Ever since martial arts become popular amongst the public during the era of Bruce Lee movies, there have always been those who see the black belt as the most single greatest achievement to obtain whilst training. Training hard in a particular style, as soon as they get there Dan grade (black belt level) they feel as if they can be considered masters in there chosen art and are eligible to stop training , thinking they will always be able to defend themselves. HOW WRONG THEY ARE!
Whilst wearing a black belt may look good, it means very little. A martial artist is never determined through the colour of a belt. I believe that gaining a black belt shows that you have understood (not mastered) the basics required for you to start your actual martial arts training, meaning that you have learnt how to do a wide range of techniques, but now you have to be able to apply them in situations where aggression, resistance and little control is applied. This will take years and years to be able to do and anyone who thinks that they will become a master of it within a couple of years is kidding themselves. Then there are those black belts who stick only to themselves. Black belts must train with other black belts. They can’t be seen sparring with other belts. To me, that shows fear. Fear of maybe getting hit or getting submitted by someone who is not a black belt. A black belt can learn plenty from sparring with lower belts, even beginners. (Click here for more information on that). The bottom line is that a belt is just a belt. White, black, green or blue, it merely shows that you have passed a few exams, but does not make you great martial artist. Training should not stop when you get to black belt level, but should be bumped up, and each technique should be thought about diligently, about the best and most practical ways it can be applied.
Marks
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Thursday, 28 February 2008
Does a Black Belt make you an Expert?
Labels:
Black belt,
martial arts,
training
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2 comments:
Excellent post. Last night in the dojo we were working on attacks against a bo with a tunfa. My partner was a green belt. I was trying different options, some working well and others not so well. He said to me "well,you are a black belt" and the first thing that went through my mind was "I am a student also". I believe that you can learn and improve by working with students of different ranks. Often times it is the questions of beginners that makes me look deeper into my training.
A black-belt doesn’t mean all that much: it signifies dedication and a working technical knowledge of the system but it doesn’t make you an expert. The proof of the pudding is in the eating: untill you’ve been in an actual street-fight against a worthy opponent you’ll never know if you’re a good fighter or just a good technician. Focussing on belts is typical for beginners and like Michele said you’ll always remain a student and training in a certain system for a long time and with the same people will make you quite proficient in the attacks and defences of that system but untrained people or other martial-artists might be able to surprise you and a knock-out is the same wether you’re a white or a black-belt. I think fighting-ability depends alot in dedication and spirit: I’ve seen white belts who’d beat black-belts under street-fighting conditions and some have more innate ability or drive than others. Blackbelts who are overly proud of their belt (which as you said is only a belt, nothing more) and look down upon lower ranks in my opinion have a very bad attitude (pride before the fall). Alot depends on the instructor, system and the requirements for the dan-examination so it’s difficult if not impossible to make a general assesment/statement, not with any degree of accuracy at least.
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