Saturday, October 6, 2007
This morning we had our fall black belt/brown belt breakfast, where students and instructors who have tested for black belt ranks in the previous six months get their new rank certificates (belts and degree stripes are awarded at the successful completion of the tests.) This one was particularly enjoyable because four of the instructors from the Albany location recently tested for higher rank, including one of my students who tested for 3rd degree black belt.
Often the occasion of black belt promotions causes all sorts of conversation about the meaning and tradition behind the black belt rank, and I find it interesting how some of that conversation is very well-informed while other parts are primarily myth and erroneous oral tradition. There are three ideas in particular that seem to come up time and time again... sadly, even the folks that one would expect to be well-informed (like the head of the school) espouse some of this misinformation.
Myth#1
Earning a black belt means you have achieved an expert level in a particular martial art.This one seems to be more prevalent among folks who've never studied the arts than those who have. While the students in our school look up to both black belt students and the black belt instructors, I think many of them also realize that earning a black belt is just a step along the path, rather than the final destination. In many ways, moving through the colored belt ranks is like going to school, with the black belt being similar to a high school diploma. If the instructors and student have done it right, the new black belt will have a good solid understanding of the basics, which can then be applied to more advanced study. In this way, 2nd degree black belt and up are similar to going to college and then graduate school... a definite necessity before someone could even consider being thought of as an expert. And even then, as he learns more and more, hopefully one of the most important things he'll learn... is how much he still has left to learn. (My students at work often make comments about my being a martial arts master or expert... but if there's one thing I've learned in the past 25 years of training, it's that I'm nowhere near that point, and never will be!)
Earning a black belt means you have achieved an expert level in a particular martial art.This one seems to be more prevalent among folks who've never studied the arts than those who have. While the students in our school look up to both black belt students and the black belt instructors, I think many of them also realize that earning a black belt is just a step along the path, rather than the final destination. In many ways, moving through the colored belt ranks is like going to school, with the black belt being similar to a high school diploma. If the instructors and student have done it right, the new black belt will have a good solid understanding of the basics, which can then be applied to more advanced study. In this way, 2nd degree black belt and up are similar to going to college and then graduate school... a definite necessity before someone could even consider being thought of as an expert. And even then, as he learns more and more, hopefully one of the most important things he'll learn... is how much he still has left to learn. (My students at work often make comments about my being a martial arts master or expert... but if there's one thing I've learned in the past 25 years of training, it's that I'm nowhere near that point, and never will be!)
Myth#2
The belt rank systems that are common in martial arts today were developed by Americans, who needed short-term rewards and reinforcement that they were progressing.It's certainly true that Americans have expanded the belt rank system into a veritable cash cow (but, to be fair, plenty of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese organizations have seen the money that can be made and have jumped on the same bandwagon.) The belt rank system that is most frequently used, however, can be traced back to the founder of judo, Jigaro Kano. Kano first used the black belt or black sash in 1882 to indicate rank for several of his students. He split his students into ungraded (mudansha - what are now current colored belts) and graded (yudansha - what are now black belts.) He also broke the judo syllabus down into a series of technical levels, to help keep his students interested and motivated. The belts themselves may have been adopted for a totally practical reason - to keep the jackets of the judo uniforms closed. When Gichin Funakoshi started teaching karate in Japan in the 1920's, he added the belt ranking system and judo-like uniforms, probably influenced in part by the fact that he was teaching at the Kodokan, the headquarters for Kano's judo. (For more info, see Don Cunningham's excellent e-budokai.com article on belt colors and ranking tradition - he expressed a good deal of the info I relate here much more eloquently and with a great deal more detail.)
The belt rank systems that are common in martial arts today were developed by Americans, who needed short-term rewards and reinforcement that they were progressing.It's certainly true that Americans have expanded the belt rank system into a veritable cash cow (but, to be fair, plenty of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese organizations have seen the money that can be made and have jumped on the same bandwagon.) The belt rank system that is most frequently used, however, can be traced back to the founder of judo, Jigaro Kano. Kano first used the black belt or black sash in 1882 to indicate rank for several of his students. He split his students into ungraded (mudansha - what are now current colored belts) and graded (yudansha - what are now black belts.) He also broke the judo syllabus down into a series of technical levels, to help keep his students interested and motivated. The belts themselves may have been adopted for a totally practical reason - to keep the jackets of the judo uniforms closed. When Gichin Funakoshi started teaching karate in Japan in the 1920's, he added the belt ranking system and judo-like uniforms, probably influenced in part by the fact that he was teaching at the Kodokan, the headquarters for Kano's judo. (For more info, see Don Cunningham's excellent e-budokai.com article on belt colors and ranking tradition - he expressed a good deal of the info I relate here much more eloquently and with a great deal more detail.)
Myth#3
Students traditionally started at white belt and over time their unwashed belt became black with years of accumulated sweat, dirt, and blood.Yuck. I can't speak for anyone else, but I wouldn't particularly want to train with someone whose belt had so much crud accumulated on it that it had gone from being white to black. I've heard this one repeated a lot, and there are so many levels on which it makes no sense that it's almost amusing. First of all, many karate practitioners trained in what can best be described as their underwear - which makes a lot of sense, if you consider the Okinawan climate and their training environment (mainly packed dirt.) They didn't wear belts. Secondly, rank wasn't indicated by a belt - when it was granted, it was in the form of special certificates or letters written by their instructors. It's not clear if rank was actually designated in any of the karate styles prior to Funakoshi teaching in Japan - what seems likely was that they simply distinguished between teacher and students. As already stated, belt ranks were first adopted by teachers in Japan - and the Japanese have long been extremely conscious of cleanliness. I suspect anyone showing up with a belt reeking of sweat, dirt, and blood would probably have been told in no uncertain terms not to return! (Admittedly, I don't wash my current belt, but that's because it's cheaply made and I'm worried it will fall apart in the washing machine, not because of some time-honored tradition!)
Students traditionally started at white belt and over time their unwashed belt became black with years of accumulated sweat, dirt, and blood.Yuck. I can't speak for anyone else, but I wouldn't particularly want to train with someone whose belt had so much crud accumulated on it that it had gone from being white to black. I've heard this one repeated a lot, and there are so many levels on which it makes no sense that it's almost amusing. First of all, many karate practitioners trained in what can best be described as their underwear - which makes a lot of sense, if you consider the Okinawan climate and their training environment (mainly packed dirt.) They didn't wear belts. Secondly, rank wasn't indicated by a belt - when it was granted, it was in the form of special certificates or letters written by their instructors. It's not clear if rank was actually designated in any of the karate styles prior to Funakoshi teaching in Japan - what seems likely was that they simply distinguished between teacher and students. As already stated, belt ranks were first adopted by teachers in Japan - and the Japanese have long been extremely conscious of cleanliness. I suspect anyone showing up with a belt reeking of sweat, dirt, and blood would probably have been told in no uncertain terms not to return! (Admittedly, I don't wash my current belt, but that's because it's cheaply made and I'm worried it will fall apart in the washing machine, not because of some time-honored tradition!)
JMH
