Dont Drop Your Belt...

[Traymond]

By the name you should have guessed it has to do with dropping your belt on the ground. Last night I was taking classes (as a black belt) with my teacher Mototomi Sensei. Well, As I was talking to him I began to untie my belt and it slipped and landed on the floor, I immediately looked at my teacher and he gave me a small smile. So I thought the sight was clear, so I bowed to my teacher and bent over to pick the belt up. As soon as the belt was clutched into my hand I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder and I notice im flying through the air.

My teacher kicked me so hard he dislocated my shoulder and I was atleast four feet away from him.

He calmly walked over to me and helped me up.

"never..... ever..... do that again"

That was all he said. he bowed to me, I bowed back and he walked off the dojo floor, quietly slipping his Zori on as he left the building..he left me to lock up.

Now my big thing is Whats your opinion on dropping your belt on the floor.

Disgrace or not?

I believe he went hard on me because of my rank, I can almost guarantee he would never do that to a lower kyu rank, which is not a problem for me. I just would like to know your opinions on dropping the belt on the floor.

Thanks,

TDR

[SnakeStrike77]

Good grief man!! That’s tough! Did you have idea that was coming?? Yes I would imagine you being a Black Belt that he would be tough on you. Then again I’ve never heard of this happening to a black belt.

In our dojo it is a huge disrespect to drop our belt. At the beginning and end of each class we bow on our knees and we are then allowed to add, or remove our belt. We can’t just walk in, or out with it on. Having it on is a sign that we are there and ready to go. Nothing like learning the hard way huh??

[Traymond]

Haha YEAH! I guess not. I did not expect that because when another blackbelt did something similar last month he just dismissed him for a week. I was afraid he was going to do the same to me, but instead he just laid me out. We are allowed to walk in wearing street clothes but we have to change into uniform immediately. But we arent allowed to take out uniform off until our teacher bows us out, and he's done that already but...yeah he got me good. I will be holding on alot tighter next time as well.

[the beast]

In our dojo it is also considered disrespectful for your belt to touch the floor, unless it is still attached to you.

[Grego]

I have trouble tying my belt unless at least part of it brushes the floor. I kinda think the rule is a little outdated and unecessary. Its a belt, a piece of cloth. It doesn't have anything to do with you as a martial artist.

That said, If my sensei kicked me like that...i might have had some choice words for him. I don't think it is ever ok for the sensei to hit his student hard enough to injure him.

BTW, i sparred my sensei last night for the first time in...oh, six years. I'm sore today

But I suprised him a couple times.

[JohnKeats]

Could it be you lost eye contact with him, and he didn't want THAT? Just an idea, when you bowed, you stopped looking at him, did you?

[Wa-No-Michi]

Oh dear!

I know what I would do if I were in your shoes, and that would be to look for another sensei.

To me, my belt is a functional piece of clothing (not something to be worshiped), and just like any other article of clothing, i am not in the habit of "deliberately" dragging it on the floor.

But if it were an accident like you say, It sounds like he completely over reacted - and from where I stand what he did to you as a result was assault.

I have heard many stories about how Japanese sensei would "bring up short" any students that disrespected them by having one of the seniors give them a "good going over" in kumite (whilst they turned a convenient blind eye) but in the most part, it was because they felt the student was "getting above their station"... a lesson in humility maybe.

But as far as the belt touching the floor, it is not a major issue - unless you make it so.

WNM

[50inches]

That's the most crazy thing I have heard. I do karate but in a non-traditional school. I didn't even know that it was disrespectful to drop your belt on the floor.

I would be pretty angry at my sensei if he injured me because i dropped my belt. Everybody is talking about how martial arts today are losing their sense of an art compared to what they used to be. But if that's what being a TMA means, then I am glad that martial arts are moving in the direction that we are moving in today. We are supposed to show each other the same amount of respect regardless of belt status in my opinion. At the end of the day we are all people, and if I got my shoulder dislocated for makeing a human "error" such as dropping my belt, then that's highly disrespectful on the senseis part from my point of view.

[Traymond]

Grego,

I like to think that my sensei did it to show me humility, and to show me that I should have been conditioning myself. My sensei is so old fashioned for being as old as he is, he still follows bushido. No one is allowed to be seen wearing socks...

JohnKeats,

I did stop looking at him but I doubt it was because of the belt...it could have been I will keep that in mind though, I wont ask him that though...haha

WNM,

I am not going to let almost a decade of learning from a man of such caliber because he made an 'example of me', He is the leader of the room, and its good to know at his age he can still hold his own ground.

As for his most senior student sparring me to a bloody pulp, haha..I am his most senior student...

50 Inches,

It is crazy...but I would choose the TMA over the newer stuff any day.

[Wa-No-Michi]

I am not going to let almost a decade of learning from a man of such caliber because he made an 'example of me', He is the leader of the room, and its good to know at his age he can still hold his own ground.

Almost a decade... blimey that's such a long time

Seriously though, it's not... you are just scratching the surface. This man may have given you a good basic grounding in ma, but sometime instructors use intimidation tactics to keep their students.

Even to the point where students feel "privileged" to be beaten up by them.

Not saying that your instructor is doing this to you, but there are several ways to bully / coerce people into staying loyal.

Don't get pulled in.

WNM