Which MA organizations require a competition/fight record for advancement in belt/instructor rank?

Question

I'd prefer answers with real sources. Hearsay is responsible for around 90% of air pollution, I hear.

Answer 1

United States Martial Arts Team/Alliance
usnmat.org

Answer 2

Cobra. heavily, its the little one boomers. as we talk it ought to be the Iranian shield, the following day its the Somali pirates, next week its Al Qaida returned, ANY loosly prepared team with a prepared suicide bomber makes the record however the consumer-friendly denominator above faith, ethnicity, or nationality is the age team of the leaders. confident the easily highjackers, suicide bombers, etc.. is approximately eighteen however the adult men at the back of the curtain molding the minds have been all conceived circa 1950. wait and notice what takes place while a greater smart era starts off to bypass in, especially over interior the mid east. the US might fall to the politcal wayside after we get some X-slackers in intense workplace yet i don't think of the greed point would be as reported. Time will tell if i'm good.

Answer 3

For me it's been Jujitsu and Judo. Those were the only arts I have trained that sparring or fighting was required to pass.... Hapkido was similar, but they were compliant partners. Same with TKD and Karate.

Answer 4

Probably most silly American-ized Martial Arts. The traditional styles rarely require such over-the-top showmanship.

Answer 5

I know for a fact I had to fight for my advancement in martial arts ranking and to aquire my black sash and teaching certification.

Other arts ?

Wing Chun Kung Fu I know

http://www.pacificwingchunassociation.com

Answer 6

Well, I know you do in most styles of Judo for sure. The same with some styles of karate (at higher levels), and taekwondo. Unsure about others though.

Answer 7

Here are Martial Arts who have ranking systems:
Black belt (martial arts)
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What belt are you? It is probably the first question that someone with little or no experience with the martial arts will ask you when they learn that you are a practitioner. And they understand White Belt and Black Belt and most of them realize that Brown Belt is pretty far up there. But if the answer is Green with brown tips, or Purple with two stripes or Blue even a veteran martial artist's eyes will glaze over.

A better way of asking the question is, "What rank are you?" Whether the answer is in Kyu (Japanese and Okinawan) or in Gup (Korean) the lower the number, the higher the rank. Unless your are talking about Blackbelts or Dans, in which the higher number is the higher rank.

But belts are a relatively modern invention. They provide a way of quickly understanding how people in a school relate to each other in their journey down the path of martial arts. Most styles are pretty consistent in their ranking colors which allows you to figure out where you fit in the hierarchy when training with other schools. A ranking system helps an instructor gauge what forms or katas to concentrate on in class, or how to divide the class up in relationship to the number of assistants there are available. Schools work it differently. Some have students purchase belts at every advancement, stripes running the length of the belt. Other schools use a permanent marker to add rings around the ends of the belt and others use a band of tape. We dye or paint five inches at each end to indicate the steps between the solid colors. Less expensive then buying belts all the time!

And, let's face it, it also helps feed our egos! We can see progress through the slowly changing colors around our waist.

Tradition says that originally the belt started off white. Through the process of time and age it slowly changes colors on its own. First to yellow and then to green and then into the browns until it is black with dirt and age. And then the belt slowly starts to turn white again.

But be careful! Just because someone is a white belt does not mean that they are untrained, or without knowledge. Each individual should be treated with respect. I know one individual that I met and worked out with in regional seminars for several years. He always wore a white belt. It was obvious to anyone that spent any time working with him that he had a great deal of experience. He had decided to switch styles and that he wouldn't try to work his way up the ranks, he would study until ready to be accepted at his original highest rank. His black belt looks pretty sharp!

See Black Belt (disambiguation) for other uses of the term Black Belt

In many martial arts, each practitioner's level is marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is often the highest belt color one can attain (far less often, the second highest), and suggests a degree of competence.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Origin
* 2 Above the black belt
* 3 Advancement
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

[edit] Origin

The systematic use of belt color to denote rank was "invented" by Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, who first devised the colored belt system using obis, and awarded the first black belts in the 1880s. He only used white and black belts, and it wasn't until the early 1900s that the colored belt system of awarding rank was created[1]. Many modern martial artists, however, mistakenly believe that the belt ranking system is an ancient aspect of traditional martial arts (Koryu instructors in fact tended to provide certificates).

[edit] Above the black belt

In the Japanese martial arts, the further subdivisions of black belt ranks are called dan grades where higher numbers means higher rank. Yūdansha (roughly translating from Japanese to 'person who holds a black belt') describe those who hold a black belt wearing rank. The first black belt wearing rank is often called shodan (beginning level). While the belt remains black, stripes or other insignia can be added to denote seniority. In some arts, very senior dan grades will wear differently colored belts. In judo, for instance, a sixth dan will wear a red and white belt, which becomes red only at even higher ranks.

One common idea concerning the tradition of belts claims that early martial artists began their training with a white belt, which eventually became stained black from years of sweat, dirt, and blood. However, there is no real evidence for this story, so it must for now be relegated to the status of myth. In fact, given the standard of cleanliness common in a traditional dojo, a student arriving with a bloodied or dirty uniform might not be allowed to train. In some arts and schools there is the (often only half-serious, though equally often rigorous) opinion that the belt should not be washed; by doing that one would "wash away the knowledge" or "wash one's ki away." This might have something to do with the myth. More seriously, most modern belts are made with a cotton or nylon outer shell, but polyester batting and stitching to fill out the belt; the different shrinkage of cotton and polyester in hot water could cause the belt to unravel and come apart.

There is no way to compare belts and ranks between styles. In some arts, a black belt is quite easy to obtain while in others ten years of hard work is more of the rule than exception. In most schools the test for black belt is quite rigorous. It is a common belief that belts are handed out more loosely in the West than in the motherland Japan, and indeed often a sign of bad schools is an abundance of black belt holders of low quality. However, in Japan rank often comes more or less automatically with time done and the black belt has little to do with the "master" level which westerners often think of when they hear the term "black belt".

[edit] Advancement

A more correct view, in opposition to the "black belt as master" stereotype, is that a black belt indicates the wearer is at least competent in a style's basic technique. Since in many styles a black belt takes approximately 3 to 6 years of training to achieve, a good intuitive analogy would be a college Bachelor's degree; the black belt can be considered equivalent to a BA degree in the martial arts. The black belt is thus seen not so much as an end, but rather as a beginning, a doorway to advanced learning: the individual now "knows how to walk" and may thus begin the "journey." Of course, as noted above, rank is always a subjective matter.

In many schools, after obtaining a black belt the student also begins to instruct. Strictly speaking, a black belt student should not be called sensei until they are sandan (third degree black belt). A sensei must have experience and a deeper grasp of what is involved in teaching a martial art.

[edit] See also

* McDojo or the so-called "belt factory"

[edit] References

1. ^ The Judo Rank System

[edit] External links

* Origins of the Karate Rank System
* Ranking in Commercial Dojo

THE STORY OF MARTIAL ARTS RANK "STANDARDS"


We hear a constant barrage of comments about rank standards, especially among inexperienced Martial Artists. By inexperienced I mean people who have less than 20 years hard training. have never produced a champion as a coach and often have never been in a fight in their lives.

These people insist that we must have "standards." Of course each one means something different by standards. Let's take a look at some facts about standards.

First, there are those who say that only competition (winning in tournaments) should count for promotions, that is their "standard." That's OK for the first 20 years or so, if you wish. but what about the teacher whose knees are shot but who still goes down to the YMCA every week, year after year to teach kids? He's too old and injured to compete. Is his promotion career in Martial Arts ended forever? Well, no, say these people-in this case we'll make an exception. By the way, how many of our high ranks in any Martial Art actually got their high ranks from competition? Find me one, please, and I'll show you the exception.

Let's take technical knowledge. Some shout from the roof tops that every person must have deep technical knowledge and pass an actual exam on the mat before a promotion can be made. But what about our international Judo champions who can't do the Nage No Kata of Judo or pass even a first degree black belt test? Are their promotions ended? Well, no, say these people--in this case we'll make an exception. By the way, how many of the people sitting on the promotion boards testing the others have themselves taken a test? Find me one, please.

And then there are those who say that there must be a certain time in grade between each rank. This is their "standard." But what about Nakabayashi Sensei, who won "batsugun" (instantaneous promotion) to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Dan in Judo, just one year apart for each rank, by beating a whole line of equal ranks? Should we take his ranks away? Well, no, say these people--in this case we'll make an exception.

And so it goes. For each standard, there must be exceptions, and in truth the whole promotion area is, and should be, full of exceptions.

In Japan in 1963, a leader gave two million dollars to the Kodokan and was immediately made 8th Degree. That rank (Hachidan-8th Degree) is called, "Important person of Judo," and believe me, anyone who gives millions is certainly important, so that rank is very valid. Excuse me for saying it, but that is another exception!

We of the USMA believe that time in service to the Martial Arts is the key to promotion. In the beginning, students have nothing to give but their hard work, and they should be judged on that. Of course technical knowledge is important, of course competition is important, of course coaching and writing are important. But these are all types of service, and so is long effort over many years. In the end, no one fools everyone very long. We always say, "Everybody knows who can dance." It is basically the club instructor who makes the promotion decisions in his or her club, and the USMA gives him that prerogative. For instructors who have no teacher to rely on for promotions, we of the USMA have myself as O-Sensei, because I have been directed by our Board to take charge of teaching and promoting teachers.

Not a week goes by without my hearing from some old trooper in the Martial Arts who has been neglected for promotion. Martial Arts organizations are famous for neglecting their members for promotion. I find 30 year veterans of competition and teaching who are still first and second degree black belts! It is my pleasure to study their records and often immediately promote them to 4th or 5th degree, often backdating their ranks so that we can promote them again soon. We even find leaders who started in Judo or Aikido, got no rank in those arts, then became high degrees in other arts and have no rank at all in arts they have studied for 30 or 40 years. We are proud of the fact that we correct these injustices. In fact, that is one of the major reasons we started the USMA.

I know these ideas cause some people to have fits. That's just the way it has to be. We are going to do what we believe is right, even if some inexperienced or narrow-minded person doesn't like it.

We have very high standards in the USMA because we dare to reward service and devotion to the Martial Arts. This policy is very traditional, very much in keeping with the long history of the Martial Arts. We are proud of the ranks we award, and so are the ones who receive them. There is no need to defend them, just look at the composition of our International Board of Martial Arts Masters on our beautiful website: www.mararts.org. These are the people who stand behind the ranks of their systems and the ranks of the USMA. We are proud of them.

Or come to our yearly National Training Camp held during our Hall of Fame week. There you will find great teachers teaching many Martial Arts, and everyone studies all the arts in friendship and eagerness to learn. Solid national training is an important part of our USMA rank system.

Above all we know that the purpose of the Martial Arts is the development and eventual perfection of human character. If we constantly strive for that, we can't go wrong. And for the great men and women of the USMA who daily give their best to teach students the ways of better character, we can do no less than reward them with the ranks they deserve.

www.mararts.com

Thanks for your time, I appreciate it.