Does being a Black Belt= Made Man????

[Dr. Frank]

MT- You've been teaching 32 years and only promoted 3 shodans? That is very low production. Standards can be too high. You want the belt to mean something but if the bar is impossibly high it leads to loss of interest and desertion. It sounds like you are going with the black belt is the "be all and end all" philosophy.

Reminds me of some college professors I have worked with who bragged about how many students failed their courses. I don't think the objective should be to make the course so difficult that more fail than succeed. Rather, it should be rigorous enough to ensure quality graduates without getting ridiculous.

But that's just my opinion.

[DWx]

Just reading some back issues of a TKD magazine and came across this article where the author says that becoming a blackbelt is like a baby bird being able to leave the nest. Just thought it was a nice little analogy appropriate to this topic

[mr_obvious]

My interpretation -- what "makes" a good Dan Rank student is not only a solid grasp of basics and some advanced techniques; but more importantly, the ability to relay knowledge to lower students.

<...>Sometimes thats all you see people talk about is "I cant wait to get my yellow or blue etc etc.." I bet if you take the gi and belt system out and went no-gi on ALL martial arts.. you would lose students. Liar you say? thats like saying you want to be a cop and could care less about the cool swat car, gun and badge.

You're absolutely right, a high proportion of our society wants something tangible they can hold in their hands. Call me the minority, the antithesis if you will, of this mentality. I'm always of the opinion that your skill, ability, dedication, etcetera -- in anything -- will be apparent. I've come across really weak black belts, and really solid yellow belts. So I just ignore the whole belt thing, and handle my bidness

Just droppin' my humble $0.02 into the slot.

[barryives]

To me the Black Belt is just another step on a journey, the end of which is unknown.

I do think there is something special about it (if only to the layman). I'm not there yet (should be grading shodan later on this year) but I'm really look foward to putting that belt on for the first time. That will 'mean' alot to me

[ps1]

I bet if you take the gi and belt system out and went no-gi on ALL martial arts.. you would lose students.

I agree with this statement 100%.

[Fearun9033]

My sensei taught me that to have a black belt means that you are finally gone into advanced karate mastery and that you are on your path to become a master if you pursue the Dans.

I think being a black belt brings a lot of responsibilities. You are basically an ambassador to Karate and to your style. You should embody all the teachings of karate and be a morally upright person. That is why when I see McDojos and self-appointed black belts, it makes me angry because these people are desecrating the reputation of black belts.

My dojo does not award a black belt easily so you know it's serious. Again, I must say that I hate any dojos that award black belts easily and without consideration. I remember as a kid, I had this belief that having a black belt means nothing and that any karateka blackbelt is basically like not serious. That is because of all the vulgarization of the black belt title in movies, real life and so on.

Then I met my senseis who are truly black belts and they showed me that it is a title to be revered indeed. Hope it answers your question!