The Measure of a Captain

[isshinryu5toforever]

I just got into a discussion (yes discussion not argument) about the qualifications of a team captain. I am on a college TKD team. I am a black belt although not in WTF TKD, not in TKD at all. However, the college team focuses mainly on the sparring part of the sport. Because I have a lot of prior ring experience, learning and adjusting to the rules didn't take me very long. This is not where the discussion came in, it came when I said the team captain does not necessarily have to be a black belt, and even worse to the person I was talking to does not have to be a black belt in WTF TKD. *gasp* I believe that the measure of a captain is not in his belt, it is in his ability to be a leader, to "rile up the troops" so to speak. Can the captain keep people coming to practice? Can he inspire people during practice? Does he have a good level of energy? These are all more important than is he a Kukkiwon black belt? I do beleve that the captain should have a decent amount of martial arts experience. It does not take a Kukkiwon black belt however to teach someone how to throw a round kick, back kick, axe kick, punch, and move around the ring. It takes someone with fight experience. I feel that if the person can do these things, and is good at teaching and leading others, they can be a good captain. The person I was talking to believed that one must be a Kukkiwon or WTF black belt to be qualified to lead a team. I say this is not true because not all great leaders have a black belt, and not all black belts are great leaders. Also, I have heard of people reaching black belt in less than a year, so then what does the rank matter? What are everyone else's opinions?

[jaymac]

I think that you are right. Look at other sports: hockey, football etc... The team captain isn't always the guy with the most experience. It is usually the guy who can teach, perform, motivate, and lead. Same is true here in your sports situation. You are absolutely right, not all black belts are great leaders.

[CheekyMusician]

It depends what 'captain' means to you and your college.

One of the clubs I train at is a University karate club and our captain and our sensei are completely different roles, where the way you're talking it sort of sounds like the captain of your club is responsible for the teaching.

The captain of my club is just responsible for keeping people informed of competitions/belt tests etc. and the sort of general day-to-day running of the club, making sure that we're all registered with the Uni, and that everyone has insurance to train and all that sort of stuff, but he doesn't do any of the teaching. The teaching is all done by a Sensei who runs his own club, but comes in and teaches the Uni club for free, but doesn't get involved with the running of the club whatsoever, just turns up and teaches us.

I think in the kind of situation I described above, that it is fine for a captain not to be a black belt. However, I would expect him/her to still have a degree of experience. After all, as the captain and the person mainly responsble for the running of the club, even if not taking a part in the teaching, people with questions about competitions/belt tests/insurance/where to buy equipment etc. would probably contact them first, and therefore, they'd need to be a relatively experienced martial artist to be able to help the club run smoothly. Personally, I'd say they'd need to be at least 6th Kyu or above to do that job, but certainly the more experience they have, the better.

However, if the captain is also teaching the club, then I don't think it is particularly acceptable for them to be taking a club without a black belt. To be honest, I wouldn't even be particularly comfortable with a Shodan teaching a club unless he'd chosen not to test for higher ranks but had been continuing to train and learn and had held his rank for at least a couple of years.

I think that to be a teacher, you need to know your stuff. It doesn't matter whether its martial arts or something else, you can't go in there and teach others when you still aren't far along the line yourself. Even at Shodan level, you're still a relative beginner and so shouldn't be teaching, especially at a college. I know that in my Uni club a lot of people join the club who have trained in karate and then moved away from home to go to Uni and joined the Uni club to continue their training. We have quite a lot of Shodans in that situation and I don't think they'd be getting a great deal from an upper kyu rank teaching the class.

I suppose if push came to shove and there was no possibility of the class being taught by a dan rank, then an upper Kyu rank teaching could be acceptable if there was no other alternative, but I don't think its an ideal situation.

[jnpnshr411]

Isshinryu I completely agree with you. But if some other black belts are on the team I guess they would see it as an insult to their rank. Others that dont understand what your saying might be saying to themselves. Why is this _______ belt leading those black belts. I guess it's something of keeping an image more than anything else.

[bushido_man96]

I agree with you completely Isshinryu5toforever. If the captain can hold the team together and get them to victory, then he is doing a good job. Sometimes just common sense prevails.

I feel that our society is too stuck on "legitimacy through certification." What I mean by this is that every position in life and work has to be certified to be accredited. Like mechanics, for instance. If he's not ASE certified, then he isn't any good, right? Wrong!! It is the same with instructors and teachers and coaches in any and all levels.

My dad has never achieved a black belt in any style of martial art (he has come close), and due to personal reasons, had to stop training. Later in life, he rejoined me in my school, where I outranked him. However, I always asked him more questions then he would ask me. He knew so much about the arts, and fighting, and all kinds of things that still take me aback, even with 13+ years of experience. I still get advise and help from him.

If the captain has the knowlege and experience to not only win, but to teach valuable lessons to his pupils, then in my book, he is acredited.

[bushido_man96]

Isshinryu I completely agree with you. But if some other black belts are on the team I guess they would see it as an insult to their rank. Others that dont understand what your saying might be saying to themselves. Why is this _______ belt leading those black belts. I guess it's something of keeping an image more than anything else.

This is a case of ego taking over. The only bad thing about the belt a practitioner wears is that it can cause ego. People need to be humble and open their minds.

[username4141]

In my uni club we nominate a captain and a squad captain. The squad captain's responsible for organising teams and getting them to competitions, while the captain manages the club and represents it at our athletic union. We have a social secretary to organise socials, a treasurer to handle money matters and a general secrfetary/communications officer to run club communications.

Last year our club captain was 9th kyu when elected. Someones grade doesn't affect their ability to run a club. In fact, this has been a very succesful year. We've roughly doubled our numbers (a tough act to follow).

Of course, for group competitions we have to keep teams together in similar ability groups. You can't have an 8th kyu taking part in a team kata with 2 1st kyus.

Because all our committee are democratically elected, and anyone can run for any position, no-one could complain about being lead by a lower grade. Indeed, such a complaint would be quite ignorant.

[isshinryu5toforever]

Thank you for your responses. I think you're right, I don't think they necessarily understood what I was getting at. The guy I was talking to does happen to be a black belt in the WTF, but nobody really trusts him to be a leader, he hasn't been around all second semester. As far as competing, definitely people should stay within their ability level. I would never dream of throwing a 6th kyu captain in with a black belt just because he's the captain.

[Aodhan]

Thank you for your responses. I think you're right, I don't think they necessarily understood what I was getting at. The guy I was talking to does happen to be a black belt in the WTF, but nobody really trusts him to be a leader, he hasn't been around all second semester. As far as competing, definitely people should stay within their ability level. I would never dream of throwing a 6th kyu captain in with a black belt just because he's the captain.

A good captain serves several purposes. They give the team a person to look to for leadership, they support a cohesive team, and they understand what motivates different people.

I agree that they don't necessarily have to be a black belt, but I would recommend it, for the simple fact that a BB has a higher understanding of the art, and can make better matchups for people. I don't know how much scouting and tape watching you do, but a good captain/coach can take people and match them up against opponents to maximize their chances of doing well.

Aodhan