To those who don't care about belt rank

[PhotonGuy]

There are some people who don't care about belt ranks in the martial arts. The way I see it, that's their choice. If somebody doesn't care about rank and achievement fine, its your choice to be a bump on a log and I respect that, but that's not me. I like to do stuff in life. I like to earn stuff through hard work and I like to achieve stuff through hard work.

 

[ST1Doppelganger]

Belts are for the business aspect of martial arts schools so they can give people a sense of an accomplishment but in reality it dosent mean much other then that. I've met many middle belt students that could out spar a black belts.

The true purpose of a belt is/was to act as a back or internal organ support or help in holding the garment together.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Ranking is for "quality control". If your association requires tournament winning record, your association members will be forced to compete in tournament.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

There are some people who don't care about belt ranks in the martial arts. The way I see it, that's their choice. If somebody doesn't care about rank and achievement fine, its your choice to be a bump on a log and I respect that, but that's not me. I like to do stuff in life. I like to earn stuff through hard work and I like to achieve stuff through hard work.

If you think that those of us who have been downplaying the importance of belt ranks are "bumps on logs" who aren't into working hard to achieve things, then you are seriously misreading us. Speaking for myself, I've put quite a lot of hard work into my martial arts training over the last 30 years.

The point that many of us have made is that the important achievements you earn through your hard work are skill, knowledge, and self-transformation. If your particular art happens to include belt ranks and you happen to receive such a rank, that is merely public recognition of what you have achieved. If you put in the work and never got the recognition, the achievement is still there.

 

[Steve]

Belts are very important for sparring and competition.

 

[drop bear]

We don't have them. Although I was thinking about buying one.

Probably get a camo belt.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

We don't have them. Although I was thinking about buying one.

Probably get a camo belt.

When you wear camo belt, nobody will know how long that you have trained.

If

- you beat up a black belt, you can tell him that you have trained for 20 years (so he won't feel too bad about himself).
- a white belt beat you up, you can tell him that you just start your training last week (so he won't feel too good about himself).

 

[drop bear]

When you wear camo belt, nobody will know how long that you have trained. If you beat a black belt, you can tell him that you have trained for 10 years. If a white belt beat you up, you can tell him that you just start your training last week.

Best of both worlds. Mabye I should do this instead.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Best of both worlds. Mabye I should do this instead.

Then you will need to get yourself this uniform.

It's not difficult to confuse people's "ranking system" concept if you really want to.

When the guy on the left who came to learn from me, he already had 15 years in western wrestling experience. When giving public demo, I didn't want him to wear "white belt", so I gave him a "camo belt" to wear instead.

 

[ks - learning to fly]

IMO - Don't get me wrong, I am proud of what I have accomplished in TKD and am very excited to achieve my future goals in the martial arts..
Fortunately, I have also learned the importance of humility and know - without question - that my rank/belt is merely a bi-product of the work.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

One problem about the

- ranking system is when someone gets his black belt, he may think that his job is done and quit from MA training for the rest of his life.
- non-ranking system is the teaching qualification is difficult to control.

 

[skribs]

There are merits to belt rank and non-belt-rank systems. Belt ranks are a good way to structure a curriculum or to choose comparable training partners, as well as to give goals and progression. However, they are flawed, and sometimes you have a low-rank person who is a lot better than a higher-rank person.

The problem is when you say that a rank system is bad because it's just about the money or when you say you have to have a belt rank or else it's pointless. Respect both systems, because they both have their pros and cons.

 

[Danny T]

Why would you think of someone not concerned about rank as being a bump on a log or that they are care not about achievement?
I could not care less about Belt rank.
The color of one’s belt means nothing, NOTHING!!
The achievement is what one has learned and skills developed that one can apply at the proper time. The color of my belt cannot help me but what I have learned and gained through the training and sparring can and that achievement is what is important to me. If that comes with a belt color ok but it is not the belt I care about.

I have trained to high levels in Shotokan, Wing Chun, Muay Thai, Pekiti-Tirsia, Tai Chi, Silat, Boxing, and Wrestling. Shotokan is the only one that has a belt rank. I can only assume to you the others are but bumps on a log and there is no achievement within them. That’s your choice to train a martial art that uses belt but I as have many others ‘have’ done stuff in life. We have achieved high level skills and abilities through hard work and it was without a belt being involved!

 

[geezer]

There are some people who don't care about belt ranks in the martial arts. The way I see it, that's their choice. If somebody doesn't care about rank and achievement fine, its your choice to be a bump on a log and I respect that, but that's not me. I like to do stuff in life. I like to earn stuff through hard work and I like to achieve stuff through hard work.

"Doing stuff" in life is good. Getting a rank or certificate that says you have done stuff is less important. Especially in martial arts.

 

[Buka]

If you're training in a place that has belt ranks, then you should be part of the belt ranking. If you're training in a place that doesn't have belts then none of the above applies to your situation.

If you are training in a place that has both a belt ranking system - and a section of your gym/dojo that just allows you to exercise etc - if you are not part of that belt system you will never learn much about that martial art.

If a student is in a belt system and "doesn't care about belts" - while it may create a certain sense of romance and dancing to the beat of a different drummer for that student - bottom line is that student has created a feeling of not caring about something central and important to his situation and training. A shame, really.

IMO the only reason not to care about belts is either not to have one, or have a closet full of them.


Drop Bear - you can't wear that camo belt. We won't be able to see you when sparring. No fair!

 

[donnaTKD]

if you join a gym / dojo and it runs a belted system then you're automatically part of that system no matter what your views about it are irrelavant - just swallow your thoughts and crack on with the training you're paying to be trained in whatever it is that you signed up for - so take it on the chin and go with the flow donna

 

[skribs]

if you join a gym / dojo and it runs a belted system then you're automatically part of that system no matter what your views about it are irrelavant - just swallow your thoughts and crack on with the training you're paying to be trained in whatever it is that you signed up for - so take it on the chin and go with the flow donna​

Yes, but one factor whether or not you join a gym in the first place should be if you agree with their practices or not. If you disagree with a lot of what's at the studio, or if the things that you disagree with are very important to you, then you won't be as inclined to keep going.

 

[donnaTKD]

there are choices though and those free lessons plus info that's available at the point of entry - every gym / dojo has leaflets and their websites if they have one tell you if they are going to suit your beliefs.

so there is no excuse for being misinformed or saying so.

 

[WaterGal]

If a student is in a belt system and "doesn't care about belts" - while it may create a certain sense of romance and dancing to the beat of a different drummer for that student - bottom line is that student has created a feeling of not caring about something central and important to his situation and training. A shame, really.

Yeah. In my experience, when someone in a style with a belt system says, "I don't care about getting belts", usually what they really mean is either that they don't value their school's curriciulum and just want to practice whatever stuff they want, or that they're scared to test and are saying that to save face. Sometimes, they do mean, "I care about progressing, just not about the belt color", but that's not usually said in the same kind of whining way.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

1. "I don't care about getting belts", usually what they really mean is either that they don't value their school's curriciulum and just want to practice whatever stuff they want,
2. or that they're scared to test and are saying that to save face.

I agree with your 1st comment but not your 2nd comment.

When I was in NYC back in 1971, I worked 2 jobs and only slept for 4 hours in the park (homeless) for 3 months, my body was in very bad shape. I could not push myself hard enough to get back in shape. I decided to joint in the local YMCA MA class as a white belt. I didn't intend to learn anything from that class but just tried to bring myself back in shape. When the instructor asked me to take his ranking test, I told him that I was not interested. So you are right, when someone doesn't want to take the ranking test, there is a good possibility that person may not be serious about that style.

As far as "scare to take the test", IMO, that test was just too easy for me.

- downward block, punch,
- upward block, punch,
- side step, block, punch,
- ...

I stayed in that class for 3 months, one day in sparring, I had defeated a 1st degree black belt in front of everybody. That black belt felt so ashamed that he had lost to a white belt. What he didn't know was I had trained more than twice as long as the did. That sparring event just turned everything upside down in that YMCA MA class. I left that class ASAP right after that.

One of my classmates that I met in that class Steve McAdam is a famous local 7 degree black belt Aikido instructor today. So I was not the only one that was not serious about that MA class.

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