"It is not what you wear ..... its what you do" -
Master Chen
I have had the great pleasure to practice with a truly
authentic Grandmaster, Chen Xiaowang. Although not specifically referring to
karate belts, Master Chen made the point that your value as a martial artist
was not determined by the colour of a piece of cloth around your waist.
The need to have a visual signpost illustrating the
student’s current point along their karate path seems to have had its roots in
the early 1930’s. Many believe that Gichin Funakoshi, one of the founders of
modern karate, was instructed to adopt the judo approach to rank if he wanted
karate to be accepted as a main stream Japanese martial art. Funakoshi agreed,
and the coloured karate belt system was introduced.
Today there are as many coloured belts as there are colours
in the rainbow. Our dojo adopts a basic primary colour system. However manufacturing
improvements have resulted in not just bold, primary coloured belt designs, but
also multi coloured striped belts, chequered belts and two tone belts being
widely used and available.
There appear to be two main schools of thought.
The first believes that the novice student should wear a
white belt until they are considered good enough to wear the coveted black
belt. Variations on this approach have resulted in some groups adopting a
single intermediary grade of brown belt, before black.
The other, arguably more widespread view, accepts that there
is at least some value in having a coloured belt grading system. The precise
colours of the belt vary from group to group, but generally begin with white,
moving through to a black belt, via six or seven other colours.
What are the benefits?
Personally, I subscribe to Master Chens’ view, but recognise
there is value in an overt ranking structure. Recently, a mature student successfully
completed a basic assessment and as a result was awarded a new karate belt. She
remarked it was the first time since leaving school, that she had been publicly
recognised for any type of achievement. She went onto explain that this
recognition had raised her sense of self worth, and had profoundly impacted on
her long standing acceptance that she would never achieve anything.
This may sound extreme, but this type of acknowledgment
resonates on some level with many ordinary people. When I talk about ordinary
people, I don’t mean to sound disparaging but I refer to the type of person who
is never going to be an Olympic athlete, or “Champion.” It’s the silent
majority who have to put age, infirmity, family, or work first before embarking
on any physical challenge.
The setting of achievable goals or objectives is important
for many people. These sign posts along the path to karate mastery can be a
powerful motivator for the student.
Of course like most things there is a darker side. Jealousy
and desire linked to ambition and the acquisition of power can unfortunately
result in a misuse of the belt ranking system. Also the use of coloured belt
awards as rewards is open to abuse by some instructors whose income depends on
student numbers. I have seen such instructors unfortunately influenced by the prospect
of a student leaving if not awarded their new belt. For those leaders, the
temptation to reward, and therefore retain the student, must be a constant
challenge.
Instructors, group leaders and those with this
responsibility, should also be alive to the impact promotion of a student to a
new rank can have on the micro culture found in karate clubs. On balance
if
managed correctly, with integrity and appropriate value, the coloured karate
belt system provides many students with a sense of context, and the opportunity
to set meaningful goals; such a system also allows instructors and leaders to
plan lessons more effectively, providing appropriate practices in line with the
students experience and ability.
Keeping this perspective helps encourage achievement with
challenge, and healthy competition, but at the end of the day, a belt is just
something to keep you trousers up!
