do belts mean anything

[Cody1]

are people without belts as good as one with belts

[shortdog]

in my experience getting a black belt is just a test of time. if you invest 4 years and alot of money in my school. you will get a black belt. so far there have been 5. i have spared with 2 at once. they were nothing special. i have no belt! belts are made for keeping your pants up. not a means of measuring skill.

 

SHORTDOG

 

 

[Angus]

It can be argued that they ARE a means of measuring skill (although i don't like the belt system)... Instructors use the belt system to keep track of where their students are progress wise.

 

I hold an orange belt in hapkido (the second belt) but i bet i ould outfight some of the black belts there...

 

Angus

 

 

[iamrushman]

i don't know...........are people with college degrees as good as one's without college degrees?

 

 

[iamrushman]

oh i forgot...welcome to the forum CODY1..

 

 

[jdoub]

Cody-san,

 

Go buy a black belt and then do not worry about it any more. Belt color is just a color, but what is in your heart will last a lifetime.

 

Take care!!

 

John

 

 

[DarkMonkey]

I am extremely new to Karate (and to the forums. Hello people), so ignore any ignorance on my part with the following thoughts.

 

As much as I would like belts to be a good measure of skill, it just doesn't seem to be true. To me, it seems, they are more an indication of 'time' spent with the club or style. Until last Saturday I was a white belt. I'd been doing shotokan Karate for two and a half months and took my first grading. I was pretty nervous about it but everything went okay, in fact I was double graded to Red belt (White, orange, red) which I was extremely pleased with, the examiner, who is the highest ranked, Native, Dan in the country (UK), said I did especially well.

 

The trouble is with this, EVERYBODY who went for the grading got graded. Some people clearly deserved to, others didn't. But everybody did. I have come to the conclusion that belts are generally a convenient way to measure the time a person has spent at the club (and in turn their "rank") rather than to really measure skill. More so tha this, however, I feel it is a system designed to keep people training, a goal for them to reach, which they almost always DO reach, which keeps them happy and content. How many people would drop out if they didn't get graded and had to wait a further three months? A large percentage I imagine.

 

I don't want to be mean, the kid is only seven years old, and he's a sweet little kid, I talk to him and give him advice but really if he gets graded, when he hasn't shown anything of any real competence, up to Orange belt I question the reason they are there at all. Admitedly Orange belt is a small silly rank that means nothing even if you worked extremely hard to achieve, but more so tha that, I saw brown belts get graded up who really didn't show the skill of some red belts. The whole system seems mucked up, but at the same time, it has to be like that.

 

The people who go need an incentive to keep training, yes a belt doesn't mean much, but it is something to aim for, something to hang on your wall, something to wear to show you are quite dedicated and something to wear to show you have a 'place' you are above the newer members, at least when you line up you can say 'oh I'm red belt'. The fact is, however, you can't go to training with the aim of a belt, you have to go to each session with the thought to simply try as best you can and take in everything that is being said, in the end going up belts only serves as a way to learn more advanced kata's and be given the same routenes as your, sometimes, less skilled Karate peers.

 

Hmm. Ramble. Sorry.

[taezee]

a belt or uniform or title.job position.these all mean NOTHING!!! what makes an individual is the actions the way they carry and handle themselves and most importantly the way they treat and respect others,,not what they wear or what blown up bull#@*&! reputation precedes them..there are too many masters in this world and too little authentic martial artist.. the ones who are less talkative and less flamboyant are the dangerous ones..the ones who talk too much brag and have fifty diplomas on there walls are usally paper tigers..

 

 

[MuayTB1]

No. NO. College degree is very different then the belt system. No the belt means nothing. Respect every color belt in the school and dont' worry about getting the black belt. In Most schools, they don't even pay attention you when you are taking a belt testing. The system is: you have money? you give the money... you get the belt.

[thaiboxerken]

I think belts CAN have a significance, but only if the belt system is used correctly. As far as fighting goes, the belt means nothing. Belts are a great tool for an instructor to keep track of his students progress and to give short term goals for students to achieve. The McDojo type of belt system is only good for making money. It is possible to have a great belt system and make enough money teaching martial arts to live off of. There is a balanced to be achieved there, just like anything else.

 

In Muay Thai, there isn't a belt system, but I would wager a pro thaiboxer against a black belt in any system anyday. So yes, people without "belts" can be as good as people without belts, or even better. It's the training, tactics and technique that matters, not the belt.