I read a forum earlier and one of the posts was asking about the time required training to get a black belt. The poster was new to training and was just curious if it was the same amount of time at other schools and styles as his own. This was an innocent enough question by itself, but it does raise some eyebrows (mine at least) about the motivation to train and the impressions people have when they first begin training. Things like: “Why is a belt color important?”, “Are you thoroughly impressed when you find out someone else has his/her black belt?”, “Would you tell anyone/brag about it if you did EARN a Dan ranking (black belt) one day?”, … These are all things to keep in mind when deciding if a Dan ranking should be the be-all and end-all of your training goals.
In the earliest beginnings of the colored belt system, it was simply a means for Jigoro Kano (founder of judo) to help himself keep track of his students progress through their training. Later, Gichin Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan Karate) instituted his own version of the system and made it a bit more formalized within his school and as he introduced Karate itself to mainland Japan and later the world. Also, the Okinawan/Japanese martial arts’ histories are built on the artists commitment to refining themselves and their art. And, to become truly proficient it takes a similar mindset. The idea that perfection is a road, not a destination is the key to long term success in the martial arts. That having been said, if you are willingly committed to a journey that never ends, does it matter about keeping track of how far you have come to date?
As well, with the idea in place that “keeping score” of your training in the form of a colored belt system is (while useful) not the most important thing, then how “shock and aw’ed” can you really be when someone is telling anyone who will listen about HIS/HER black belt. There is an old saying: “An empty barrel rattles the loudest.” I can’t once think of a time that I was impressed by someone bragging about themselves. And, the more they said, the less I believed. But, it is all the talk (and a lot of bad martial arts movies) that have built the reputation of “The Blackbelt!”
So, knowing how silly other people can look talking too much about it, would you talk about it? I would not want to be the “empty barrel”. Anyone who truly understands the concepts being taught by a good instructor will not be that guy/girl. They would have more respect for themselves and their art. This is not to say it should be some big secret or the like. I lean toward thinking that the same people you would invite to your house are the ones that you might mention it to; close friends, family, etc… Also, while NOT bragging, there is a purely practical reason for keeping your ranking to yourself. You never know who is around that (hopefully not, but…) you might have to face off with at some future time. Wouldn’t it be better for you if they did not know that you have had some kind of training?
I am not saying that you must follow the Bushido code or live like a Shoalin monk to be a proficient martial artist. But, if you are training properly and with the correct mindset as a martial artist, there are certain things that (I believe) will seem much less important as you travel the path than they were when you started. If not, the amount of work and dedication that it takes to truly learn will usually weed out the “belt seekers” anyway. But, understanding what you are in for and what you are/should be working for earlier on is a lot less painful way to decide if you are committed to training.
But, if you decide that the 2-inch wide piece of dark cloth is important enough to brag about, you could always make a video and show off like this Black Belt …
Marc G.
