Recently, we completed a rank examination for HISKF – the first testing in almost a year. Most dojos hold exams every 3-4 months while HISKF tests every 9 months or more. Partly, this reflects the fact that most of our members only get to train once a week, while students in a regular dojo train three times or more a week. As a result, both the learning process and the exam schedule become stretched out. Fortunately, our members strive to improve their knowledge and ability in Karate-Do in the midst of a busy life, filled with many activities. I like to think that HISKF students are not obsessed with ranks, tournaments, or trophies.
That said, we know that most students (especially our younger members) quietly relish being promoted to a higher rank, especially if it involves a new color belt. They may not realize that In the old days judo and karate adherents trained so very hard, often on a daily basis, when there were no color belts nor any black belts to achieve and wear! Some ancient Japanese martial arts used a shodan/chudan/jodan rank system; others used the menkyo or license system. Master Jigoro Kano issued the first judo black belts (no color belts then) in the 1880’s while Master Gichin Funakoshi gave out the first karate black belts in the 1920’s. (Funakoshi followed Kano’s practice as they were friends and both were school teachers in their professional lives)
The Asian World of Martial Arts (AWMA), an online supplier of martial arts gear, provides a short history of the belt system in their AWMA Blog:
It’s really not about the belt, or certificate, or rank. The most valuable part of your examination are the hastily scribbled notes and comments that the examiners wrote on the papers stuffed behind your rank document (I know, the papers underlying your beautiful promotion certificate). These are the evaluation highlights of your test performance. Take a moment to go over them to see where and what you should improve upon. If you have your eval paperwork from previous exams, compare these and see if the areas to work on remain the same from test to test and examiner to examiner – these are the areas to focus on and improve in your life-long walk on the path of Karate-Do.