Choke people? That's the Sith my friend. :jediduel: I forgot to mention that my system is Goju-ryu Karate.
No that's perspective, not exclusivity.
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Choke people? That's the Sith my friend. :jediduel: I forgot to mention that my system is Goju-ryu Karate.
And there's only two of them.Choke people? That's the Sith my friend. :jediduel: I
To me the whole point is mute because of the history of ranks in the first place. What does a rank represent to you? We can say that a blackbelt means someone is proficient in the basics of an art but my proficiency may not be as "proficient" as another. A 140lb woman who is a blackbelt standing toe-to-toe against a "brown belt" of the same system who is a 6'4'' 240lb male may just look like a complete novice or worse should they get into it.
The argument is either time requirements and proficiency based on ability to perform the moves or it is knowledge of the moves and ability to demonstrate them. Sometimes its both but in all three cases the system seems quite flawed. So what are we after with ranks anyway?
I believe there should be 3 categories of ranking;
1. Knowledge
2. Ability
3. Proficiency (ability to use the material as intended at a high level)
Some teachers I have had that were great could ONLY teach (barely could perform the moves dynamically as intended but were the BEST teachers of the art in relaying the material). Other teachers were incredible at demonstrating the moves but had NO clue why they worked, how they came about and had the verbal skills of a rock! Even more I had teachers that beat the ever-living crap out of me and I could do nothing to stop them, however, their form was bad and they NEVER taught me anymore than my body was their punching bag. Once, maybe twice, I actually had an instructor which encompassed all 3 aspects (masters IMO).
The funny thing is that all of those teachers were high ranking BBs in their respective arts. Some people say contact hours and certification hours are the way to go, some say fighting competitions are the way, others say something else. I say that it really only matters to the student and their goals. If you want to fight study under someone who turns out great fighters (not necessarily a great fighter who turns people into meatloaf) and such as it applies to the other categories.
Rank was intended originally as a tool for the person teaching the class. So at a quick glance they could group people together to better run the school and teach their classes - nothing more. Kano gave out ranks all the time too like 13th dan and such.
Yeah... 13th Dan does not exist in Judo... What color belt would that even be? A 12inch wide white belt maybe???
Unless black belt or first dan is some kind of end goal and you intend to move on to another activity or pursue an unrelated goal, then how long it takes you to get there is rather unimportant. I took my first taekwondo class in something like 1975. Would it matter at this point if I had been promoted to first pum in 1976 or in 1980? Or if, in my case, I didn't test for it until late in the last decade? If you practice the art as part of your life, then the time to black belt is unimportant; the art will always be there.
about 5 years ago I flew in to our regional NW DoJang to bring two of my colored belts to a TKD and open tournament while there a person wanting to test for 6th Dan drove in some distance to test with his students. I would say the younger ones on average were 14-17. as a courtesy I was asked to sit in on the testing board with our GM and another Senior master. I allowed my green belts to attend and watch and we were somewhat shocked my green belts were far supperior to those testing for bb and at some point I kept looking over at my senior like do you see this and I thought he would slap me out of my chair to imply do you think I am blind he was as horrified as I. Yet all passed and most had been training 6-7 years but in TKD an avg class one hour 2-3 a week just does not get it. The PoomSe and self defense was at best pitiful. there is just at times to much presure to pay the bills in tkd to constantly keep testing and passing to get to the next gup or Dan test fees? That does not mean all are bad and there are those that work very hard and unfortunately there are masters who just do not know any better. 1st Dan should mean you know and can teach all the basics well.TKD seems to go quick, you only need to know the basics.....3-4 years.
-Fluff
about 5 years ago I flew in to our regional NW DoJang to bring two of my colored belts to a TKD and open tournament while there a person wanting to test for 6th Dan drove in some distance to test with his students. I would say the younger ones on average were 14-17. as a courtesy I was asked to sit in on the testing board with our GM and another Senior master. I allowed my green belts to attend and watch and we were somewhat shocked my green belts were far supperior to those testing for bb and at some point I kept looking over at my senior like do you see this and I thought he would slap me out of my chair to imply do you think I am blind he was as horrified as I. Yet all passed and most had been training 6-7 years but in TKD an avg class one hour 2-3 a week just does not get it. The PoomSe and self defense was at best pitiful. there is just at times to much presure to pay the bills in tkd to constantly keep testing and passing to get to the next gup or Dan test fees? That does not mean all are bad and there are those that work very hard and unfortunately there are masters who just do not know any better. 1st Dan should mean you know and can teach all the basics well.