Black Belt - Significance in Modern Martial Arts

For information purposes only. Exercise and diet at your own risk


In this article play Devil’s Advocate to look at the two schools of thought on the above question and also then give my own opinion on a debatable and controversial topic. When I first started my martial arts training back in 1975, m goal was to own the then coveted black belt. This was an era of Bruce Lee, Kung Fu and wild, crazy stories of magical martial arts feats and I saw the mythical black belt as an answer to all my prayers. In the 70s black belts were still a rarity and those that had achieved black belt status were looked upon with much reverence and respect. These individuals were legends and thought to be deadly warriors with the power, skill and technique to dispatch anybody with one merciless blow of their hands or feet.

For me I felt that when that black belt had been tied around my waist it would banish al my worst fears and nightmares, that I also would be transformed into a deadly warrior, a ‘killing machine’ that feared nobody and would be able to see off all corners without losing a drop of sweat! When I did finally achieve the black belt grade, it was a very proud moment in my life. I had worked extremely hard for it and I felt I had earned the right to wear the grade. But I have to say it didn’t transform me over night into a fearless warrior! It certainly was a step in the right direction for me. It did improve my fighting abilities, it did improve my self-esteem and confidence but it didn’t give me that magical quality I thought it would. But then I was still a young 21-year-old man, who may have viewed it all naively and was probably expecting too much. I can still recall the day that I achieved my 1st Dan in 1982 and exactly what I had to do and I remember vividly all my other black belt gradings, all the way to the present and the 6th Dan grade I now hold.

So how do I view my black belt grades now in comparison to all those years ago? Firstly I am a lot older and have gained plenty of experience, I am a much wiser person than that young buck of twenty one. I see and view the black belt in a much different way these days. I see my black belt grades now as a landmark and a measuring stick to gauge how far I’ve come in my martial arts journey and of what I have achieved. It goes beyond just whether I can have a fight or not. As I have got older that isn’t what drives me these days. The black belt to me is an award, the same as a doctor, dentist or lawyer may have a certificate hung on their office wall to say they are qualified to practice in their chosen field. The black belt is a Martial Arts symbol of a certain level of knowledge or competence. But in some quarters of the Martial Arts world the black belt has been promoted as the highest of accolades. It suggests that any black belt is a fighting machine, a master the best of the best! As with the reference to a doctor, dentist or lawyer they are all certainly qualified to do what they do. It’s just that some can do it exceptionally well, others are good, some are average and some are poor.

That’s life! So why should it be any different in the Martial Arts world? Martial Arts has itself to blame, brain-washing the general public with outlandish claims and mythological stories. I as a young man swallowed those stories, hook, line and sinker. But it was those stories and claims that drove me, ironically ever forward to keep training and achieve black belt. Every business or product has line rites to poetic license sometimes! The bottom line is that a black belt grade doesn’t make you a master. In Asia the black belt is a symbol of having learnt the basics and that the following Dan grades will really show you your chosen art. To them it is a foot on the bottom rung of the ladder. For most people in the Western world it is the top of the ladder. Many give up training in martial arts once they have reached black belt, thinking that they have learnt it all. I tell my students that once they have achieved their 1st Dan, it may be another 18 months or so before the grade sits comfortably with them. It is like passing your driving test. You have the piece of paper to say you are competent to drive the car but it may take you many months to be comfortable with driving. I have found over the years that I have trained many noticeable differences in the standard of black belt in different martial arts, associations and clubs. It is all down to standards and instructors.

In some arts it can take you two years to achieve black belt, in others five. Some arts syllabuses are extremely lightweight and shallow, others are in-depth and intense. You can only set your own standards within your clubs and not be swayed by other issues. Some associations have made millions by dolling out black belts like smarties to below par performers. Others set the standards so high that only a few will achieve it. you have to ask what your black belt means to you an what does it signify? As previously mentioned you could have a room full of black belt level martial artists and the standards can be glaringly different, yet they all have a certificate to say they are black belt. Take the football premier league. Every player in that league is a professional footballer, but there are many different standards. The cream of the crop are exceptional, yet every player is still licensed as a professional footballer. Some will always be better than others, same as the black belt. I try to concentrate on my own standards in the clubs and not worry about others. I set my grading criteria on my own past experiences and my time coming up through the grades. I didn’t have any easy passage nor had any grades handed to me. So I keep the same goals for my students.

Times have changed though and so have martial arts training. In this day and age it is more scientific and we are now developing martial arts athletes. In my era for example it was frowned up on to stop and take water while you trained. Infact it was a positive no-no. I have trained in seminars non-stop for 4 hours without any water. Of course today we know better and water is encouraged to enhance performance and duration. Do todays Martial Artists have it easier; are they spoiled and pampered too much, unlike the Martial Artists of yesteryear? Who knows? Things just change and maybe the value of the black belt have changed with it.

Todays’ training is all about a realistic application. If it doesn’t work in a fight its ‘rubbish.’ If you haven’t stepped in the ring, cage or contest mat you are not worth a light. A lot of modern systems have done away with the grading structures and many do not wear belts. The black belt is a belittled and many claim it meaningless. I am myself a realistic who trains in modern combat methods but I still have a syllabus and grading structure in my combat Ju Jutsu classes and I always wear my belt. If I am training in MMA or street Combat I don’t. Its not because I don’t believe in it or see that it has no worth. Why should I? I have invested a lot of time, effort and money into climbing the Dan grade ladder so why rubbish the grade? I do again tell my students that you don’t wear a black belt on the streets or in the ring, so your black belts worth is from inside you. Its from your heart, spirit and soul. Its in the way you carry yourself and your beliefs. The black belt itself is only a cosmetic outside symbol to what you have earned.

Does the black belt make you a fighter? Not always. If you train in a system that doesn’t have practical application as its top priority then no, you are not going to be a great fighter. Could a savage street brawler beat you in a fight? Yes, quite possibly. But for these types of Martial Artists if practical application isn’t their main concern and they know their limitations, then the black belt will mean other things to them. As long as they don’t presume they can take on everybody and his dog and win, then it isn’t a problem. Does the black belt grade have to signify we can hold our own in a fight? Who said so in the first place? Maybe it is another martial myth pushed forward through the ages. I think for some black belts they know deep down some of the things they have been practicing may not hold up in a ‘live situation’ but because they have spent so much years and so much time in a particular art, they don’t want to admit it and become the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand! Some people are born with a fighter’s mentality and heart, others can train all their lives, and have as many black belts as possible and will never be a fighter.

My own particular view on the whole debate is that we should encourage the black belt grade, it is a sign of the Martial Arts journey- its history, its origin, its past. But we should also be pressure testing the techniques we learn in the live arena to see how it holds up. Otherwise it is all theory and guesswork. There are some martial artists out there who are ‘legends in their own minds’; spouting off about practical technique, street combat etc who have never pressure tested themselves or put their art or reputation on the line. I have done both on many occasions and I am a better martial artist and humbler man for doing it! My opinion is if you think your art is the best or that you are the best, get in the cage or ring and prove it! Simple! If you don’t practice your art for realism or fighting application and it doesn’t interest you, fine, each to his or her own. A black belt is a personal thing and you must adopt your own standards towards what it means. If you train honestly and hard, if you have an open mind and are not afraid to step outside your own system and also learn from others, you black belt grade can mean on hell of a lot and you can carry the grade with pride and confidence. But it takes a certain type of individual to do this. I admire anybody in any art that has literally dedicated a lifetime to it and achieved high grades. Even if I don’t agree with their systems, principles or methods of training I still have respect for their time served. There is far too much bitching and backbiting still going on in the world of martial arts. As I have said before each to their own, it is a big wide world out there.

I am not what you would call a traditionalist, although my roots were in traditional martial arts. Id o feel some traditionalists are stuck in a time warp of their own making and do need to occasionally ‘have a peep’ into the real world. On the other side of the coin I do not like some of the new breed of cross trainers and MA merchants who slag everybody off and show disrespect to some very good established or veteran martial artists. Nothing is new and some of the principles they hold so dear as original ant their own have been around and practiced forever, by people old enough to be their grandparents! Nothing new, just new ways of doing things. If a 9th Dan in their seventies offers me a piece of advice on technique I will listen with respect to what that person has to say, they have vast experience of their skills. You don’t have to be fighting all the time to prove this, otherwise once we reach the age of 35 we’ll all have to pack it in because there will be nowhere left to go. Lets look at a boxing coach. Most of these men are senior in age and have either been an average boxer themselves or never fought professionally, but they have skillfully trained some of the world’s best champions. Why? Because they have knowledge and experience to look from the outside and coach another person to greatness. We never question this fact, nor does the boxer, they have respect for the unique talent of the coach but in the martial arts we tend to think when a person reaches a certain age they’re past it and what could they possibly teach me. It is an arrogant and egotistical mindset.

So the black belt grades can also stand for vast experience and an eye to see certain things and the ability to coach and instruct them. Look at Helio Gracie a man in his 80’s. He may not be able to physically hold his own on the mats with a younger man these days, but it doesn’t mean nobody wants to learn from him and be coached by the great man. They come for his knowledge and experience. On this note for the modern day martial artists who say the black belt is old hat, look at the amount of people training towards a black belt in Brazilian Ju Jutsu, the supposedly ‘new kids on the block’ of martial arts. Tell these people the black belt isn’t worth it! If we train, fight or coach within a martial art or sport we must have some line of progression- a measuring stick, a goal or a reward for that work and dedication. Some may find it in trophies, medals or championships, others in the black belt, so be it, they all matter. The bottom liner is standards and what that means to you.
http://www.bristolgoshinjutsu.com/
Disclaimer: Consult your GP before changing diet. Follow any Training regime or diet on this site at your own risk