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Determine how far you are willing to drive and how much you can afford to pay. There are schools charging as much as 50.00 per hour and as little as 50.00 per month1. Any less and you should ask yourself just what is the price for training at that school? Lack of experience, issues with reputation, or perhaps the instructors are desperate for students. Literally the worst price you might pay for a "discount" is that you or your child leave the martial arts because you had a bad experience
Call first and ask basic questions. How much do they charge? What ages do they train? If you or your child have special needs, have they had experience teaching someone with similar issues? Is that person still training there, or is the instructor willing to have you speak to that person or his/her parent. Do their own students have any significant accomplishments? What dan rank(black belts are ranked 1st through 9th with 10th being an honorarium) are the instructors and who certified them? How did they test for that rank? Who was/is their instructor and do they maintain contact with that person? Do they have references in the local martial arts community that you can contact. What other schools say about someone, or rather what they don’t say, speaks volumes. If a reputable school recommends that persons competitor, then take a closer look. Who do they train with now and how often do they themselves go to seminars and receive instruction? Instructors who avail themselves of frequent instruction tend to make their classes more interesting and varied, and also follow tried and true methods of instruction and technique. Ask about other styles. If they downgrade another style, or make claims of the superiority 2 of their style then it is time to seek another school if possible.
Having now narrowed down your choices, you should do is go visit and watch a class. Go early, not so much to talk with the instructors, but to watch their interaction with the students, and to talk with the families of students. You may call ahead and ask, or simply show up. Tell the instructor you want to watch a class first and then speak to them after the class. Either way, chances are, they will accommodate you. If they do not want you to watch, or if they interrupt their teaching too often to speak with you, consider these it is a possible warning sign. However, lets assume you are sitting quietly and comfortably watching the students enter and get ready for class. Take notes on the following: Is the dojo (gym or community building) clean? Is there enough space, and high enough ceilings to safely teach the art you have chosen to take(even ground fighting arts need high enough ceilings not to throw an opponent into the light fixtures). Is there a comfortable place for family to watch the class, if they so desire? Are students and instructor respectful to each other? Is there some down-time for more casual interaction and instruction, but without being too casual? Does the instructor discipline students matter of factly, or does he or she denigrate the student, calling them stupid, or asking them to "not be an %@$#."
Finally ask if you can try a class free. If not(and no matter how inexpensive their program is), then it is time to thank them for their time and walk away. And you don’t have to take our word for it. There are many articles posted on line about choosing a martial arts school in addition to the two referenced above.
In a recent article, statistics were given breaking down the number of students, who once starting the martial arts, actually stick with it until they reach black belt.
What are we without the human factor?
Working with other people, training partners, while in the pursuit of our martial arts training, helps us to learn just how this stuff works. Training alone, without a human partner, does not allow us to learn why something does work, or why it does not.
Many times someone who has trained alone, will show a technique and then wonder why their technique doesn't work. It's the human factor.
Training without a partner, does not teach one how to moderate their techniques. Moving from full force(as on a heavy bag) to light force, allows one the ability to work through a spectrum of force, and even to stop completely, if the need arises. And the need does arise. Not every threat is "real." And with a real threat, once neutralized, the law expects one to back down, to not become an agressor ourselves. Again, the human factor.
Finally, there is simply the ability to work well with others. The real human factor. This brings us back to the title of the article. Do you have what it takes? Not to become a black belt, but to become the best person you can possibly be.
My instructor used to have a saying that a black belt is not something you earn. It is something you become. Shortly thereafter, the same saying cropped up on T-shirts and mugs in the Century Martial Arts supply catalog. Funny how that kind of thing happens: art mimics real life and real life mimics art. Or in this case consumerism.
A black belt is not the ability to break a brick although some people set way too high a score on brick breaking. A black belt is not that 5 minute sparring test with 5 fresh black belts pounding on you, one each minute. Although I must say I remember my fight 10 years ago, very well. A black belt is not that perfect form, because it is not really about what the black belt can do for him or herself. A black belt lives to serve others: their own instructors and their own students and the community, and most importantly, it is a commitment to their art.Again, I say, because it bears repeating: a black belt is what you can do to serve others. What can you do for your instructor and their reputation? Can they think of you and hold their head high? What can you do for your students? Can they win that trophy and feel a moment's pride in their own accomplishment, without you walking in and diminshing their moment of glory? Can they walk into the dojo and and say "whoa, I prevented that bully from hurting me!" And can you, as a black belt, smile, and let them have that moment?
I think it goes without saying that a black belt follows the teachings of their school, Of their style. In our school it is courtesy, integrity, perserverence(much often misused), self control, indomitable spirit, and modesty. It is very difficult to follow each and every one of these to the letter, but a black belt will try with all his heart, and will admit wrong, when he or she does it. We are all human, but the black belt we wear, the black belt we are holds us to a higher standard than most.
So if someone thinks a black belt is merely something they earned, they should remember, that in doing so they have diminished its meaning greatly.
Today's bonus feature article, Loyalty, is guest written.
All things are one, or so many a wise man has taught. This is something you find after many years of taking more than one martial art and attending seminars from other styles. All things are one. Not one is better than another, nor is one training technique better, as they all acheive the same thing. The difference comes with the direction the mind and the spirit takes and the idea that this an individual journey. It is as long and arduous as sailing alone around the world in a small boat. Every bit as challenging, as frustrating and as rewarding. Very few sailers actually make the entire journey around the world. So many leave their boat behind, selling it to the first buyer, only to buy a new one begin the journey from a new port, having flown in comfort and with the speed of air travel to first return home, and then to search for a new vessel to carry them, when the old one was perfectly functional. These individuals will brag at having the fastest journey, as if that somehow makes them better or more learned. The truth is that in doing so, they have missed many wonderful ports that while not as exotic as the ones they sailed from, still had wonderous things to offer the traveler.
Mr. Hatch of Myrtle point who trained with us under Wolfe's is the truly exception that proves the rule, earning his adult black at age 15, but with a dignity and sense of humility you rarely see in adults over the age of 30. When I first met this remarkable young man, he was one third of my age, not quite a teenager, and at that point he was everything you expect from the average 11-12 year old boy. He was cocky and silly, and I didn't mind putting him in his place, although he ranked me by a belt or two. But slowly, something changed in this young man, and as he reached his provisional black belt and occasionally taught our classes,
we knew he was very different and very special. His classes, whether taught with our instructor watching, or while our instructor was on vacation, were always well attended. We knew we would get a great work out, and we would see something of our art, through very different eyes.
When our instructions announced that he was to test before reaching 16, there was no one who felt he was getting special treatment. But it wasn't until, shortly after his first dan testing that we saw the real grace present in Mr Hatch. We were at a tournament and three young men entered the dojo(Chip Wright's) in kick boxer attire, bragging loudly that they would "crush" these sissy karate kids, and they looked as if they could follow up their brags with actions. We learned quickly that they were in Mr. Hatch's division, and I am not ashamed to say I was worried for him, although I needn't have been. To make the long story short, he won, despite having the medic rule him unable to continue. The center judge overruled the medic. He, of course did end up fighting the three and beating them soundly, his foot firmly bandaged and no doubt painful from the callous torn from the entire ball of his foot. It was this strength that brought him home from the military just a few months ago, and back to his studies at Corvallis. I am grateful that this was part of my own journey to black belt, and am always delighted when Mr Hatch stops by for a visit, no matter how brief, as he reminds me what my goal is in teaching young people: to perserve against all odds, to be the best that you can be: not the fastest, or the flashiest, because those things pale under the acheivement of becoming a true black belt. I have in my 12 + years watched as many young people moved through the ranks too quickly, and then either hop from art to art, collecting a little bit of everything, but never really becoming good at one thing, or as is more common, dropping out all together, because the journey was "too easy." This is exactly what we in our teaching, strive to prevent. This collector mentality. The person with 10, 15, 20 years experience and no sense of what it took to get there, because they have pushed themselves through the fast track and expected everything to be given them based on surface merit, so that the scenery sped by and they never saw a bit of it, despite having gotten to their destination in record time. So if you learn nothing else in life, learn that the journey is far more important than the destination. You have plenty of time to get there, and all the reasons in the world to savor the journey.
Why Martial Arts?
Many times the question is asked: why Martial Arts? Why not running, or soccer, baseball, or bowling? Why not hiking, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, or football? All are good sports, good forms of exercise, whether individual or team oriented. They all build character. They all foster either cooperation or the admiration of others who excel and work toward a common goal. And this is true. They all are. So why martial arts?
The very simplest answer is that the Martial Arts are the perfect exercise for body, mind and soul. At their best they strive to build a person's strengths and minimize their weaknesses. The key word is build. Properly taught, the martial arts should build, not break the student.
Martial arts give the individual a sense of community, where each person has a contribution to make, where the teacher learns from the student as the student learns from the teacher. This empowers each person with increased confidence, a feeling of their ability to overcome any obstacle, and the focus necessary to do just that: overcome
obstacles that once would have been insurmountable. And even at their worst, they encourage the individual to better themself and help their learning partner, for the truest expression of the martial art is to work with a partner for the betterment of both. It is very hard to train in a vacuum and still achieve the necessary skills to best an opponant. Alone, there is no opponant.
Martial Arts strengthen the body, as it teaches proper use of each body part, the proper way to breathe, and the joy of movement, the joy of achievement and of personal empowerment. Martial arts teaches humility, for no matter how
good a martial artist is, there is always someone who has achieved more, someone who becomes the next role model, the next goal to reach for.
Martial arts, more than any other sport or active endeavor creates teamwork, because in order to learn to defend oneself, the student has to learn not to injure others, and in turn to avoid being injured by others. The sense of comraderie, the sense, yes, of teamwork that develops between students of the martial arts, learning from and helping each other learn is a very strong bond. It trandscends mere sportsmanship, because of the nature of the training, where carelessness could equal injury, pain and suffering. Yet, amazingly, injuries in the martial arts are very few and far between. Emergency rooms stats show that team sports have the highest injury rates.
This is because the martial arts are about life. They are about living, protecting oneself and others: not just through the defense skills, yes, the fighting skills learned in the martial arts, but through the way of life that martial arts become. The martial arts can, if the individual is willing to allow it, overflow into every aspect of the person's fiber and being, allowing growth and strength, humility and modesty, community and teamwork to develop.
When knocked down, a martial artist gets back up. He looks at life boldly and continues on, never once worrying about what he cannot do. Not every martial art is for everyone. This is why at Coquille Martial Arts, we offer a broad variety of styles and are always looking for new material, new instructors and new styles to teach our students. We take this goal
very seriously, because we firmly believe that there is something we can offer to everyone. That is the gift we strive to give our students, our community, our world.
A black belt is something you "become."
A black belt is the symbol of what you become, but it in itself is not anything more.
It is not just a group of skills you learn, but rather a state of mind, a set of skills, and a way of living.
A black belt is confident, but not arrogant.
A black belt is not hot headed or quick to act, because a black belt knows he/she can handle any situation and thus he can afford to be patient and bide his time.
A black belt loves to share his skills with others. A black belt always more to learn, and the more he learns, the less he knows, and the more he desires in turn to learn.
A black belt is a certificate no less than any certificate of completion given at any community college for any skill, and it is no less important. Thus to attain black belt, a student must be willing to spend a minimum of time working toward his goal. 38 class hours per belt(or roughly 3 units of college credit, if martial arts were measured as such), and countless more of practice at home, 3 belts per year, until black belt. At which point, the journey is only beginning.
In our school, a black belt knows a minimum of 31 kicks(and hundreds of those kicks), 14 forms, 45 self defense scenarios and several modalities of sparring. He has performed hundreds of thousands of kicks and punches performed at a variety of power levels. He has broken at least 9 boards. And yet, this is just a bare minimum.
A black belt knows the tenants of Tae Kwon do as something more than just a few words we say. He knows them as a basic way of living and every day he exhibits courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self control, indomitable spirit, and modesty.
Our Junior Black Belts spends twice as much time becoming a black belt and will end up knowing twice as many self defense scenarios as a senior. This is in part because there are self defenses that should not be taught to a young person until they are ready to accept the responsibility for the actions of using those self defenses should they become necessary. Most importantly, a black belt never gives up
Written for our school's first anniversary in 2001 Return to Home
Last Updated July 18, 2010 by Karen Saxton
What is a Black Belt?