A belt is a belt is NOT a belt

Wow - it has been so long since I posted here, I almost forgot this space existed. I will make a greater effort to transmit some thoughts here as time goes forward from here.

I was moved to post today after reading a question on a Facebook group I belong to: Gradings - praise effort, but reward achievement?

Here was my reply:

Can't help but weigh in on this one. It's an area that causes me great consternation. I find that many 'gradings' are largely subjective. In the case of some commercial schools (and, of course, all McDojo - noting that the two are not entirely synonymous), a new belt is simply an exchange for monies tendered. In fact, some groups have even gone so far as to award mid-belts (because God knows we all need so much reinforcement in our comfy little world that any shred of effort must be praised and fawned over.)

The notion of shinsa should be treated as the pressure cooker of performance - grace under pressure as it were. We train our bodies and minds in a sterile environment, with controlled techniques and attention to detail of movements under a watchful eye. We can ask questions and explore the nuances of kihon, kata and bunkai at our own pace. However, the grading is when it is all up to and about the student to perform - to put their learning on the line. Stress in front of a panel is much less intense than stress in front of an opponent on the street, armed or unarmed, but the foundation, cracks and all, will be there for the grading panel to see.

The way I see gradings has been ingrained into me well over the past 30+ yrs. I don't make the decision the day of the grading, unless the student absolutely falls apart, treats the occasion like a joke or displays gross lack of character or respect. My observation of student achievement is constant and is based on two factors equally: character and skill. Sometimes, as i alluded above, I've been fooled ( or as I prefer to think of it - the diamond in the rough turns out to be raw coal).

In the end, I express to the student that they are NOT earning their new belt, they are earning their old one. Just as we graduate from high school, university, etc, we only earn our last level. We undertake the next level of learning as a challenge. The new belt is the physical gauntlet that lay around the student's waist. And the evaluation process begins again - this time with new criteria and a higher pass threshold.

Sooo, all that to say that: gradings are meant to praise and reward effort, but also offer a new chance to EARN greater skill and knowledge... and the chance to earn more praise and greater challenges, etc etc. The cycle technically never ends, even if one were ever to reach the coveted judan. Alas the humble and wise masters know they only know a glimpse of what the old men did... and what they cared to pass on to their students... and that the art itself is ever evolving- and if you reach that point, the knowledge itself gained through effort and achievement is its own reward.

I leave you with a thought: many martial artists mock the belt mill that is TaeKwon Do (it typically only takes 18 months to get a black belt in Korea, slightly longer in the rest of the world). Yet for all the baby-and-granny black belts (and the billions in between), the Kuk Ki Won (WTF/KTA governing body in Korea) has only ever officially awarded TWO 10th dans to living practitioners (five posthumously). There's some facts and figures to chew on...