If you own a martial arts studio, would you issue a belt/rank system? Why or Why not?

Question

Personally I would not because I believe that the ranking system is deciving. I also feel that belt test will lead the quailfy of martial arts to decrease because if the students are under pressure to learn certain things to pass the test, they'll neglect every other things.

Plus I believe students should decide on what their ranks are among themselve. That way the "alpha male/female" will be respected by others because of their skill and knowledge, not because of what they wear. Other good things is, it'll force the students to work harder to keep their "ranking" among themselve and encourage them to exchange teach and help eachother with their strenghtness and weakness.

I would like to hear opinion on this from others as well.

Very interesting answer Naphatboy

Answer 1

your idea would be good for thoes who have matial arts as a major, if not main, part of their lives. but for thoes who want to learn just self-defence, or just want a work-out and figured martial arts is the way to go, a ranking system adds a little organization and order to it all. more like a (forgive the spelling) congragilatory "u made it this far, keep it up!" to keep the training going. with an internal, peer ranking system, if the people there arnt relativley close, there could be internal issues. it depends on what kind of studio you open, like who your target audience is. ur idea would be for the ppl who may want martial arts as a living or somthing like that.

Answer 2

First and foremost, you are running a business. In our westernized society, rank with colored belts has become sort of the standard. If you are only training those who simply have an interest in genuinly learning to fight, then you might be ok with no belt system.
Personally, I would use a belt ranking system. Not all systems are the same. Some use belts as a way of making $$ at every level, others use it to govern the heirarchy of their systems. We are a military run school, and no rank is just 'given'. Our tests are like bootcamp for a day so if you pass you not only earned your rank, but you will know what you've learned and how to use it practically.
There is nothing wrong with respecting rank as long as it was truly earned, and not honorary.
Letting students decide rank among themselves will not only cause chaos in your school, but if anything will cause that 'alpha' personality in your school to get worse. "I think I'm the best, therefore I'm the best," as opposed to your students automatically knowing who to respect because of the decision you (the instructor) has made.

Who's the boss? You or your students. If you think someone is not ready to advance in rank, don't advance them. That way the rank that your students DO have will be respected and unchallenged.

Answer 3

I would not because ranking is not a part of my particular martial art.

If I was teaching a different type of martial arts it would be a different story. Running a martial arts studio, in spite of all of our virtuous ideals, is a BUSINESS.

Without students paying for lessons you would soon be out of business, unless you are independently wealthy.

The majority of your students would be those who want their belts for the sake of having a belt. These are the ones who will pay for their lessons and keep your business solvent.

If I ran a school; the others, who are not practicing for the sake of recognition and advancement, would soon become readily apparent. This type of student would end up in a different program and probably would not have to pay for their lessons.

I come from a yogic background in which REAL yoga is FREE!

re: THE WALL'S POST - If a person must be able to defeat everybody else of that rank, the end result is that you would only have one person of each rank! Everybody else would be at entry level, even if they knew the martial art and had been practicing it for YEARS!

re: STUDENT INPUT ABOUT RANKING --
IMO, this is a case of the blind leading the blind. Peer esteem has to do with popularity, panache and intimidation. What is needed is objective observation, insight into the martial art, and progress made toward "the end objective" (however the school may choose to define it.)

Peer analysis is especially difficult if you have an outstanding student with a slightly different technique (that is still within the bounds of the martial art itself even if it is a bit different that what you have been teaching the rest of the class,) transfer students who bring along insight from a different school (or a different martial art) or if the martial art needs to be adapted for a student with special needs.
.

Answer 4

The style I study only supports 7 belts white to black then 10 levels of black belt. In this style it may take a year to get an advanced white belt then another 2 years to get a green belt but you begin instructing at green. Other schools have upwards of 20 ranks. The standard belt color system is white, yellow, green, brown, and black. This was because instead of buying a new belt the old belt was dyed. This meant that each belt had to be a darker shad than the last. In some Karate school and styles, the color order is white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, black. Some schools also include purple and red and advanced versions of each belt. most likely these extra belts are an excuse to charge an extra test/promotion fee. Each style will have its own variations so its not something I would get concerned about. The only negative I've seen from it is tournaments. My son went to tournament as a green belt and was placed in the "intermediate" grouping. He was paired with a kid from another school was also a green belt but had 4 more years experience than my son due to their screwed up ranking system. Needless to say my son got thumped.

Answer 5

A system like this, (No system at all),is not "mainstream"
enough to be successful.There are so many problems that can be seen right off the bat.
It is tough to come up with something to replace a system
that has been in place for a thousand years or more.
I have heard it said that ages ago the color of the uniform
was changed showing advancement.I also heard that the color of the bottoms was changed.A students goal......."The Red Pants".
Here are a few Problems that come to mind:

1) A new student wants to ask a question about a move,he is not sure if the guy standing next to him has been there a week or two years.It is very awkward not having "visible" rank.

A) "Pardon me sir" "I am uncertain about the position of my feet"....."Ask one of the Black Belts To show you","Thank You
Sir"
B)"Pardon me sir" "I am uncertain about the position of my feet"....."Ask Jeff,that tall guy over there" "Thank you sir"

2) You take your students to a "Tournament" ,now it is time to
"rank" them on the spot! You are going to turn and look at your students and say to yourself,"Which of these guys are
"equal" to a brown belt",or "Black Belt".Well there you are ranking your students the same way you did not want to.
(Virtually all tournaments "Rule" "Rank must be displayed")

3) Promotion Day is very special to a student,and often their parents.On this day a student is "Validated" for their hard work.It comes down to "Goal" setting & "Goal" achivement.

I see several other problems but must get back to work.
I will leave it up to the other guys to voice their opinions.

Answer 6

I understand your point my friend. I do use a belt ranking system in my school, but as I always tell my students rank is based on knowledge not skill.
They must prove themselves through technique practice and sparring. This way dominant fighters may emerge for their fighting skill while a student with higher rank may better explain a concept.
I've also told them a belt color means nothing. I've seen blackbelts beaten by whitebelts.
Rank in my school only denotes how much you've learned. It doesn't have to do with being a great fighter.

Answer 7

that would depend on the situation.if you have a lot of students you need some sort of system.or if your teaching a traditional ma it's based on a fuedal system and a hierachy.when training fighters i wouldnt use a belt or ranking system,the same as teaching straight out self defence and combat techniques.the downfall of the belt system is styles and or teachers that misuse and misrepresent the system for financial benifit.the second part of your question is pretty much how it works in a belt system anyway,just without gradings and a belt around your waist.
EDIT>a ma dojo or style is no different than an army it has to have an order and a method etc.if you take that away you just have unorganised rabble.

Answer 8

In my case it would be Aikido.

If I opened a studio, I would have white belts for 6 kyu ranks, black belts for dan ranks and hakama as soon as you want to invest in one.

That's how its done in my dojo, which was how it was done in their dojo when they were students, etc.,....

Keeping tradition is an important way to show honor and respect for your teachers and your school.

Answer 9

I would but I'd make em work really hard for it then they will have earned it. Also theyd have to be able to defeat all fighters of their rank

Answer 10

Nah we are street fighters