Black Belt
The Black Belt (or first Dan) is for the outsider, always seen as the ultimate goal in a martial art. Black belts are invincible fighting machines and live lives similar in style to what we see Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Segal and Chuck Norris doing on the silver screen.
I've trained in Taekwondo for something like seven or eight years and don't own a Black Belt as of yet. To an outsider, and possibly to a lot of people inside the martial arts world, this could be read as a sign of failure. However, I don't personally hold any particular relevance in the colour of my belt, and I am going to try to explain why.
Many years ago, when I first started training, there was a guy at the club at first Kup grade (Red Belt with Black tags - one grading away from his Black Belt). He continually asked when he would be allowed to grade for first Dan. Make no mistake, this guy was an able fighter with competition wins by the dozen. He was precise and realistic in his patterns. He could break anything he was asked to, with any body weapon. Yet the instructor would not grant him the grading he so obviously craved. At one particular training session where he was asking over and over when will I get to take the grading for first Dan, the instructor gave a reply I have never, and will never forget.
He told him, "If you want a Black Belt so badly, go out and buy one. You can wear it in the lessons if you like. No-one will mind."
He didn't do that of course. What value is there in something that can be bought so easily?
Now, there is a lot of feeling around the world that martial arts schools are simply run for profit. That Belts are just something you get because you paid the money to take your grading. I'm proud to be at a club that has a Master with integrity and a respect for what the first Dan grade means, and when you are ready to grade for it.
If I ever to Dan grade, I'll certainly know it's something I have earned, as opposed to something I bought.
My children often ask if they can grade, and encourage me to ask the instructors that question. It's not easy to explain to them sometimes, but it's a part of any serious Taekwondo students lifestyle to excerise modesty. This means you NEVER ask your instructor whether you are ready to grade. You wait patiently for them to tell you the time is right.
Just as a footnote, and despite the fact they are listed on the front page of my site, I think this would be a good place to list the five tenets of Taekwondo:
1. Etiquette
2. Modesty
3. Perseverance
4. Self Control
5. Indomitable Spirit
I've trained in Taekwondo for something like seven or eight years and don't own a Black Belt as of yet. To an outsider, and possibly to a lot of people inside the martial arts world, this could be read as a sign of failure. However, I don't personally hold any particular relevance in the colour of my belt, and I am going to try to explain why.
Many years ago, when I first started training, there was a guy at the club at first Kup grade (Red Belt with Black tags - one grading away from his Black Belt). He continually asked when he would be allowed to grade for first Dan. Make no mistake, this guy was an able fighter with competition wins by the dozen. He was precise and realistic in his patterns. He could break anything he was asked to, with any body weapon. Yet the instructor would not grant him the grading he so obviously craved. At one particular training session where he was asking over and over when will I get to take the grading for first Dan, the instructor gave a reply I have never, and will never forget.
He told him, "If you want a Black Belt so badly, go out and buy one. You can wear it in the lessons if you like. No-one will mind."
He didn't do that of course. What value is there in something that can be bought so easily?
Now, there is a lot of feeling around the world that martial arts schools are simply run for profit. That Belts are just something you get because you paid the money to take your grading. I'm proud to be at a club that has a Master with integrity and a respect for what the first Dan grade means, and when you are ready to grade for it.
If I ever to Dan grade, I'll certainly know it's something I have earned, as opposed to something I bought.
My children often ask if they can grade, and encourage me to ask the instructors that question. It's not easy to explain to them sometimes, but it's a part of any serious Taekwondo students lifestyle to excerise modesty. This means you NEVER ask your instructor whether you are ready to grade. You wait patiently for them to tell you the time is right.
Just as a footnote, and despite the fact they are listed on the front page of my site, I think this would be a good place to list the five tenets of Taekwondo:
1. Etiquette
2. Modesty
3. Perseverance
4. Self Control
5. Indomitable Spirit
Labels: Black Belt, Taekwondo
posted by Tomcat's Taekwondo at
4:04 PM
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