EVERYTHING up to Shodan black-belt is the foundation on which you practice your karate and the foundation in which you are ready to solidly build upon.
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Shodan should represent the end of your initial training and you now have a solid basis on which to build and go forward through the next levels. Every journey begins with the first step, and you have made that step.
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Back in the 1970’s when I first started my journey, there were not so many black-belts around. Fast forward to today and there are black-belts of varying levels everywhere.
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In many of these schools, you can earn your ’dan’ rank in a short amount of time. How? Well, that’s how the instructor did it.
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They follow a syllabus which contain only the basic punches, kicks and ‘blocks’, with the odd kata thrown in, and nothing taught in any depth….. Just move on to the next belt, almost like a production line.
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Because there were very few black-belts around back in my day, it took much longer to reach Shodan. This I believe, is perhaps one of the reasons that practitioners from my era remain in the martial arts for so long. We learnt (UK spelling), perseverance, determination and tenacity, as well as the many other facets of the martial arts.
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Any level of black-belt should be more that just a status, more than just an achievement. It is a responsibility, not something to be flaunted, and the lower levels of ‘dan’ grade is certainly not a ‘master’, as some would have you believe.
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You spend several years putting all the pieces you have learnt together, a little at a time. Now your extended journey can begin, you must learn what all the pieces can do together, and where it can take you.
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I have seen enough black-belts to know that no two are the same. Some are good, some not so good. Some train for years without being tested, and others push to be the first to get the next grade. Unfortunately, having the belt in and of itself doesn’t seem to ascribe a certain level of skill.
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The grade of 1st through 3rd dan generally represent a focus on the physical development of the practitioner and her/his skill within the martial art.
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This is the most important time of training as it builds the foundations for a lifetime of study (bad foundation means poor study for years to come). And for many, reaching this level, is just nothing but physical competency against their peers.
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All of the attributes it takes you to get from white belt to black-belt, persistence, commitment, facing fears, overcoming obstacles, overcoming self-defeating beliefs, applying self control, keeping your ego in check etc. etc, it shouldn’t be rank that you pursue, it should be knowledge.
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Your black-belt is a metaphor for the journey that you have taken to get you to this place. It doesn’t mean that you’re the best martial artist on the planet, or that you’re invincible. It simply means that you’re ready.
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Ready for what, you ask? You’re ready to start mastering yourself. Mastering yourself internally and externally. If you want to truly master the martial arts, it can take a lifetime…… And you have to be prepared to learn and grow.
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There is a huge disparity of standards in the martial arts, the end result being is that many black-belts are a disgrace to not only themselves, but to the martial arts in general. The kyu/dan system was never designed merely to indicate a level of technical achievement. It also represents the goal of budo as spiritual and ethical attainment towards perfection of ‘self’. Thus dan rankings, and even kyu levels, should reflect a level of moral and spiritual development or attainment, not just a way to flaunt your EGO.
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What does the ‘black-belt’ mean to you?
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