FIGHTING WORDSW
hen I was learning
bagua, after class one
night, we were sitting
around talking when the subject
of coloured belts came up. “As
far as I’m concerned,” said the
senior student smugly, “a belt
is only good for holding your
trousers up.”
I had also seen the Bruce
Lee interview in which he had
uttered that famous line, but
I took the point. You are only
as good as your ability, and no
degree of belt ranking can make
a good martial artist out of a
dud one.
On the other hand, I can
vividly recall the sense of
accomplishment I felt when, on a
balmy November night in 1961, I
received my first belt — a Yellow-
belt in judo.
Legend has it that the Black-
belt wasn’t invented as such, but
that it was merely a white belt
that, after much training and lack
of washing, became blackened,
thus signifying the amount of
time and sweat that its owner
had put into his art.
There is no doubt in my mind
that, in a well-run organisation
with integrity rather than financial
gain at its core, the coloured-belt
system is highly beneficial. In
hapkido there are four colours
between white and black, with
three levels at each colour.
Students spend one year on each
colour, with a grading every four
months. As an instructor, I have
observed many times how, in the
course of their journey, students
develop at a steady rate over the
course of the year and then jump
markedly as they progress to the
next colour. The grading system
provides students with a focus,
rewards their efforts and gives
a visible indication of their place
in the system. It also provides asource of revenue for the school
— there is no shame in this, for
without revenue, the school
would cease to function.
On the other hand, in the yin
and yang of life, we have the
dark side. In schools that lack
integrity and prioritise financial
gain, various problems emerge.
Firstly, the grading system
becomes a tool for perpetration
of discrimination and bullying. I
have seen many schools in which
students haughtily disparage
and bully those below them on
the ladder, while accepting such
behaviour from those senior to
them. Secondly, it can become
a tool for economic exploitation.
I have come across schools that
have gradings every other month,
a preposterously short time for
the development needed at a
new level of the syllabus. Thirdly,
it leads to exploitation of that
ultimate martial arts achievement,
the gaining of the Black-belt.
Beside a tram line I used to travel
was a sign for a karate school
with this offer: ‘Earn your Black-
belt in 18 months.’
Part of the human make-up is
that complex skills tend to take
around three years to develop
to the first level of competency.
Apprenticeships take at least
three years; university courses
take at least three years. With
any endeavour in which mental
and physical skills must develop
to a high degree, the speed at
which new knowledge can be
absorbed and the mind-body
interaction can be integrated
needs at least three years. Selling
off Black-belts in a shorter time is,
to my mind, inexcusably debasing
one’s art and one’s school. Not
surprisingly, these fast-track
Black-belt schools seem to be the
same ones that have the overly
frequent gradings.And then we have the
awarding of ‘junior’ Black-belts.
A junior student does not
have the mental maturity or
the physical capacity to hold
a valid Black-belt — giving a
Black-belt to a 13-year-old is,
in my opinion, equivalent to
giving him or her a driver’s
licence. While nobody would
even consider the latter, manyschools blithely hand out 1st,
2nd or 3rd Dans to students
who are completely incapable,
because of their age, to stand
up to the schoolyard bullies,
let alone defend themselves
against a hostile adult.
And yet, I have had several
cases over the years of
enthusiastic parents demanding
that, in order for their offspring
to join my hapkido classes, their
Junior 2nd Dan from a different
discipline should be recognised.
In summary, while coloured
belts are not necessary in a
school, provided that they
are not used as a vehicle for
physical, psychological or
financial abuse, they provide
a useful focal point and visible
recognition of the student and
the teacher.Are coloured belts a necessary or even useful thing in a martial artists’ journey
— and should age be a consideration where ranking is concerned?The Colours of Progress
Dr John Jory is a registered medical practitioner and sports
psychologist with 55 years’ experience in martial arts. He
has a 5th Dan in hapkido under Grandmaster Sung Soo
Lee, a 2nd Dan in judo with the IJF and is the founder of
Rolling Thunder Martial Art.THINKSTOCK“LEGEND HAS IT THAT
THE BLACK-BELT
WASN’T INVENTED
AS SUCH, BUT THAT IT
WAS MERELY A WHITE
BELT THAT, AFTER
MUCH TRAINING AND
LACK OF WASHING,
BECAME BLACK.”90 ƫđƫ333ċ (%06) #ċ*!0 | (^) MARTIAL MINDS