When Rank Matters
[I:http://mymartialartsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/AlCase6.jpg] I was studying Chinese Kenpo/Karate Kung back in 1967. There weren’t a lot of martial arts in America back then. Judo had become known during the nifty fifties, and karate was making it’s impact during the swinging sixties, but the kung fu craze of the 70′s, and the ninjitsu phase of the 90′s were still some distance off.
So I was studying what I thought was the best art in the world, and I was studying under a person who I just knew was the deadliest man to ever walk the face of the galaxy. After all, the other fellows all told me he was just unbeatable, and he even had trophies in the window! How could I doubt?
One day I was talking to a green belt who had just joined our school and who had known my instructor for years. “Look,” he said suddenly, ‘there’s my name.’ And sure enough, there was his name, right on and attesting to my instructor’s certificate of rank!
Some time later I was studying a form of Korean karate–sorry, there wasn’t any real tae kwon do back then, and the TKD that there was used pinans/heians in their curriculum. This art, too, was taught by a fellow surrounded by various rumor. This time I looked at the fellow doing the teaching, instead of the certificate, and I ended up staying.
As time went passed I worked my way towards black beltand as I did so I received these beautiful, ornate certificates with original Korean writing and a real chop. But when I received my black belt the certificate was just a piece of thick paper with bad handwriting. My instructor told me, “Oh, I left that organization. I had to make up my own certificates.”
Curious, having the funny feeling that there was something more to be known, I asked one of the assistant instructors what the true story was. The true story, according to that assistant instructor, was that a couple of fellows came in one day and told my instructor that the organization he belonged to was joining with another organization, so he would have to, also, and if he did so he would automatically be promoted one rank, and so would all of his black belts.
So my instructor left the organization, and, you know what? I didn’t care. Somewhere in between the two arts that I had studied I had lost my appreciation for beautiful pieces of paper, and had gained an appreciation for workable art.
As an instructor, these many years later, I find that it irks me that students are concerned with rank. As a fellow who could be accused of rapidly joining the ranks of old fuddy duddies, I see the value of goal motivation, but I also see the young becoming infatuated with social status to the neglect of workability. And when, invariably, some young student presses my buttons on this matter I’ll respond with, “Rank is to help me order the class, not for you to impress your friends.
Related posts
Tagged with: Aikido • fitness • instructor • Judo • jujitsu • karate • kung fu • martial arts • self defense • Tae kwon do
Filed under: karate
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Leave a Reply