From kwp@ukc.ac.uk Sun Apr 3 14:37:23 1994
\nDate: Sun, 3 Apr 94 12:42:02 BST
\nFrom: Kam Wing Pang
\nTo: solanum@ritz.mordor.com
\nSubject: File as ASCII<\/p>\n
Its better in postscript… but here is one in ASCII, its not very good,
\nI directly copied the postscript to ASCII, so it may look a bit rough!
\nBetter to get your hands on a postscript viewer like gspreview, or just print
\nit out on a printer that takes postscript files as input.<\/p>\n
Kam.
\n******************************************************************************<\/p>\n
What Does a Black Belt Really Mean?
\n***********************************
\nReverend Kensho Furuya
\n**********************<\/p>\n
Through the popularity of this column, I get correspondence from all over the
\ncountry. And the most commonly asked question is, `How long does it take to get
\na black belt?’<\/p>\n
I don’t know how this question is answered in other schools, but my students
\nknow that asking such a question in my dojo would set them back several years in
\ntheir training. It would be a disaster.<\/p>\n
Most people would be overjoyed if I would say it takes just a couple of years to
\nget a black belt, but unfortunately it does not. And though I am afraid most
\npeople would not be happy with my answer, I think the general misconceptions
\nabout `what is a black belt?’ should be clarified as much as possible. This is
\nnot a popular subject to discuss in the way I am going to. Indeed, I warn my
\nstudents not to ask the question in the first place. The answer is not what they
\nwant to hear.<\/p>\n
How do you get a black belt? You find a competent teacher and a good school,
\nbegin training and work hard. Someday, who knows when, it will come. It is not
\neasy, but it’s worth it. It may take one year; it may take ten years. You may
\nnever achieve it. When you come to realize that the black belt is not as
\nimportant as the practice itself, you are probably approaching black belt level.
\nWhen you realize that no matter how long or how hard you train, there is a
\nlifetime of study and practice ahead of you until you die, you are probably
\ngetting close to a black belt.<\/p>\n
At whatever level you achieve, if you think you `deserve’ a black belt, or if
\nyou think you are now `good enough’ to be a black belt, you are way off the
\nmark, and, indeed a very long way from reaching your black belt.<\/p>\n
Train hard, be humble, don’t show off in front of your teacher or other students
\n, don’t complain about any task and do your best in everything in your life.
\nThis is what it means to be a black belt.<\/p>\n
To be overconfident, to show off your skill, to be competitive, to look down on
\nothers, to show a lack of respect, and to pick and chose what you do and don’t
\ndo (believing that some jobs are beneath your dignity) characterize the student
\nwho will never achieve black belt. What they wear around their waist is simply a
\npiece of merchandise brought for a few dollars in a martial arts supply store.<\/p>\n
The real black belt, worn by a real black belt holder, is the white belt of a
\nbeginner, turned black by the colour of his blood and sweat. <\/p>\n
Training Pattern
\n****************<\/p>\n
The first level of black belt in Japanese is called shodan. It literally means
\n`first level’. Sho (first) is an interesting ideograph. It is comprised of two
\nradicals meaning `cloth’ and `knife’. To make a piece of clothing, one first
\ncuts out the pattern on the cloth. The pattern determines the style and look of
\nthe final product. If the pattern is out of proportion or in error, the clothes
\nwill look bad and not fit properly. In the same way, your initial training to
\nreach black belt is very important; it determines how you will eventually turn
\nout as a black belt.<\/p>\n
In my many years of teaching, I have noticed that the students who are solely
\nconcerned with getting their black belt discourage easily, as soon as they
\nrealize it is harder than they expected. Students who come in just for practice,
\nwithout concern for rank and promotion, always do well. They are not crushed by
\nshallow or unrealistic goals.<\/p>\n
There is a famous story about Yagyu Matajuro, who was a son of the famous Yagyu
\nfamily of swordsmen in 17th century feudal Japan. He was kicked out of the house
\nfor lack of talent and potential, and sought out instruction of the swordmaster
\nTsukahara Bokuden, with the hope of achieving mastery of the sword and regaining
\nhis family position. <\/p>\n
On their initial interview, Matajuro asked Tsukahara Bokuden, `How long will it
\ntake me to master the sword?’ Bokuden replied, `Oh, about five years if you
\ntrain very hard.’<\/p>\n
`If I train twice as hard, how long will it take?’ inquired Matajuro.’ In
\nthat case, ten years,’ retorted Bokuden.<\/p>\n
Finding a Focus
\n***************<\/p>\n
What do you focus on if you don’t focus on attaining your black belt?
\nIt is easier said than done, but you must focus your energy on practice. However
\n, to think, `I will concentrate on my training to get a black belt,’ is simply
\nplaying mind games with yourself and will ultimately lead to your own
\ndisappointment.<\/p>\n
Can you simply think `I forget about rank completely?’ Can you simply say to
\nyourself that you will never achieve it? Will you always be attached to your
\nblack belt, allowing the idea to linger in the back of your mind? In other words
\n, can you simply concentrate on your training without regards for anything else?
\nCan you finally realize that your black belt is nothing more than `something to
\nhold up your pants?’<\/p>\n
You should also realise that although you master all the requirements, the
\ncorrect number of techniques, all the required forms and put in the appropriate
\namount of hours of training, you may still not qualify for black belt. To
\nachieve black belt is not a quantitative entity which can be measured or weighed
\nlike buying string beans in the market. Your black belt has to do with you as a
\nperson.<\/p>\n
How you conduct yourself in and out of the dojo, your attitude to your teacher
\nand fellow students, your goals in life, how you handle the obstacles in your
\nlife, and how you persevere in your training are all important conditions of
\nyour black belt. At the same time, you become a model to other students and
\neventually reach the status of teacher or assistant instructor. In the dojo,
\nyour responsibilities are greater than the regular students and you are held
\naccountable to much, much more than those junior to yourself. Your
\nresponsibilities are great as a black belt holder.<\/p>\n
Achieving Training Focus
\n************************<\/p>\n
How do we focus on our training?<\/p>\n
Successful training means, to a great degree, that we look at what we do from a
\nreasonable and realistic viewpoint. More often than not, we are not looking at
\nrealistic goals but dreams and delusions. Do you want to excel in martial arts
\nas a way to improve yourself and your life, or are you motivated by the latest
\ncops and robbers movie? Is your practice motivated by a strong desire to
\nenlighten yourself, or do you simply want to imitate the latest martial arts
\nmovie stars? Although experienced martial artists may snicker, it is amazing how
\nmany inquire about martial arts saying they want to be just like Chuck Norris or
\nSteven Seagal. But those people are themselves by their own efforts. You are
\nyourself. We all have our hero, role models, and our dreams, but we have to
\nseparate out fantasies from reality if our training is to be meaningful and
\nsuccessful.<\/p>\n
Reality
\n*******<\/p>\n
Training has nothing to do with rank or black belts, trophies or badges. Martial
\narts is not simply playing out our fantasies. It has to do with your own life
\nand death. It is not only how we protect ourselves in a critical, lethal
\nsituation, but how we protect the lives of others as well. You cannot be another
\nperson, whether he is a movie star, great teacher or multi-millionaire. You must
\nbecome yourself – your true self. As much as John Doe dreams about becoming
\nJames Dean, Bruce Lee, or Donald Trump, he can only be John Doe. When John Doe
\nbecomes John Doe 100 percent, he has become enlightened to his true self.
\nAn average person only lives 50 percent, or maybe 80 percent of his life and
\nnever knows who he is. A martial artist lives 100 percent of his life and
\nbecomes impeccable. This is what the true black belt holder must come to realize
\nwithin himself. He is no other than himself, and his practice leads to
\nenlightenment into nature of his true self, his real self. This is the essence
\nof out training in martial arts.<\/p>\n
Achieving your Black Belt
\n************************<\/p>\n
Think of losing your black belt, not gaining it. Sawaki Kodo, a Zen Master,
\noften said,’To gain is suffering; loss is enlightenment.’<\/p>\n
If someone were to ask the difference between martial artists of previous
\ngenerations and martial artists today, I would sum it up like this. Martial
\nartists of previous generations looked upon training as `loss’. They gave up
\neverything for their art and their practice. They gave up their families, jobs,
\nsecurity, fame, money, everything, to accomplish themselves.Today, we only think
\nof gain. `I want this, I want that.’ We want to practice martial arts but we also want money, a nice car, fame, portable telephones and everything that
\neveryone else has. <\/p>\n
Shakyamuni Buddha gave up his kingdom, his palaces, a beautiful wife, and
\neverything else to finally seek out enlightenment. The first student of
\nBoddhidharma, considered the founder of Shoalin Kung Fu, cut off his left arm to
\nstudy with his teacher.<\/p>\n
We don’t have to take such drastic measures to learn martial arts today, but we
\nshould not forget the spirit and determination of the great masters of the past.
\nWe must realize that we have to make sacrifices in our own lives in order to
\npursue our training.<\/p>\n
While the student looks at his training from the standpoint of loss instead of
\ngain, he comes close to the spirit of mastery, and truly becomes worthy of a
\nblack belt. Only when you finally give up all thought of rank, belts, trophies,
\nfame, money and mastery itself, will you achieve what is really important in
\nyour training. Be humble, be gentle. Care for others and put everyone before
\nyourself. To study martial arts is to study yourself – your true self. It has
\nnothing to do with rank. <\/p>\n
A great Zen master once said: `To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to understand all things.’<\/p>\n
Edited by K.W.Pang from `Martial Arts Training’ (July 1991)\t<\/p>\n
