After the black belt.

[Mark L]

There've been a few threads about preparing for the black belt test and its duration, I have a different question.

How did you feel after the test? Not the tired, sore, elated, disappointed feelings, but how has your perspective changed?

Personally I feel a major sense of accomplishent, and am in full agreement with my instructor awarding me the rank :ultracool Seriously, I'm starting to look at my skills with a more critical eye, I feel like I have to break down everything and start over. I know folks say the learning really begins at shodan, so maybe what I'm going through is normal.

Last night I was practicing side kicks far a few minutes and I was thinking "What kind of crap is this?" Get more upright, drive through the target, extend, explode, etc. Jeez, I'm a BB now and I can't do a decent friggin' sidekick? I have a lot of work to do if I'm going to wear that belt.

Thoughts?
:asian:

 

[Shodan]

Ha ha!! That about explains it for me now too!! Ever since my black belt test, I am way more analytical and critical of my Kenpo.......not just the upper belt material.......ALL of the material......moves I have been doing forever are now being looked at with a more critical eye. Yep.......Shodan is just the beginning of a whole new perspective!!

:asian: :karate:

 

[arnisador]

As with other things in life, I thought it was a big deal until I got it, then it seemed like a non-issue afterwards.

 

[Kembudo-Kai Kempoka]

Before BB? Chop wood, carry water. After BB? Chop wood, carry water.

 

[Cryozombie]

Before BB? Chop wood, carry water. After BB? Chop wood, carry water.

Haha! Thats what I have to look forward to?

I think I am looking at it like this... (of course I have a long way to go to my BB)

Before Black belt = Get used as an Uke, and get beat on.
After Black Belt = Get Used as an Uke, and get beat on twice as hard, twice as often.

 

[Kembudo-Kai Kempoka]

Haha! Thats what I have to look forward to?

I think I am looking at it like this... (of course I have a long way to go to my BB)

Before Black belt = Get used as an Uke, and get beat on.
After Black Belt = Get Used as an Uke, and get beat on twice as hard, twice as often.

I like your expectations. They'll serve you well on a path to skill.:ultracool

 

[mj-hi-yah]

This is a great question...I'll let you know for sure in seven weeks. It does seem to change some people, and not always for the better. I doubt it will change my attitude at all. I think it will make me happy though, because wearing black is very slenderizing!!!:ultracool

 

[Mark L]

This is a great question...I'll let you know for sure in seven weeks.

I know you will.

... because wearing black is very slenderizing!!!:ultracool

Never heard that as a motivator. Do you think that 2" strip of cloth makes the whole body appear slender, or is it just a localized phenomenon?

 

[jdubakki]

before BB for me was alot of hard work to get the requirements down so i would be able to pass them off


After BB it is all about doing it faster harder and mor effective

made my hunger for info grow ten fold

 

[Storm]

Now there is a very good question.

After my BB training I certinly did look at my training in a different way rather than concentrating on bits and pieces for the next grading etc but now I have found that I have hit a different sort of barrier.

Getting your BB is like being promoted at work and you find yourself not one of the guys any more. You are not in the class doing basics as much and you spend alot more time Instructing. I enjoy the Instructing but find it really hard not to have the motivation of training for nother grading. I miss the rush you get.

You find you have spent the last four years or so being told how, when , where why etc and now suddenly you have to do alot of thinking for yourself. Its quite a hard transition to make.

Its been over a year now and I have my 2nd Degree to look forward to at some stage (not too worried about that) its just the continuing effort of keeping yourself motivated in something you love doing.

Any ideas how to stay focussed at this stage.

 

[TigerWoman]

.How did you feel after the test? Not the tired, sore, elated, disappointed feelings, but how has your perspective changed?

I was elated after my test for 1st Dan. I guess I had thought I did well, at least better than I had expected. The next time I saw my instructor though, his comments were, were you too nervous? (actually unlike my male counterparts, I went through all ten forms without stopping), your problem is breaking.... Just negative. Then a few days later, when he asks me to teach a class of overweight, way overweight people, I asked his expectations of these people at tests. He proceeded to tell me that my black belt test was nothing like he had to do --pretty much devalueing what had been a hard test for me to achieve. In fact, my test was alot harder than what a lot of women have done since. Maybe he said that to say everyone is tested at their ability level but I very much got the impression it was to put me down. Well, he certainly achieved that - then.

Since then I re-analyzed myself over and over. And yes, there is always room for improvement and I certainly wasn't perfect by a long shot but he is not exactly a encouraging or motivating teacher. (And he is the same instructor who wanted to fail all HIS students at a black belt test - just to teach them humility. He didn't though- he needed them as judges for a tournament). So, I have learned not to let HIS attitude get in the way of my goals. I work harder for myself and not for his expectations. After all we are in this for personal goals and what we can give back to the art.

Passing a black belt test is just that-just a test. Then there is another goal and another - just like life. Gotta keep trucking to keep living.

 

[mj-hi-yah]

I know you will.

Never heard that as a motivator. Do you think that 2" strip of cloth makes the whole body appear slender, or is it just a localized phenomenon?

First thanks for the vote of confidence!

Second geez...I see I have some work to do here! Dojo fashion is very important :supcool:

Actually, believe it or not there is some truth to this...did you know that an untidy instructor can be a distraction for a visual learner?

That being said here are the dojo fashion rules:

A colored belt on a white gi looks very nice but not really cool, providing incentive for earning a black belt

A black belt on a white gi = awesome contrast and looks cool providing incentive for earning a black belt, but unfortunately only slenderizes the two inches at the waist.

A colored belt on a black gi - cuts into the slenderizing continuity of the black gi providing incentive for earning a black belt and therefore is less desirable than:

A black belt on a black gi which looks cool, but does not look as cool as a black belt on a white gi for lack of contrast, but gives the wearer an overall appearance of slenderness and therefore depending on the desired end result, coolness, or just slightly less obvious coolness but added slenderness, also provides incentive for earning a black belt

However, perhaps the most desirable effect of all is the red electrical tape that can be applied to the black belt on the black gi for a dash of color and looks amazing, therefore providing the incentive to work extremely hard for many years to come (like forever) in an attempt to add additional stripes of more red tape and hopefully eventually be recognized with the application of like a whole roll of red electrical tape to the black belt providing IMO the hottest look around!

Btw our school motto - style over substance! :ninja:

 

[Tony]

I guess its when you reach black belt your true lessons are taught!

 

[mhouse]

The best way to explain how I felt after getting my black belt is this...

When I started as a white belt I was amazed and slightly overwhelmed at how much there was to learn. All the techniques, variations, katas, club & knife defenses, the different strikes and kicks....It seemed like I would never learn it all and I was humbled by it. I had a thrist for the knowledge

By the time I got my green belt I thought I was awesome. I could take anybody in a fight, or so I thought. I learned the basics, I was learning lots of new material and even able to make it work for me. I knew it all and could use it all.


After my black belt, I realized that I was smarter as a white belt than as a green. Thank goodness for excellent instructors and training partners.


Also, I was pretty excited at the fact that while there was new material at black, the emphasis was on exploring what I did know and starting to incorporate other teachings into the kempo I had learned so far.

 

[Rick Wade]

I think my learning curve is even steeper. Everything up to black just shows that you have the dedication and ability to learn. Now is when the real learning comes. I love black belt classes and black belt meetings. I will never forget the first colored belt test after my BB test. My Instructor asked me who should be promoted and who shouldn't and why? That was when I realized what responsibility I was carrying.

Respectfully

 

[MichiganTKD]

When I first saw that black belt around my waist, it was like a childhood dream come true-a personal validation to all the sweat, hard work, frustration, and devotion I had put into practice. I had trained largely without the support of any of my family-they considered it strange that I would dedicate so many hours to an activity they knew nothing about.
However, when I saw how many numbskulls wore black belts I trained harder than ever. I didn't want to be put into the same league as the idiots with the colored uniforms. Still don't.
Also, up until college, I had no real social life. Practice was pretty much the only thing I did. People wonder why my technique was so good for a 17 year old? Easy. All I did was practice.

 

[Phoenix44]

I think the biggest difference was, as some people alluded to, the increased self-analysis and personal responsibility.

I remember as I approached my BB test, Sensei would say to me, "You already know everything I can teach you...now it's up to you." I was baffled. He's a 4th-5th dan in multiple arts, he could teach me for decades more, and I still wouldn't be up to his level!

But sometime after my test, I began to understand. He had taught me the basics, the mechanics, and now I had to interpret for myself. Figure out how to use what I've learned, how to improve, what works for me, how to combine techniques, how to make the PRINCIPLES work for me, and rather than just to "do techniques." He expected me to make my own decisions, rather than look to him to tell me "the right way to do something."

It didn't happen the day after the test. It's an ongoing process.

 

[Cruentus]

There've been a few threads about preparing for the black belt test and its duration, I have a different question.

How did you feel after the test? Not the tired, sore, elated, disappointed feelings, but how has your perspective changed?

Personally I feel a major sense of accomplishent, and am in full agreement with my instructor awarding me the rank :ultracool Seriously, I'm starting to look at my skills with a more critical eye, I feel like I have to break down everything and start over. I know folks say the learning really begins at shodan, so maybe what I'm going through is normal.

Last night I was practicing side kicks far a few minutes and I was thinking "What kind of crap is this?" Get more upright, drive through the target, extend, explode, etc. Jeez, I'm a BB now and I can't do a decent friggin' sidekick? I have a lot of work to do if I'm going to wear that belt.

Thoughts?
:asian:

Long Before Black Belt: I want to improve and someday earn my blackbelt (hope and drive)

Right before BB: Do I deserve this? (doubt)

During Test: I gotta do this!

After Test: sense of accomplishment. Feel like "I've finally made it"

Long After Test: Your back in class, or training, and you realize all the mistakes that you make, and that even though your a BB, your far from perfect. It's almost discouraging, and you feel doubtful again.

Years after black belt: You have kept training and learning, but for the sake of it. New Belt ranks no longer inspire you. There are few, if any masters out there who are better then you in all aspects, most are only better then you in a few. You start to be able to really seperate the "Experts" from the "Masters," and you realize that "belt rank" had little to do with that seperation. Then, it dawns on you: What is around your waist, or what title you have, doesn't matter at all. All that matters is that your better then you were yesterday.

I have been a "black belt" for over 8 years now (got it when I was 18 because I refused to get it until I became an adult. Started Martial Arts when I was 7). I rarely even wear the thing today.

:asian:

 

[Kenpo Mama]

Hi Mark,

After the black belt ..., well i agree with storm on this one, i found myself doing a lot of teaching. In the process there is also a lot of learning going on. You really begin to scrutinize your execution of the technique and begin to question the why and why nots. It is difficult when the school is small and there are not a lot of folks to test your "hypotheticals" on. (I got black just about a year ago and was the first bb in my school). I found myself performing wonderous feats of motion in the "air" and on the occasion that a body was available, i found my techs floundering and my skills stagnating.

It became very difficult to stay motivated, which really saddened me, because I love kenpo. I knew that a change was needed in my training and in my energy if i expected to stay with the art. After attempts at adjusting my workout schedule to include more "student" time for me, i found that this still did not meet my needs. So with a fond farewell and a sense of renewed excitement for the art, i moved to a larger school, where there were many bb's willing to share ideas and test techs. I am lucky to have found a wonderful new school and great training partners. My motivation is back, i'm practicing a lot more (just like i did when prepping for my bb). I do miss the students and instructor in my old school, but i'm sure our paths will cross again in our journey.

Donna %-}

 

[Storm]

Hi Mark,

After the black belt ..., well i agree with storm on this one, i found myself doing a lot of teaching.
Donna %-}

I'm glad someone else understands what I meant. I really enjoyed my BB test and would love to go back and do it all again as I loved every minute of it. I also enjoyed all the training up to and just after that. After all when you get your BB all you are at that stage is "A master of the basics" nothing more so there is so much more to learn.

There are about six other BB in our club, four of which have a BB in other systems other than Kenpo. They are very good and the Instructors are very understanding so I have been able to approach them and explain my problem.

They are in the process of helping me find a way out of this trough and as you have said they say I need to make more time for my own training. You learn alot by Instructing and watching, but you cannot let your hands on training slip. So more training I will do.
:jediduel: