Should I bother going for Kickboxing or Karate belts?

Question

I have started kickboxing and I love it, I am going to try Karate and am deciding whethere or not to go for the belts in one of them.

My question is although I would like to get belts, so that i can achieve something and have goals to aim for. Is it stupid to go for belts with no interest in fighting? Do other people get belts in Martial arts, with no interest in fighting?

Answer 1

As I understand it, an interest in fighting is the last reason in the world to take up a martial art. Defense, self control, accomplishment, fitness, self-confidence...yes. Desire to cause pain and suffering...no. The belt is just a mark of accomplishment, who you are underneath the belt is what matters.

(Or as Mr. Miagi says "J.C. Penny...$9.95.")

Answer 2

First of all, belts don't mean crap.
Belt colors came from the traditionalists not washing their belts. the longer they studied, the darker the belt became. (actually, in my style the originators in Okinawa wore only loin wraps. Belts did not get introduced until the art went to Japan.)
Study a martial art because it makes you a better person. Not to be a fighter. It is a lifestyle, a philosophy.

Don't get hung up in the "rank" issue. Too many Americans buy rank in this country. They feel they need to get a new belt, stripe or patch every couple of weeks or they are not accomplishing anything. If all you want is a shiny new belt, go to EBay and spend $5.00.
Also, rank should be kept private as there is no universal ranking system it is all meaningless really.

Why do you study kickboxing if you do not like to fight? I am guessing for exercise as it is great cardio.

Answer 3

I think the Belts are a great Idea, they keep you focused on what your goals to achieve are and they show how much dedication and how far you have come with the sport (recieving the next level belt after months of hard work and training is a great feeling and you deserve to be proud of what you can achieve in such a demanding sport!) Also your belt can be useful for other people training or sparring (expecially the more experienced) with you as they will then know what level they should work with.. Belts are not always about the fighting but the level of dedication and acievement you have put in..

Answer 4

Belts are personal things and no one really knows you have them unless you tell them. To have them is great, I am a past owner of a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do which I would choose over Karate any day. I am 38 now and earned that belt when i was 25 and have not practiced since. But i did feel good about myself for having it but i also felt like i was trying to be a bad *** when i told people i had it, so that kinda did not feel great. So unless you plan on trying to make a career out of the art you choose don't waste your time, it is fun but goes nowhere.
Thank you, Howard S.

Answer 5

I don't see that as stupid - I train in Taekwondo and the students at the club all have different goals and ideas about what they want from their training. For me it's about fitness, flexibility & strength. For some it's about mastering technique, for others self defense and many for the competition sport aspect. I've personally got only a very slight interest from a self defense point of view. The greatest thing a martial art (if trained in properly) will give you is the fitness to escape bad situations.

I would have thought a kick boxing club would have had some kind of progressive grade system also though.

Answer 6

OK..ignore howard stern...totally bogus response.
Most others have it right...a belt is simply an indication of where you probably are or should be (should if you are going to a mcdojo vs. actually are). Second, an Il Dan (1st degree) means the person is a serious student...so a black belt in reality is still a student, not a master.
My instructor, 8th degree black belt is a master but you would never know unless he tells you. So ignore the belt or use it to set short goals for yourself.
As to fighting...most people are in it to not fight. Personally, I love to spar/fight as a way to refine my skills and to practice what I have learnt. My wife hates to fight and has no interest in sparring. She does spar at times, but does not go out of her way to spar. Again, it allows you to practice what you learn. If you don't like to fight don't volunteer to spar.

Answer 7

All the martial arts are fun in the dojo. In the street where real fighting is pure chaos, it leaves the martial artist unprepared. I have known black belts who are fiends in the dojo, absolutely freeze in terror when confronted by real violence. It is coming at them so different than how it came at them in the dojo. The attack comes suddenly, out of the blue, unexpectedly. It is swift and ferocious. This is no even steven match that they are accustomed to in the dojo. The predator makes sure all the advantages are on his side and none are on yours. In that split second of the attack, the surprised martial artist has to immediately react. That is where martial arts fails because in that split second, he experiences confusion which quickly turns into paralyzing fear. It is not coming at him in the familiar way he has experienced in the dojo. The perp is not acting like the partners in the dojo. In the dojo they are not trying to main or kill you. In the street they are. Suddenly this huge guy tackles you like a linebacker hitting a hapless receiver. You are taken by surprise. You hit the ground hard with all his weight on top of you. Immediately he head butts you and throws elbows left and right until he sees you are not moving anymore. Then he stomps on your head and kills you. For this kind of conflict what is required is a wholly different mind set. You cannot get into this arena unless your mind has been programmed for it. Training in the States back in the days of Nam mainly was brain washing to override the tendency to hesitate when it came to killing the enemy. When a Viet Cong jumps into your fox hole unexpectedly on top of you and stabs you, that is as real as it gets. The thing that saved the troop was his flack jacket; the knife did not penetrate. The troop's knife did. Martial arts does not prepare you for the mental shock of actually being brutally attacked with intent to kill you. What you do in that split second is the difference between life and death. I could care less about belts or honor or praise or boasting. I'd rather be mentally prepared for the worst. A perp killed over fifty people in CA. in a McDonalds. His gun ran dry several times. He reloaded several times. Nobody rushed him; nobody made good their escape. They were frozen in fear and did nothing while he reloaded. The human reaction has been said to be fight or flight. Not true. People fight or flight or freeze. You freeze; you're dead. Doesn't matter how many degrees of black belt you have.

Answer 8

absoloutely, The deeper you go into the martial arts the more it will become a control of your mind over your body, Not only will you have the ability to evoke greater harm on an adversary you will have to learn to harness your power. This is true with almost any knowledge we gain in life, you may never need it but you can call upon it when you do. Go for it.

Answer 9

I would say stay with kickboxing cuz Karate isn't practical. but since you don't want to fight maybe Karate is a good thing for you cuz it goes more into mind and body than Kickboxing does. But if you choose Karate don't ever get in a fight cuz you will get your *** handed to you.

Answer 10

well, to me my goal is a ranking (doesn't have to be a belt), and experience

just do what you like to do, and don't do things just cause for a belt. if you just do that, your rank would be meaningless