What does a black belt mean?

[Chuck]

My Sensei (like many others) says 1st Dan (Shodan) is when the real training begins.

I have come to not appreciate this statement much. Why discount all the learning that takes place before it? I think that learning is learning, and later learning builds on early learning. I like to think of it as just a continuum.

I do think that it is difficult to quantify what exactly a "black belt" is. Everyone has different talents and abilities, and it is up to them to figure out what it is, and how to grow into it. Not everyone will have great technique, but some without may be great at applying concepts and strategies, and so on.

Sometimes, I think the styles that really have it all figured out are the ones that don't use rank at all.

I would certainly agree with this and so would my sensei.

My sensei means 'real training' as in another level of training. Too many people (young kids and their parents) see Shodan as a benchmark of a final goal. Depending on what kind of Karateka you want to be Shodan can be a doorway to a life time of training (to better oneself).

[bushido_man96]

Well, its like anything that you do a lot of. The more you study it, the more you see. Naturally, this can only come with time and experience. I don't like to put the shodan rank on such a high pedestal. It is an achievement to be proud of, and it should be taken seriously, but in the end, its just another step that you take....and you can't take it until you get there.

[SaxonPig]

Since there are no universally agreed to standards for rank advancement, rank is fairly meaningless outside your own style/system/school.

I have learned not to worry about it.

[TalkMartialArts]

My teachers have always stated that having a black belt means you have grasped and can solidly perform the basics

[Ti]

My Sensei (like many others) says 1st Dan (Shodan) is when the real training begins.

My Sensei won't let you get past 1st kyu/test for 1st Dan until you are ready, so many just stay brown belt for quite sometime.

In the last 3 years only two kids (10 and 12 years old) got their Shodan.

Where do you train at?

[Eisho]

Granted, this isn't ideal. But it is the present state of karate, and it's something everyone ought to keep in mind. Rank is *not* an objective measure of a karateka's worth as a martial artist, across the board. It is a reflection of whether he embodies what his style, school, and federation values in a martial artist, and before trying to draw any conclusions about a martial artist's competence from their rank- positive or negative- one should have a fairly good idea of what rank means in their context.

I think this is a very good point. Belt grades (not just black) have to be seen in context.

To me, Shodan means that you have a decent grasp of the basics and are ready to make the style more an expression of yourself rather than strictly mimicking. It doesn't mean the basics are forgotten or no longer practiced, but that the emphasis is more on naturalizing them. Shu Ha Ri....

Cheers,

Eisho

[Rateh]

A black belt is means everything.

A black belt means nothing.

Just like anything else in life, how important something is depends entirely on the person. What their priorities are, what matters to them, that will decide what the black belt means. And what it means to me is different than what it means to all of you, because we all come at it from our own place.

[Chuck]

My Sensei (like many others) says 1st Dan (Shodan) is when the real training begins.

My Sensei won't let you get past 1st kyu/test for 1st Dan until you are ready, so many just stay brown belt for quite sometime.

In the last 3 years only two kids (10 and 12 years old) got their Shodan.

Where do you train at?

Camp Carter Karate in San Jose

[Ti]

My Sensei (like many others) says 1st Dan (Shodan) is when the real training begins.

My Sensei won't let you get past 1st kyu/test for 1st Dan until you are ready, so many just stay brown belt for quite sometime.

In the last 3 years only two kids (10 and 12 years old) got their Shodan.

Where do you train at?

Camp Carter Karate in San Jose

:thumbsup:

[Chuck]

Ti, are you familar with the San Jose, CA area?