What does blackbelt mean?

[bushido_man96]

At kyu level, getting black belt meant everything. At black belt, it means going back through and really learning and refining technique.

When I was a colored belt, I was still trying to really refine my technique. I can't think of anything that I was trying to figure out that I just gave up on because "I would figure it out at a higher rank." I tried this hard the whole time.

[bushido_man96]

Black belt means you have an understanding and ability to perform what is required by the particular system to obtain that rank.

Obviously you didn't appreciate the American football analogy...we all know what REAL football is but we choose to ignore it

This is kind of a tough analogy to make, I think. It is easy to take a 32 team league, and then define who is the champion. However, when you think of how many Martial Artists there are in the world, and then how many black belts there are compared to that number, you are dealing with seriously different stats.

[cross]

In football you either win or lose. In martial arts(competition excluded), those are not really the 2 options you have.

Think of college, you dont "win" or "lose", if you understand the material and can prove you have an understanding of it i.e. pass the exams, then you get your diploma. Martial arts is similar.

Also keep in mind that a black belt from one style doesnt necessarily equal a black belt in another style. It just means the person has reached that pre-defined level within the system/organisation they are studying.

[masterintraining]

a new begining. it meens i start over as a student. im the same as when i first walked through the doors. only differance is now i can pass own wat i no to ones who havent restarted.

[NightOwl]

Ok- maybe it was a bad analogy even if I used soccer. The point was questioning the value of something if a ton of people get it with great ease. Let's try economics instead of sports- gold is valued as a substance that is more resistant to the effects of inflation than the dollar because of its 'set' amount/ relative scarcity. However, if suddenly a giant gold cache was found under every home in china, the value of gold would become less then dryer lint (a good investment I've been told). Currently, if you had 50 bars of gold, you'd be considered pretty well off. But what if everyone else could get the same thing to the point where gold bars were being used as paper weights? Suddenly your gold bars wouldn't be that special.

Yes, a black belt is as previously defined a: "pre-defined level within the system they are studying". However when a question is posed like 'What does a Snicker's bar/baseball/happiness mean?' , I usually assume that they are looking for something beyond the dictionary definition of the term unless they are unfamiliar with said topic or word. Unless of course you are saying that it has no other special or symbolic meaning beyond just what it is- which in that case your opinion is similar to mine in which I thought it didn't 'mean' much (on the whole seemingly suspiciously common and otherwise depending on the individual/system/school). The difference in opinion then- or rather take on the question- was our differing interpretations on the question.

...it's late and I will probably wake up tomorrow and not remember writing this.

[ninjanurse]

At kyu level, getting black belt meant everything. At black belt, it means going back through and really learning and refining technique. I used to feel at times that there were individuals who really werent ready to test for their shodan level, but it wasnt my decision. If black belt was their ultimate goal, they would then leave the dojo and discontinue their training. If the individual stayed dedicated to the school, their training, and got involved in teaching, the difference in their shodan testing to their nidan testing was immense! Shodan to me is white belt again. Black belt means you never stop learning, never stop trying to get better.

I like this answer tori!

[NewEnglands_KyoSa]

aside from the physical level of being a black belt(advanced techniques, more material to learn) i think the biggest part that changes or needs to change when becoming a black belt it mostly mental. this is evident, in taking a role of leadership, being able to teach, teach multiples, teach kids, teach adults, teach the mentally or physically disabled. being able to answer questions for people interested in joinging, running your own branch school. it's about learning to be humble, without getting stepped on. its about being tough but not being mean. its alot of these more mental things that you need to figure out as you go up the ranks of BB. theres a million mental questions you need to answer for yourself and i think thats a good chunk of truly being a black belt.

[yingampyang]

Most systems if they have rankings will have a blackbelt rank. But what does it mean to you? Master of the arts or just another step along the chain?

I have many different black belts , but they all mean nothing to me. martial arts is not about grading and competing with others to say "ive got a higher belt ranking" , its about the knowlege and how well u use it.

Ive seen a blue belt beat a black belt 2 dan in 30 seconds. So its all about how good ur knowlege is of the art and how good your are as a person.

[tori]

At kyu level, getting black belt meant everything. At black belt, it means going back through and really learning and refining technique. I used to feel at times that there were individuals who really werent ready to test for their shodan level, but it wasnt my decision. If black belt was their ultimate goal, they would then leave the dojo and discontinue their training. If the individual stayed dedicated to the school, their training, and got involved in teaching, the difference in their shodan testing to their nidan testing was immense! Shodan to me is white belt again. Black belt means you never stop learning, never stop trying to get better.

I like this answer tori!

Thank you.

[tori]

At kyu level, getting black belt meant everything. At black belt, it means going back through and really learning and refining technique.

When I was a colored belt, I was still trying to really refine my technique. I can't think of anything that I was trying to figure out that I just gave up on because "I would figure it out at a higher rank." I tried this hard the whole time.

I think anyone who is serious about their training at kyu level, works on refining technique. Obviously though, if you are an instructor in a dojo, watching the yellow belts and blue belts do their movements and giving it 100% looks different than a black belt doing the same movements giving 100% There is a level of learning the how's and why's of what is taught in a class. A student gains knowledge of technique all the time. At black belt, a student should not believe that their movements are perfect. In fact, I have yet to see perfection. Instead, a black belt should be constantly working on making better what they have learned so they can share their knowledge, and continue to learn new movements as though they are a white belt.