Junior Black Belt

[Fu Man]

Does your school make use of the Junior Black Belt rank? If so what does it look like?

Our school has a black belt with a white stripe through the middlee . . . .

The dojo where I attend offers junior black belts to minors (students under 18 years of age). The belt color is the same as described.

[Shotokan-kez]

At our club junior grading requirements are just the same as adults. We have junior black belts and they have just the same same belt as adults, solid black and their choice of stitching if they wish. They are treated slightly different as far as doing demos with the sensei and stuff.

[axispower]

For instance, we don't teach eye gouging and stuff to lower aged kids. Nor do we show them how to utilize or defend agaisnt a blade. We also have a mandantory firearms portion required for bb, obviously you can't ask a kid to do that.

Hey Tallgeese -

Define lower age kids for me and explain what you teach a kid that will help them survive a life threatening situation on the street.

My daughters knew by the time they were five years old that if someone attacked them and was holding them down against their will (stranger danger kind of stuff) the quickest way to get them to let you go was to stick a finger in their eye. Likewise, they were both told that if they couldn't reach the guy's eye but there face was anywhere near his throat that they should sink their teeth in and do their best to rip it out. So far neither of these kids has used either of these techniques on anyone (including each other) but I feel much better knowing that they'll remember them if they're ever in a life threatening situation.

[tallgeese]

And that's your choice to teach that at that age. I've got no problem with that.

Personally, I feel that stuff like this should be taught later when more maturity has been acheived. I've stated before, we won't promote anyone to an adult bb rank until at least 16. So figure that you're working on that stuff for a few years before that. Those early teen years are when children go from being an incidental or occassional victim of violence to indivuials who may be routinely targeted by others.

I don't doubt at all that there are situations where children are placed in life threatening situations. I also feel that we as parents should do our best to see that it doesn't happen and that we shield them up until they can adaquatly protect themselves physically.

Part of my reluctacne to teach this to youger kids is due to the fact of a lack of mature decision making abilites on it's use. I wouldn't teach a 5 year old how to load and fire an weapon either and expect them to responsibiliy be able to use one in the defense of their home. How different is it to teach them to tear someones eye out wiht a finger? Can they make that proper decision at the right time, every time?

Another factor is that I'd like to keep my kids from having to worry about this stuff. I'll do it for them. Most psycologist I read during my grad school time indicated that children were not helped by exposure to concepts like the ones we're talking about.

And lastly, I doubt the ability of a 5 yr old to successfully deploy any sort of tactic reliably against an adult. Or even an older child. There's too much weight difference between a grown or semi-grown adult and a kid. There's also an astronomical difference in avaliable muscle mass and the abilty to utilize it. And, most notably, the mental capacity for violence between a predator who would hurt a child and that child is barely even within the same reality.

In my opinion, there are too many factors that speak out agianst it. Most things that should be taught in regard to truely dangerous encounters for youth should revolve around avoidance and awarness. Proper decision making in regard to their reactions around other unknown individuals, making as much noise as possible if appracahed in a way that is not appropriate to get an adult there and the like, that's the cornerstone of sd at that age.

We don't do enough to protect kids in this country in my mind. Criminal punishmets are not severe enough, and is deterrance is largly unheard of. However, there are better ways to move forward in protecting children that accelerating their training to levels beyond their maturity, I believe.

Researching people who have access to them is a start, as most volence leveld agaisnt children is from a known entity. Understaning a schools policy on observing and monitoring the childern at all times is another. If you find it unacceptable (and believe me, if you start asking questions at some of your schools, you will find their measures unacceptable), start raising the roof to get them changed. Once other parents start seeing stats on school violence and how little their kids are protected a PTA meeting will start looking like a UFC. Knowledge of your kids friends and play date homes is mandantory. I've irritated more than a few people on this. No one watchs my kid until I've met them, talked at lenght with them, talked to other people who know them. Find out if their guns are locked up if there are any. Any criminal background, ect... the list gets a bit long, I admit.

But what can I say, my kids are kids, they can't take care of themselves yet. I don't feel that pressing knowledge that they aren't mentally ready for or skills they cannot physically perform yet on them is the best way to go about attempting to prevent anything bad from happening to them.

Just my thoughts.

[quinteros1963]

The juniors have a red stripe in the middle of the belt. It is used for u16 years. We only have one at our dojo.