Black Belt Testing

[taebot]

We invite the public to our testings.

 

This removes the mystery and shows what is possible for any common person to do. We usually include lower belt testings or demos to show the skill progression, the link that makes it possible in the mind of the viewer, "Hey, I can't do the black belt stuff, but I CAN do the orange belt stuff and that blue belt is certainly no younger than I am..."

 

I just don't like the hood and robe, or shall we say, triad, aspect of the martial arts.

 

Similary, I don't think a testing should be boot camp, the student should all ready have been through boot camp. Testing, to me, is a celebration and a public affermation and display by the testing candidate, yes, I have mastered the materials. Our candidates demonstrate the entire forms set, put on a breaking demo of their own design, and then get to prove that they can survive for 30 seconds minimum against multiple black belt attackers.

 

Then we have a HUGE pot luck dinner and celebration (only one black belt has EVER failed the test because we simply don't test those whom cannot pass...)!

[monkeygirl]

At my school, it used to be that black belt tests were on a Saturday morning, and completely closed off. And I mean CLOSED OFF...they mounted cardboard in the windows and wouldn't even let family watch. Only the judges and people testing.

 

Testings were also pretty brutal. People came back with huge bruises all over their body, and one guy even got knocked out. And the stories they would tell....

 

Of course, with only a few witnesses, it would be very easy to embellish, but for the most part, you could tell they were true.

 

I've heard of some schools who have blackbelt tests in a basketball court so they can hold the 300 PARTICIPANTS!! Testing includes a written portion and some other kind of mental task before the big basketball court session.

[G95champ]

Really the hardest part about our tests as far as being brutal is the fact we turn up the sparring. Our black belts who attack and spar the person testing go all out. Its really a shock to the person testing because they have never saw or felt us go that hard in class before. To keep it up we tag other black blets in about every min or so to keep a fresh attacker comming. That will go on for 30-45 mins. Makes the test very intresting.

[kenpo4life]

I think that physical fitness should be a part of the training. I dont mean like an athlettic contest. But in mine and my familys schools, physical conditioning is a BIG part of the mental conditioning. When you are DEAD tired, do you still push on? When you have fought 45 minutes with larger more experienced fighters, do you give up? When you dont think that you can do another 50 pushups, do you do them anyway? In my school we dont do breaking, but we dont wear pads past green belt either, so I guess we are a little different in that regard.

[G95champ]

Well

 

I think people pay to learn MA not do push ups. So I have never made people do push ups in class. Or any form of exercise for that matter. I don't want to sign up and take Judo or TKD and do jumping jacks or set ups all class.

 

With that said I think I run a pretty hard class. Although we don't do push ups, set ups, jumping jacks, etc we train hard. We do a lot os squat kicks and isometrick blocks. In other words I hide the no fun stuff in stuff that is part of MA.

 

I coach foootball the same way. If you go to practice you won't see us running sprints for the sake of running. We do drills, and never stop moving. We are in shape because we train hard not because we do 100 push ups in one min.

 

Point is there is more than one way to get in shape and from my exp people are not going to pay for lessons if they never do anything but exercises.

[Kyle-san]

Just a question.

 

Your tests sound more like physical fitness tests. What style of MA do you do?

 

Also I don't know many schools who allow lower ranks to view black belt tests.

 

Both just seemed a bit odd to me.

 

The physical fitness end of things seems a bit odd to me, just because someone can't do 100 pushups doesn't mean they don't have excellent technique. I do like the idea of a more intellectual side (philosophy, etc) to the tests.

[yellowsnow]

Well

 

I think people pay to learn MA not do push ups. So I have never made people do push ups in class. Or any form of exercise for that matter. I don't want to sign up and take Judo or TKD and do jumping jacks or set ups all class.

 

With that said I think I run a pretty hard class. Although we don't do push ups, set ups, jumping jacks, etc we train hard. We do a lot os squat kicks and isometrick blocks. In other words I hide the no fun stuff in stuff that is part of MA.

 

I coach foootball the same way. If you go to practice you won't see us running sprints for the sake of running. We do drills, and never stop moving. We are in shape because we train hard not because we do 100 push ups in one min.

 

Point is there is more than one way to get in shape and from my exp people are not going to pay for lessons if they never do anything but exercises.

 

Wow! I totally agree with everything you said. In my opinion, my school does too many pushups, situps etc. I think also that if we train 110% and never quite moving we should be in EXCELLENT cardio shape. Our classes are only 1 hour long, which somtimes seems a little short. Wish I had an instructor like yourself.

 

YS

[G95champ]

thanks YS

 

We do 2hr classes. The first 10-15mins includes stretching and bowing in. Then I alwasy do a 15min or so basic review. Just a dozen or so movers 10 or 20 times usually just the basic blocks with a combo to get the sweat going. Then the next hour we will do one of the following. More Basics, Kata, SD, Spar, and comb of the 5. Usually only one however. Then for the last half hr or so we will do somethign fun but soemthing that will build speed or power. Like 2 on 1 sparring, bag work, throws, speed drills, breaking (not oftern) weapons (not often), etc. Then we bow out. Thats my basic lesson plan. However lots of times I will get to talking and showing differant things and the middle hr moves in on the fun stuff lol.

[taebot]

I came up with that same philosophy from my second wrestling coach. The first one was all weights and strength training, the second coach felt if you were going to wrestle, that the only way was to get into wrestling shape.

 

Hence, we spar a lot.

 

[Our juniors ARE familiar with pushups however !]

[taebot]

Wow! I totally agree with everything you said. In my opinion, my school does too many pushups, situps etc. I think also that if we train 110% and never quite moving we should be in EXCELLENT cardio shape. Our classes are only 1 hour long, which somtimes seems a little short. Wish I had an instructor like yourself.

 

YS

 

You do. Locked inside of you. Turn off the thought processes, do the class, no matter what it is, full out, and eventually that instructor will speak up. It may tell you to get out. It may tell you that despite what you feel now, you selected the right path.