Child Black Belts

[JR 137]

I think he's excellent from a technique, athletic, etc. perspective. Easily as good as I've ever seen a kid that age do. Better than a lot of teens and adults in their prime too.

But can he use them when actually needed? It's like people hitting a heavy bag. Working a bag flawlessly doesn't mean you know how to fight; it means you can work a bag.

I mean no disrespect to the kid. I'm genuinely envious of his abilities. In the end, black belt or not depends on the standard the individual holds. If it's based on drills, kata, kihon, and the like, then yes, a JUNIOR black belt. If it has a self defense component to it, the jury's still out (not that I'm advocating making him defend himself in any manner).

I'm not a fan of junior black belts. They should use a different color IMO - either camouflage (representing all the colors of the kyu system) or gray (almost black). But I don't get to decide, which is nice.