We’re completing our semi-annual exam cycle, something that most folks greet with mixed feelings. On the one hand, many members experience varying degrees of stress about the exam itself, performing in front of the class and having instructors judge them on their progress. (Note: a bit of stress can actually be good for you.) On the other hand, there is a sense of relief after it’s over, followed by several anxious weeks awaiting the results and hoping for promotion to the next level. Our members may train together as a cohort, but each travels his/her individual and unique journey in their study of Karate-Do. Here are three examples of differing attitudes and approaches towards exams/rank and how that impacts the path of progress in the art of Karate-Do
When I enrolled my son for his first karate lesson (over 40 years ago!), I was pleasantly surprised to run into an IBM co-worker who was already training as a green belt in class. Like most dojos, classes were held three times a week with exams every quarter. Many students dreaded taking the exam, they all looked forward to being promoted to a higher rank. Over time, I realized that my friend would never show up when exams were being held. When asked why, he told me that he hadn’t tested in years and that he wanted to continue training, focused on becoming “the best green belt I can be”. I found that to be an admirable but somewhat limiting attitude toward his personal goals in karate-do. Over the next couple of years, his peers and kohais gradually caught up and then surpassed him in rank,. Unfazed, he would keep on training hard as a green belt though I did not notice much improvement in his techniques during those years. In the end, he remained a veteran green belt who just enjoyed training at his level. This is a common phenomenon, though it is more common at the brown belt level. There is nothing wrong with this approach and his years of training were certainly beneficial to him. I can’t help thinking however, that when he left, he had not been taught anything beyond Heian Sandan and the most basic color-belt combinations after investing seven years, three times a week. (For those of you who train once a week, that equates to twenty-one years)
Remaining at a particular rank is not always a matter of choice. I remember a long-time brown belt at another dojo. An older gentleman with a slight handicap (club foot) who diligently trained in his tennis shoes and strived for his black belt (in fact, he had actually taken and failed the bi-annual black belt exam eight times in the past). I happened to be sitting at the exam table with my sensei when he tested for the ninth time – and finally passed! I turned to Sensei Ed and exclaimed that he was such a great example of perseverance. Later, we all joined in congratulating him when the results were announced. So I was surprised when he promptly quit shortly thereafter, he had achieved his goal of a black belt. In fact,, most of the talented and enthusiastic peers who attained their dan rankings with us back in the 1970’s also stopped training soon after. This is only natural when the focus is solely on achieving rank. Ironically, Senseis Peter, Wayne, and I all agree that we have learned far more about the art while training and teaching over the decades that followed attaining our first dan ranking.
Finally, there was another karateka I knew; a white belt with a general disdain for the necessity of exams or rank. He would only attend classes infrequently as a white belt for a long time, while spending many hours each week practicing on his own. He would badger his friend to teach him higher techniques and katas on the side. Finally, his patient friend suggested that rather than training on his own, he should regularly attend class, and actually start taking exams under the supervision of the sensei, and progress in normal fashion. The white belt finally accepted his advice, attended class regularly, and took his first exam in March 1972 and was awarded his black belt two years later….that rather foolish white belt was me. I’m sure glad that I took that good advice from my purple belt friend, who you know today as Sensei Peter. If I had ignored it, my journey with Karate-Do would have ended almost as soon as it started.
In retrospect, these three little vignettes demonstrate that one’s Karate-Do journey is as unique as the individuals who take them. Each approach successfully achieved its goal, though none was without flaw. The perennial green belt practiced hard for many years but early on, stopped making progress in knowledge and technique – though he did receive a lot of good conditioning. The brown belt finally achieved his goal of a black belt but never took the opportunity to explore the higher aspects of karate made available to him (like finally learning to read but then, never reading a single book). And then there’s the white belt, who might have informally learned quite a lot about karate and ended his walk a few years later….still a white belt.
In karate, as in life, each of us is a continuing work in progress. In the dojo, examinations and rank can be important milestones to help one make such progress in one’s Karate-Do journey, but should never become the focus in and of itself. I’ am especially impressed by the old-time black belts in our club. Each has made his/her own unique, individual journey in Karate-Do. Yet, I find a commonality in the place to which they are traveling. If you observe them, I do believe that you’ll see that each quietly shares a focus on developing their character, cultivating a strong spirit, and a constant drive to improve their, physical, mental, and emotional maturity…a never-ending work in progress.