Every once in a while I’ll go to a karate tournament or demonstration. Inevitably I see the same thing time and time again that sickens me.
Children wearing black belts, some as young as six years old.
If you are an instructor and have given a black belt to someone under the age of 18 and they are not both physically and emotionally the equal of the average adult then you have just made your martial art a joke.
Some schools/instructors may argue, “but it’s a children’s black-belt.” I’m sorry this is just stupid. Again it makes, “black belt,” and your martial art a joke. It’s kind of like saying, “This pellet rifle is a children’s 38 caliber handgun.” See the difference? Both can be dangerous in their own right and have much of the same mechanics, but the pellet rifle will never be as dangerous or worthy of the same consideration as a 38 caliber hand gun.
Plain and simple children should never be awarded black belts.
I know that commercial schools often use, “get your black-belt,” as a sign up feature. But, black-belts should not be given out to people who do not really deserve them or can’t live up to them.
A black-belt, at least in the martial arts I’ve been in, signifies that the wearer is an expert. It does not make them a master, but an expert is a lot to say about a martial art. In any field an expert should have very deep knowledge, to the point that if they have not been taught an answer they can reason out the answer for themselves. Beyond knowledge the expert should be able to demonstrate that they can apply the knowledge for the purpose it is intended.
That is not to say that a prerequisite for being a black-belt should be that you are a total unbeatable bad-ass. But, you should at least be a dangerous person for an untrained fighter to face off against.
So, do you really think that a 6-12 year old child is a black belt in anything? No. Though I’m sure there are some children who are talented and practice a lot and could probably handle themselves in a fist fight against other 6-12 year olds, the gap in intellectual, emotional and physical maturity is enough make their martial arts training pale next to an adult with the same rank.
Also giving out upper ranks to children can instill them with false confidence and even outright bad attitudes.
I still laugh at the time I went to participate in a sparring tournament, the adults were waiting for the children to clear out after finishing. This 4′ tall fat boy wearing a green belt was walking around as if was the emperor of the world and giving anyone, including adults, that walked by him his best, “I’m a badass,” scowl.
Or the time some 15 year old boy, got asked to judge katas because he had his black belt. The look on his face was priceless. He was conjuring his best, “be in awe of me for I am Yoda,” face.
My point is that a whole lot of martial arts enthusiasts are way to caught up in rank and getting a black belt. Actually being skilled should be your main concern.
I’ve met many black belts in many martial arts who quite frankly didn’t even deserve an orange belt.
The sad fact is that that belt ranking in a lot of martial arts schools are not so much a measure of skill or what you are supposed to know, they are really just a money making tool that keeps students attention.
In the schools I’ve attended, that was often the motivation that kept people coming, simply to get the next rank up or eventually get a black belt. That just stupid. A black belt or certificate won’t ever help you in a street fight. Having real skill will.
Some schools belt ranking are a great tool however. Some have so many techniques that they must be divided in a logical order. Often these techniques are harder to master or more dangerous and should only be taught to someone with prior knowledge who has built upon previous skill sets.
Most of the time however belt rankings are very disingenuous.
From what I’ve been told by my masters who have studied long enough to have 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th degree black belts and deserve them there was a time in Kenpo Karate’s history when there were only three ranks: White, Brown, & Black.
You of course started as a white belt. Generally after about two to three years you were granted a brown belt and began instructing students to help your master and to further your own knowledge. This is important to note because there are many commercial martial arts schools who will give you a black belt rank in a little over a year.
Who do you really think deserves a black belt, someone who studied for three years before even getting a black belt or someone who bought it after a year?
Eventually you would get your black belt when your master decided it was time, when he thought you as an individual deserved it. Often this was after say…….six years or so.
The belt ranking system is an Americanism of martial arts. It was invented to placate students who needed to see some sort of certificate for gradual improvement. It kept them goal orientated.
The disservice the colored rank system does to students is that it gives them the impression that with each rank they are gradually becoming more skilled regardless of how much they may or may not have trained. Often times you will see students that greatly out-skill other students of equal or greater rank. Sure some people are more talented, but more often than not it simply means students do the bare minimum to get their rank certificate.
Getting a black belt should not be an eventuality of martial arts training. You should do it because you like it and want to learn self defense. You shouldn’t feel that you deserve any rank simply because you show up to class.
Train because you love the art and want to improve, not because you want to say you have a black belt.
If you want to go a lot further back in martial arts history, before martial arts like karate and kung fu were taught to anyone that wasn’t Asian, you will find that they did not have colored rankings.
A story I’ve often been told is that in ancient times students received their white-belt, and that was the only belt they ever received. If it ever became a black belt, it was because of repeated use over many years or handling had turned it black and frayd.
The replacement we have today for this tradition is that black-belts who continue to practice will never, ever replace their first black-belt. They will let it wear and become frayed until it looks like it’s ready to be thrown out. As a last resort they will have someone stitch it back together if need be.
If you see people wearing black-belts like these, they are likely deserving of them.
When you see some kid or, “one year wonder,” walking around with a black-belt that looks like it barely gets worn, you can bet that he is what is known as a, “paper tiger.” ………probably with a false sense of confidence.
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