Karate Way (eBook)

Chapter 14: What Does a Black Belt Mean? The black belt is—,or has become—,far more than just a symbol of rank in the karate dojo and to the public at large. It has an aura about it. It has a connotation. What is the first thing the average person thinks of when you say 'black belt' in reference to karate-do or martial arts in general? Masterful skill. Extraordinary abilities. The black belt is the mark of an expert. Those actually training in a particular art might have a more objective, less sensationalized definition. If you have been pursuing karate-do for any time at all, long enough in particular to have attained a rank symbolized by that belt, you will have a more nuanced perception, probably. You will understand a great deal about what has gone into reaching that level. If you are fortunate, you will understand much more about what lies beyond that level. Nevertheless, we have to admit that the popular image of the black belt is inextricably woven into the general perception of these arts we follow. While we may have a more comprehensive view of the belt, we need to see that in the population outside the dojo, in the world at large, it usually means something else. When a black belt is conferred upon a karateka, that has implications in the popular imagination. And we should consider some ramifications that perception and those implications in turn have upon what people think about karate-do. Most readers will know that the belt system (dan-i) was created entirely by judo's founder, Jigoro Kano. It has no ancient, feudal, or samurai connections. Belts in black or any other color were not a part of martial arts practice before the twilight of the feudal period in Japan, which ended in 1867. Kano awarded the first black belts around the turn of the last century. Karate-do and other Japanese arts adopted the system, and later on so did most Korean combat arts. The Japanese martial arts that existed previously in that country's history, those going back to the feudal period, had an entirely different way of giving rank within their curriculum. The menkyo system is one still employed by many traditional arts of Japan, including flower arranging and tea ceremony. Nearly all classical martial arts of the feudal period used some variation of this system, and those extant today continue to use it. A series of licenses and sometimes accompanying scrolls were given to the student at various periods in the education. In some cases the menkyo verified that the student had reached a particular level of understanding. In many instances, these documents symbolized an official license to teach or otherwise represent the school. Often the wording in these menkyo scrolls was flowery and elaborate: 'Having been revealed by the deities, this extraordinary skill, known far and wide across the land, is hereby transmitted to the recipient of this document . . .' That's the typical tone of a menkyo. When one cuts through all that florid hyperbole, however, the overall message is usually clear. The recipient of the scroll or paper is officially recognized in some capacity by the headmaster of that school. It is relatively easy to determine what this capacity is in the wording of the document. That is a significant difference in these older arts and in the more modern combat arts like karate-do, which award ranks. Correspondingly, what exactly the black belt signifies in the modern dojo is another question entirely. When the typical student begins training, he is apt to think the black belt means the wearer has arrived at a high level of competence. In some dojo perhaps this is true. In most organized modern budo such...