THE WORLD OF BELTS
Years ago (I believe it was in 1977) my friend Bill Clark commented to me that judo (and martial arts in general) was wrapped up "in the world of belts." Bill, a tough old powerlifting, Olympic lifting and all-round weightlifting athlete, coach, administrator, official and innovator, is a man that I admire and respect. At the time, Bill was the Missouri Valley AAU arbitrator between the warring factions in the judo war between the USJA and the USJF. At that time, the AAU was the governing body of judo in the United States and the two judo organizations were heavily involved in a feud regarding belt ranks (among other things). As a bit of history, the Presidential Sports Act of 1978 broke up the AAU and each sport formed its own governing body which led to U.S. Judo, Inc. being formally organized in 1980 and functional in 1981 (USJI is now USA Judo). The problem was that the judoka in the United States were fighting over the legitimacy of belt rank and who should issue it. Basically, the USJF had an agreement with the AAU (before the 1978 Presidential Sports Act and when the AAU was still the governing body for all Olympic sports in the United States) as the sole group responsible for issuing belt ranks in the United States for judo. If you didn't have a belt issued by the USJF back then, you couldn't wear it in an AAU judo tournament. The USJA sued the AAU/USJF in 1978 and won. that meant that belt issued by the USJF were not the only belts an athlete could wear in an AAU judo tournament. (By the way, when we re-organized judo in the AAU in 1994, we purposely stayed away-and continue to stay away-from issuing any belt ranks. The AAU does not have a belt rank program other than one athlete wears a white belt and the other a red or blue belt for scoring purposes...the scoreboard is either white on one side and red (or blue) on the other.)
But my little history lesson digressed from the main point. Bill Clark's point was that we judo people (and martial arts people in general) spend way too much time worrying about our belt color. Bill told me that the only belt he had any use for was the one that held his pants up and the one he used in the gym...and he didn't much like using either one. Bill was right then, and still is. Don't get me wrong. I understand the history of how belt rank was developed in the early days of Kodokan Judo and how it has evolved (and devolved) through the years. Whether we like it or not, belt rank is very much part of judo, jujitsu, karate and all the martial arts. It's here to stay. The hierarchy within each martial arts organization, group or club often (in fact, almost always) is directly tied to belt rank. The person holding the highest belt rank is the group's leader in many cases. That's the way it is. We humans like to organize ourselves in a variety of ways and belt rank is one of them I suppose.
Getting back to what Bill said; it's true that we live in the "world of belts." Even if we don't particularly like it. In John Saylor's Shingitai Jujitsu Association, we don't have the red and white belt or the red belt for those promoted to higher rank. Once you've been promoted to Shodan, you are simply a black belt and stay a black belt no matter how far you climb in the rankings. (that tends to keep the "belt hounds" out of the organization.) In fact, I really buy into the notion that Prof. Kano devised that there are "graded" (yudansha-black belts) and "ungraded" (mudansha-non black belts) judoka. In essence, this is the original concept of belt rank. But we have taken it too far in the martial arts.
One time, about 1990 or so, I did a clinic for a martial arts club that had 17 different belt levels up to and including 1st Grade Black Belt. They had about every color of belt you can imagine, with different colored stripes running different ways on the belt. Each belt promotion cost the student (in 1990 dollars) $35.00. that was simply for the test. I was told that most people didn't make it on the first try and had to be re-tested (for an additional $35.00 fee of course). That didn't take into account the membership fee which was $50.00. And once the student passed the test, he or she had to buy the belt for $25.00. All that on top of the monthly training fee and the yearly membership fee for the club.
All this prompts me to say that the highest belt rank isn't a black belt, it's a money belt.
Some people, like Norm Miller for instance, handle the subject by not using belt ranks at all. Norm makes a good case for what he does. But most coaches are like me and view belt ranks for what they are. Belts are good motivational tools for students, especially kids; but they are good for adults as well. And, not everyone who participates in judo wants to compete and a hierarchy of belts give structure to a student's advancement and are very real signs of achievement. I use belt ranks for both judo and jujitsu here at Welcome Mat as an indication of the student's skill level and status in the group. When you look at it, ranks of some kind are used in most everything. For instance, a journeyman electrician if considered more skilled and experienced than one that isn't. He may, in fact, be a lousy electrician, but he has a journeyman's card and can get more money and better jobs than the guy who doesn't have that card. I had some awful professors in college but they had tenure and had job security. You get the point. So, the fact is that "rank" surrounds us. Like it or not, it's part of our human experience.
One time (about 1996 or so), a fellow visited Welcome Mat and proudly wore his red and white belt firmly tied around his large stomach and snow-white judogi. He introduced himself to me as "His Name-Rokudan." He said "rokudan" so fast that it actually sounded like part of his name. He looked down at my black belt and asked 'What rank are you?" I answered that I was the head coach and owned the mat we were standing on. He said; "No, really...what rank are you?" I asked him why he was so interested in my rank and he replied that if I wasn't the same rank as him he could run the practices for me while he was visiting Kansas City. I quickly, and with absolutely no smile on my face or friendliness in my tone of voice told him that I didn't care what his rank was, I was the head coach..."but since you have to know, I'm the same rank as you." Reminds me of what Fritz Goss once said; "I don't trust chubby guys wearing red and white belts."
Some quick thoughts. One time, a martial arts instructor told me that people have a "right" to a black belt. No kidding. He was serious. Another time, when I was about 22 and a young black belt, I visited a karate club that advertised that they did judo as well. When I arrived and met the head instructor, it was a young man about the same age as me. He claimed to be a "master" and a 10th degree. He wore an impressive belt too. It was a red belt with a gold tassel sewn on each end of the belt. I am not kidding. The tassels were the kind you would see in an old lady's living room looped around her drapes. By the way, he told me they didn't really do judo there; it was just to get people to come in the door. Another time, a fellow called me on the telephone and wanted a belt rank promotion. The only trouble was...he claimed that he did "no gi jujitsu." I asked him why he needed a belt promotion if he didn't wear a gi. As expected, no rank was issued to him.
How we look at "the world of belts" in judo and jujitsu dictates how we approach our study and practice of these combat activities. There are those who would sell a body part for a belt rank promotion, especially to a red and white belt or red belt. Then, there are those of us who simply view our black belts as a symbol of accomplishment, knowledge and dedication. It's not the belt that matters, but what it took to earn that belt.
Belt rank is part of the martial arts. Whether we like it or not, we do indeed "live in the world of belts." Belts can be used a a motivational tool as well as a method of hierarchy in a club or organization. Both are legitimate uses; and in fact, most people use them in this way. But the fact remains that we Americans are over-ranked. I'm not bashing America...don't get me wrong. I am commenting (bashing) on our proclivity to promote ourselves to high dan grades, and that's a problem. We're more concerned with the color of our belts, and have been for many decades, than we are with our success of our athletes in international judo competition. We're also more concerned with promoting students to high rank than we are with teaching them solid, serious, effective and functional judo. It's my opinion that we advance out students too fast in belt rank and somehow expect to be promoted to a lofty belt rank as we get older. It's time to slow down, be honest with ourselves and approach belt rank with a lot more humility than we have in the past.
The belt isn't the problem. It's how we view the belt. It's the respect (in some cases a begrudging respect, but respect none-the-less) that is more important that is earned from the judo, jujitsu or martial arts community that is important. It doesn't matter what rank Bob Corwin is. What matters is that he has coached hundreds of champions for many years and his athletes are technically very skilled, always show up in shape and are outstanding in every other way. Obviously, Bob must know something about judo or he wouldn't have the kind of success he has had for many years. I don't know what rank AnnMaria Demars is, but I know she was a World Judo Champion and a great one at that. These people are respected for what they have accomplished, what they know, and what they contribute. Maybe this sounds corny, but it's not the color of the belt but it's the fire in the belly that what really counts.
One more thing to mention, and not related to this subject. If you want to read a good blog, go to AnnMaria Demars' blog at http://drannmaria.blogspot.com/ and have a look. I also recommend Geral Lafon's blog but don't have his address in front of me. You can Google it. Both are definitely worth your time. By the way, we will miss Alisher Mantobetov, who recently returned to his home country of Kyrgyzstan. Alisher was in Kansas City for 2 years and was a great addition to our club. He will be missed, but he has an excellent chance of making Kyrgyzstan's 2012 Olympic Team for judo. It was also good to have Jarrod Fobes in town for a few days and do a couple of clinics for his old team-mates at Welcome Mat. Jarrod lives in Denver. Okay, so much for this issue.
