What is your opinion on Belts in Martial Arts?

Question

in one of my questions i was asking about belts and someone said that doing a brown belt gradeing at black belt level is just lazy

what the heck belts are just belts just because someone has a pritty belt doesnt make them better i dunno

what is your opinion?

Answer 1

my opinion is the same as it always was and after reading some of the other morons answers here i will say it again theres very few ppl on this site that no anything about ma.i cant be bothered answering after seeing some of the keyboard and internet warriors answers.some of the ppl here need to get up out of the couch and actually do ma instead of giving thier wrong opinions here when there only source of knowledge is video games and fights on the tv.
EDIT>theres nothing wrong with the belt system the problem is ppl who dont understand it or use it for monetary gain.

Answer 2

Personally I don't like them. Yes, they're an indication of what level you've reached but they're not necessarily indicative that you've got any skill.

We've all seen the products of the McDojos out there where some guy gets a black belt in a year's time but he still doesn't know the proper way to spar. Or his stances when he does kata are sloppy as hell. Or the way to advance to the next level is simply to count up to 10 in Japanese, do 2 kata (poorly) and he's suddenly a green belt.

Besides, people are too focused on what colour belt they have, I've seen guys that are very proud to be Nidan that can't do a proper kata or spar worth a damn.

In other cases, the idea for the belt is valid but the process to get one isn't. I did Okinawan Kobudo for a while and there were only two belts for this, white and black. No green, brown, blue, purple, yellow or anything else. But for some odd reason you couldn't get a black belt unless you had a brown belt, but there was no official brown belt for this. So for the guys that were ready to get their Shodan they got two tests. One week they'd have an unofficial test for certain kata and get their brown belt. Then two weeks later they'd get the official test for their Shodan.

It was an odd system, and my sensei agreed that it made no sense but he had to abide by the rules.

Answer 3

I think a belt system is good; if not important.

Our culture and society inherently applies 'rank' to everyone. We use it positively and negatively-but essentially we have grown more to be a people who want to know who has earned the right to do what.

Our defence force members wear rank; police officers; veterans. A person who has achieved a certain level or competence or expertise may wear a 'pin' to indicate this. We give titles before names (if there is no rank insignia) that allow us to formerly recognise and honour those who have worked long and hard to achieve their goals.
With such positions comes much responsibility - to use said rank wisely for the benefit of others; or to abuse it for selfish gain.

In martial arts a belt can indicate what level of competence a student is awarded by their master. If a black belt does not appear to have mastered the level of a brown or red belt that is a reflection of their master, not of themselves. A master who promotes a student who is not worthy; is not worth training under.

I appreciate the belt system because it demonstrates to other students the level of skill you have attained. You have a responsibility to be a role model for your art, your rank and your professionalism is a reflection of your attitude to your master and he or she to you.

I take no issue with wearing a belt. For some time I didn't even wear a belt while training - there is politics tied up with it of course; but the most important thing for any practioner to know is a belt doesn't determine how good or bad you are - more than the passion you put into it.

Answer 4

colored belts to indicate rank is a product of the Japanese martial arts, primarily Judo. It was intended as a means to determining rank of students in practice, so the teacher can match them up evenly for practice. This is practical for large classes, when teachers need to know at a glance what the student already knows and what he or she needs to teach the student. It's understandable that this is a Japanese concept; their society is very much into hierarchies and levels and so they would create a system for denoting this. But unfortunately such ranking leads to abuses. Ironically the black belt is just an indication that the student as reached an intermediate or advanced level of study. Abuses or authority or ego inflation by wearing a black belt says more about the student than the ranking system he is misusing.

Answer 5

A belt is only as good as the system that establishes the testing standards. There must be rigorous means of skill and knowledge assessment.

Isn't it curious that the traditional Chinese martial arts do not recognize belts as the Japanese, Okinawan, Korean martial arts? For them, it is a matter of the proof being in the skill the person actually shows in either combat or sparring.

Answer 6

To all of the people that say a belt is worthless I say if they earned black belts and then don't value their own rank, they must feel that their martial art is inadequate. Maybe they should have trained at a real martial art in the first place. I have always secretly wanted to become a better fighter so I trained in several different martial arts to instructor level. You don't need a martial art to be a fighter, you need it to defend against any real fighter though, and anyone that thinks belts are not important is just seriously confused. Rank is used in every sort of military ever, and belts are just one way of showing rank. So yes, belts are important.

Answer 7

Belts are a visible sign of a student's accomplishments. You are right that a belt is just a piece of cloth. It all depends on the standards of the school.

I don't know what you mean by "brown belt grading at black belt level".

Answer 8

My favorite quote is from karate kid 1... What kind of Belt do you have? JC Penney $3.98, you like?

:) The actual Miyagi of martial arts, Chojun, was against importing the Judo belt system into Karate. It wasn't adopted until after his death in the 1950s.

Many of the masters were confused about the belt system early on. Often giving students a different belt for each public performance. The students didn't really know what they meant either. So, when American students started asking Okinawan masters for black belts, often the Okinawan master would think nothing of it and give them one. High ranks in the Dan/kyu system is nothing compared to personal udgement of character.

Answer 9

the only legitimate belts are white, yellow, green and black. the belts were originally designed to mark a students progression. because of all the "McDojos" out there, they have kind of lost their value.

white was beginner. still is. yellow was meant to show commitment to the art. green was advanced, able to hold your own. black was master. now black is down to where yellow was, sometimes green in the more intense arts. the rest of the belts are BS. it does still mark rank, usually defined by skill level. granted, some schools give out belts just based on time periods. anyone who thinks their belt rank makes them better is just blowing hot air.

Answer 10

Necessary but unfortunate Kanjo when he invented them had a good idea goin then it got ruined. With organizations like ATA handing out BB ti 7 year olds its lost its meaning. As far as I know BJJ is the only art where a belt means anything. Ive beatin the **** out of brown belts at my school in sparring at the schoool and im only orange another example I sparred an ATA BB and didnt have a single bruise the next day. whereas I sparred a yellow belt at my school and had 4 or 5 so it is what you make of it. Belt=time