Belts and Gradings??

Do we need belts and gradings?

With our upcoming Black Belt grading I want to discuss the topic of belts and gradings in terms of their history, importance and some issues they raise. 

 

Firstly, I’m not about to cancel gradings. There are aspects of belts and grading I like as well as some downsides. 

The idea of belts and grading in Karate shares the same origin as the karategi or uniform. Judo. As I mentioned in my post about uniforms, Judo was popular in Japan at the time Karate was finding its place. Along with adopting the Judo attire, the Judo belt system was also integrated into Karate in order to appeal to a wider audience. Backing up a little, to begin with Judo had just white belts and black belts for senior/advanced students. Later the coloured belts for kyu grades were introduced. 

So already we can see that grading and belts are not particularly traditional to Karate, but a modern addition (around 1930’s). 

Originally, people just trained Karate for the sake of learning and improving. If you were highly skilled, people could see that. 

In our modern society, clear goals with rewards are popular. There is no doubt that the idea of earning a black belt has encouraged many students to keep training and put in extra effort to get there. I know I did. For two years leading up to my black belt test I practiced every day. I can’t say that I would have done that without the goal of black belt in mind. The extra effort ensured I was ready for my test but a more important result was that my skills improved greatly.

Now some of the problems with belts and grading. It is very difficult to have a standardized test that is fair to all. By now you know that I try to be flexible and accommodate differences. When it comes to black belt a certain standard is expected by the broader Karate community so I feel it is important to uphold that standard while trying to give everyone a chance. 

Some people tend to get fixated on the belts, just wanting the next one without really understanding that the purpose of training isn’t belts but improving skills. 

I think the biggest issue with grading and in particular black belt is that it is sometimes seen as an end goal. Many people achieve black belt only to stop training. There is a saying “black belt is just the beginning”. This couldn’t be more true. While it takes many years to reach black belt, it is far from mastery of the art. A black belt Karteka has a strong grasp on the basic skills and principles. Enough to begin to unlock deeper levels of understanding should they continue. It’s hard to imagine beforehand but I know in the years following my black belt test I began to realise how true this statement is. That’s not to say a black belt is worthless. Anyone who reaches this level is certainly skilled and reasonably well equipped to protect themselves and others and should receive recognition for their many years of training.

The true reward for training is an improved self. A belt to show for it is nice but without the belt, your skills remain and that’s all that really matters. 

Grading will always be optional within Enso Karate. For some the idea of a new belts is motivating and that’s great. For some, gradings present a challenge to overcome and it pushes them further. For others it is a stressful idea and does not encourage greater effort. Students can choose to grade or not to grade. Those that choose to grade can expect to be challenged the higher they go. Black Belt will not be easy but it will be rewarding. Those that choose not to grade may need to find other ways to stay motivated but ultimately will discover that over time they will improve in many ways and this is the true purpose of Karate. 

Thanks for reading.