Honorary Black Belt

[IcemanSK]

Hello, A few years ago an Instructor who was to test for his next rank..die in a motorbike accident.

Our Professor promoted him to his next rank..(Honorary) 3rd.Black belt to his family.

I've read on the Kukkiwon (Taekwondo) website that this is a possibilty thru them as well.

 

[Brandon Fisher]

Hello, A few years ago an Instructor who was to test for his next rank..die in a motorbike accident.

Our Professor promoted him to his next rank..(Honorary) 3rd.Black belt to his family.

This is a good example of when its appropriate.

I awarded my Mom one for the work she had done within the program for many years and for the help she had given with special programs. This was over nearly a 16year period before I did it though.

 

[Nevada_MO_Guy]

I see.

Originally I did not think to highly of giving away something that many work years to achieve.

When a key to the city is awarded, it is an award that a person can not work toward....you don't here bubba saying to his friends, "that if I work hard I will get the key to the city one day".

An Honorary Academic degree whether a bachelor's, master's or doctorate is given for the same reason....a university has something special "degree's", so they award something special with something special.
Hey, if it is good enough for the President. http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=15651

The black belt is percieved (rightly so I might add) as something "special".
So presenting the special something in appreciation of something special just seems.....special

 

[Sapper6]

james,

you are right, it is something special...something special between the giver and receiver. why should anyone else give a damn? they will never understand the meaning behind it. i say if someone receives an honorary rank in the martial arts, they have made an impact on the person that gives it. who cares

the problem lies in the fact that there are martial artists that are so insecure in their beliefs, they feel offended that someone got something for free. well obviously it wasn't free. like i stated above, an impact was made on the person presenting the honorary rank. the people that are offended are upset because the person in question didn't get the coveted black belt based on their standards (or that of the association they pour money into). why should anyone else give a damn? i certainly don't. i know what my rank means to me. i imagine others do as well.

it seems people are confusing the meaning behind your thread. it's their own fault.

honorary and fake are two different ideas. some people get lost in this fact.

the "key to the city" comparison is a very good one. lets say you, as a mayor, bestow this honor on a respectable citizen of your community. what if i, as a mayor of a neighboring community, feel that that person didn't really do anything special, especially in comparison to my own city's standards? what brings about these feelings? jealousy, insecurity, and ignorance.

just my .02.

 

[Drac]

Hello, A few years ago an Instructor who was to test for his next rank..die in a motorbike accident.

Our Professor promoted him to his next rank..(Honorary) 3rd.Black belt to his family.

Excellent......

 

[Jared Sutton]

Rank is as cheap as sand on the sea. Who cares what you, as an instructor, organization, or homeless guy on a sidewalk in New York, do with the ability to bestow rank? A person's rank, in my opinion, only has necessity or value in the dojo/dojang, club, organization, etc. that s/he received it from.

J. Sutton

 

[Jimi]

I have questions rather than a statement on this. What would you call a Black Belt rank given as a gift from a 6th degree Black Belt to a student with more than 5 years training? No certification, no recognition from any related systems, no ceremony to show off generousity, just the knowledge and insights from this Instructor and a cloth Black Belt that could not have been just bought from AWMA. I have seen this gift to have been a blessing to me personaly, but a curse when others do not want to respect my achievements. Before I achieved rank in other systems, I was called a bastard Black Belt (Sometimes called myself that), yet someone else given Honoray rank may have had more credibilty regardless of lack of training. Do you believe such an Honorary gift is seen by others as an empty rank?

 

[Jared Sutton]

What would you call a Black Belt rank given as a gift from a 6th degree Black Belt to a student with more than 5 years training? No certification, no recognition from any related systems, no ceremony to show off generousity, just the knowledge and insights from this Instructor and a cloth Black Belt that could not have been just bought from AWMA.

I would call it exactly what you called it, a gift. Was there some sort of special date, event, occasion that brought on this giving?

I have seen this gift to have been a blessing to me personaly, but a curse when others do not want to respect my achievements.

The perception other people have of your rank doesn't belittle your rank at all in the eyes of (1) yourself or (2) the person who gave you the rank. That's all that matters. You can't force respect via rank (well maybe on the naive newbies who can't tell whether you're Chuck Norris or Chuck Berry) and it's going to be even harder and even more discouraging to push a rank that has a meaning deeper than a 6-hour test or a trek to a mountain top.

Do you believe such an Honorary gift is seen by others as an empty rank?

I couldn't tell you. My advice is to forget about how anyone other than you and the teacher/org./school perceive your ranks.

J. Sutton

 

[Jared Sutton]

I couldn't tell you. My advice is to forget about how anyone other than you and the teacher/org./school that presented the ranks perceive them.

J. Sutton

Edits from last post in bold on quote.

J. Sutton