THE MEANING OF THE BLACK BELT

 by Phillip Starr

The black belt is regarded much differently in the West than it is in the Orient. In Japan, achieving the grade of shodan (first grade black belt) simply means that you have reached a good level of skill with the basic techniques and that you understand certain fundamental principles. It certainly doesn't mean that you're an expert; it means that you're an “advanced beginner” and you're now physically and mentally prepared to learn the true art. As one saying states, it means that you have finished packing for the journey.

The idea of what it means to receive a shodan is often completely different in the West. It is frequently regarded as the mark of an expert adept or one who is proficient enough to be called an “instructor.”

The difference is easily seen in the exams that aspiring shodans must undergo. I have known instructors in whose schools a shodan test lasts for many hours or even a couple of days! The test is grueling and those who aspire to take it must be able to endure hours of physical punishment and pain. Small wonder the number of black belts in such schools is usually very small...

In my view, the test for shodan should be efficient rather than tortuous. The objective is to determine if the examinee had developed a good level of skill with the basic techniques and to ensure that he/she understands the basic principles involved. Period. It isn't to ensure that the student is as fit as an Olympic champion or as tenacious as a Navy SeAL.

The most efficient tests for this grade that I ever witnessed were those administered by the Japan Karate Association. The entire test lasted no more than 90 minutes at best. The students had to answer questions regarding the history of their art, perform various basic techniques and a handful of combinations, 3-step and 1-step exercises, about three two-minute freestyle sparring matches, and a couple of kata. The examiners would choose one kata from a list (so it was a good idea if the student could perform all of them with a fair level of skill), and the student selected a kata as well. There would be tests for ability to focus and control one's technique, and perhaps one demonstration of board breaking. And that was it.

One teacher told me that after watching an examinee fire off no more than a couple of punches and a front kick or two, he knew whether or not that person was worthy of shodan grade. The rest of the exam was window dressing. I have to agree with him. There's simply no need for the student to demonstrate every technique, every self-defense application, and every form that he's ever learned. There's no point in having him engage in several freestyle sparring bouts with gloves (so that fighters can feel free to beat the bejeezus out of each other), do 100 push-ups, or otherwise be tortured or torture themselves.

In contemporary iaido (the art of drawing and cutting with the Japanese sword), there are 12 kata. Each kata is quite short, rarely involving more than three cuts/thrusts. That makes it sound like it should be fairly simple to do. Not. Every tiny detail must be just so, from the placement of the hands on the saya (scabbard) and the handle of the sword, to the alignment of the bladeguard with the navel...there are just too many minute details to list here.

The board of examiners closely watch everything that the aspiring shodan does...and I mean EVERYTHING – from the way his hakama is worn and tied, to the way he kneels, bows, grasps his sword...everything! They will select 5 kata from the list of 12, but the most fundamental kata(s) will always be included. After he has performed the kata within the allowed time limit, they make their decision. The entire test lasts no more than six minutes! But the judges can tell, after the student moves to make his first draw, if he's worth the grade or not. There's no point in requiring him to perform all 12 kata or do anything else.

But the main point of this article is to assure those who aspire to reach, or have already achieved, the rank of shodan that they have just set their feet firmly on the path (of martial arts). There's much more to learn, more polishing to be done. The journey is far from ended. It starts now.