Disappointed They're NOT Making Me Start At White Belt!?

[Lupin1]

I know this sounds awfully mystical, but I would suggest that the attitude of rank that you bring to your new style matters more than the rank holding your gi together. That makes me want to vomit, it's so cliche, but bear with me, please.

In the aikido dojo where I train, there is a girl with her brown belt in goju-ryu, a girl with a black belt in tae kwan do, a guy with a black belt in tae kwan do, and myself (black belt in American Kenpo). The tae kwan do guy and goju-ryu girl wear their previous rank, and tend to act as if they have earned that rank in all systems: they are resistant to suggestion and help, constantly question the efficacy of a technique, and correct students who outrank them in aikido. I only just found out that the other black belt in tae kwan do is a black belt, and many people in the rather small dojo still don't know my rank in Kenpo, because if they ask, I just say that I "have some other experience." I'd like to think that she and I are more pleasant for the other students and the sensei to teach.

My point is, you can wear your green belt with the attitude of a white belt--or, more properly, a black belt: know what you know, know what you don't know, and be willing to learn about both.

That's a very good point. I hope I don't get like that. I do find myself questioning some of their techniques, but I haven't said anything aloud about it.

My main problem right now seems to be almost the opposite-- remembering I'm NOT like a normal white belt. Being in an unfamilar place doing unfamiliar techniques or using unfamiliar terms for techniques I already know certainly makes me feel like a white belt. But then we were doing some partner work and they put me with a yellow belt. I'm used to being the lowest ranking in my class at home even though I'm a 4th kyu, so I'm used to working entirely with brown and black belts, so I think I was going a little hard on the yellow belt without realizing it. I sort of assumed he should be better than me because he's a yellow belt while I was only on my second TKD lesson while I should have realized he's JUST a yellow belt and not the brown and black belts I'm use to working with. That's going to take some getting used to. There are a lot of low ranking students in the class (completely different than my class at home which has no one who's been training for less than five years) and I'm going to have to realize that while they're a lot better than me at TKD, they're still just getting started in the martial arts while I've got 5 years experience and so I can't go too hard on them at partner work or get frustrated if they're not able to go hard enough with me. It'll be a tricky balance.

[Kruczek]

We had a guy start taking shorin-ryu classes at my school a few years ago. He was a fifth degree black belt in TKD - out ranking anyone in our school.

So we told him to keep it on. The respect he earned that came with that belt didn't disappear just because he was doing something else. Additionally, more times than not, he had more insight to what we were doing because of that background. I may have interpreted a move to mean something and he would kindly come up after class and say "ever think about it meaning this or that" - So again, he definitely earned the respect that came with it.

When I myself started classes in TKD, they had me start over as a white belt. Mind you, I taught in the Shorin-ryu class at the same building, everyone in the TKD class knew I was a 3rd Dan there, but the rational was that it was a class of primarily younger kids who would get offended. I am not trying to call you childish, but I would just suggest you really ask yourself if it matters that you didn't have a white belt at that school. You are not getting promoted till you have everything the new school requires....so I just wouldn't worry about it, pocket the money saved.

If someone does have a problem with it - you and your sensei can always adapt then by either changing you or changing their attitude.

Good luck with studying a new art!

[Soheir]

You can always use white if you like it better.

[holley]

dont worry about it. I was in the same situation at one point.... But Thats ok. You will do just fine, and the other people can get over it.