belt because I earned it.

[GTF]

I think that belt are for the people who want to be proud of them and say "I'm better than you because....."

i dont think that there is anything wrong with being pround of one's achivements and i also dont think that its true about people saying that there better than you because they are a higher rank because i have just started Kung-fu and no one looks down on me they all seem to be happy to help

[Goju_boi]

it's not really belts that matter it's skill,knowledge,and determination that matter anyway

[aefibird]

it's not really belts that matter it's skill,knowledge,and determination that matter anyway

That is very true, but a lot of people like getting a 'reward' for their achievements. Also, belts can be useful to monitor progression - both by the teacher and the student.