What is a Black
Belt?
Before
this question can be answered, parameters need to be set. This type
of question can only have a subjective answer because this is a topic which
has completely different replies depending on who is being asked.
It is for this reason that this paper is limited to the view of only one
person. This paper is not intended to tell an individual how he or
she should interpret the meaning of belt ranking. The sole purpose
of this essay is to explain the ideas of one person in regards to the rank
of black belt
A good
place to start in explaining an attitude on one rank in the martial arts
is to give a base personal philosophy on the purpose of belts in general.
A belt is simply a means of symbolically and physically showing the student
where his or her knowledge base is in relation to the content of the class.
It is also a means in which a teacher can show the student that learning
and progress is taking place. A belt is not necessary and sufficient
for any of these purposes. Each of these tasks can be accomplished
in other ways, and truly need more than just a belt to be realized; however,
belts truly are good in the function of representing where a student is
located in the never ending learning process. This last statement
may leave many wondering what the black belt is if not an end to the learning
process.
The black
belt just like the white belt is simply another stage in the learning process.
What makes the black belt distinct at all is simply the fact that it represents
the point where higher learning takes place. If the belt process
were to be placed in the symbolic context of the standard American school
system, then the belts below black would represent elementary school through
high school. That is to say that they represent the basic knowledge
and skills needed to pass on in the course of the education. They
are a base to build on. Black belt would represent the higher learning
achieved through colleges and universities. It can be argued that
this is where the true learning begins, though all levels of development
are equally important. The different levels of the black belt rank
can also be viewed in this same manner. The rank of master can be
viewed as a graduate degree and the rank of grandmaster can be viewed as
a doctorate. That does not mean that when someone achieves the rank
of grandmaster learning stops. Just like a doctor who has been through
the necessary training to be a doctor, the martial arts practitioner must
still practice and strive to learn. The reason for this is simple.
What the mind remembers the body can forget. This is a simple fact.
A person who has achieved the rank of black belt or higher may quit his
or her training, and this person may be capable of mentally remembering
the techniques; however, the reaction time of the body will be lost.
This makes the technique useless in a self-defense situation, because by
the time the reaction is ready the attacker if finished doing the harm
intended, whether it be a simple beating an rape or murder. Therefore,
the ranking only works within the confines of a setting in which
it is being applied. This setting is the school setting. Outside
of the school the use of a belt as a method of denoting knowledge level
is worthless. An attacker is not going to know the belt rank of an
intended victim, nor is the attacker going to care. The attacker
has the sole purpose of causing harm. This is the reason that the
learning process never ends.
If someone
gets to the level of black belt and feels that he or she has reached the
final level of knowledge, then this person is wrong. If someone reaches
the level of grandmaster and believes that he or she has reached the final
level of knowledge then he or she is wrong. There is not a singer
person on Earth that can know everything there is to know about martial
arts. Even if a person is the founder and head of his or her
own system, there are things which can be learned. As a matter of
fact, if a person is teaching a system of any type, it is that persons
job to constantly evaluate what he or she is teaching. There is always
someone out there who knows more about an aspect of martial arts.
It is every persons responsibility not to close his or her mind to outside
knowledge based on arrogance coming from a piece of cloth which is totally
meaningless outside of the martial arts school, but to always seek more
knowledge and to improve on the knowledge already obtained. Otherwise,
the attacker has a better chance at having a larger knowledge base than
the victim. It is for this reason that the learning process never
ends. Al of this goes together to form an opinion on what a black
belt is.
A black
belt is simply another step in the learning process. It is not an
end, but a beginning of sorts. There is no true end to learning a
martial art. A black belt means whatever the individual thinking
about it wants it to mean. This paper is simply stating one of those
opinions. The black belt is not some supernatural power giving implement.
It is simply another degree. A degree which only means something
to the individual possessing it, and the school in which it was given.
It is the individual that makes the rank worth anything. The belt
is just symbolic decoration.
This paper was written by K.C. Wegner when he
was a Ni-Kyu (Brown Belt) in the American Kenpo Bu-Jutsu Karate system.
He has since earned his Shodan (first degree black) and is a student of American
Kenpo Bu-Jutsu
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