Talking About The Actual Value Of A Black Belt

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Al_Case]Al Case
People put so much value on a black belt, and it is a fair question to ask what it is really worth. After all, time and energy in, a black belt is a very costly possession. So what is the real--actual and intrinsic--value of the thing?
To answer this question I draw on three specific anecdotes. These three tales will illuminate the points of this article, and provide some rather enlightening notions regarding value and expert status in the martial arts. They should give insight as to the real value of a black belt.
One time I was doing karate freestyle with my instructor, and he suddenly leaped in, grabbed my belt, pulled, and elbowed. My balance was off, I ate the elbow, but what was worse was in my mind. He had actually touched the sacred belt!
My sensei just gave a quirky grin. He had used my belt, but, in teaching me a lesson, and not abused it. He could treat that bit of dyed yarn like a rag, and it would glow with his respect.
The second anecdote concerns a fellow I met where I was working. He was a black belt, supposedly higher ranking than me, though he had never taken instruction at a dojo. He received a taekwondo black belt from his friend solely because he was a good fighter.
This fellow ran down the street using his black belt for a jump rope. Scuffing it off the pavement so he could do mindless exercises and grow physically stronger. There wasn't one bit of respect in his entire, puny, little soul for the badge of higher rank.
The third story regards this my humble self: I use my black belt to help myself stretch when doing yoga. I loop it over my feet to keep my legs straight, and then relax into whatever pose. I am using that belt to learn, to help myself become a better human being, to become better at martial arts.
Now, I respect the belt, even as I stretch it and wear it out. And when I wear it out, and it snaps from use, I will bow to it as I place it in the trash, and then I will get another one from a store and try to wear that one out. I do this with love and reverence, for the knowledge, for the masters who have gone before, for the insight that makes me want to do more than mindless exercise, that impels me along the way that earning a black belt has opened up so gloriously for me. [http://freemartialartsonline.com]Free Martial Arts Books, articles, lessons and more. Head on over on over to [http://freemartialartsonline.com]Free Martial Arts Online.
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