Does your school use belts?

well even though my kwoon has chimed in aready i will give my two pennies,
in our school i find that people might care about rank untill they reach the senior ranks and then it doesn't matter as much. now i don't care about belts and all that, but at the same time i value my sash because of all the blood sweat and tears i went through to get it. so i think if i started fresh it wouldn't matter but i dont' think i want to give up my sash now. hope that makes sense

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"Holy bat farts"
"Just remember there's many kinds of toughness in this world and not all of them involve kicking in someone's teeth to prove a point." SammyGirl Fan Club

"Blackbelt" is the only belt you'll see in our school. We use the "Gup" Level system. You have to complete 8 levels before you are allowed to test for blackbelt.

With that said, most of our schools in the U.S. use the belt ranking system though. I must admit, it (belt) increases the students sense of achievement and confidence (and a bragging right for the parents also) by 75% once they see that colored belt around their waist.

I remembered when I fist started training in Teoul Moon kung fu, our school was invited to an Open MA Tournament (sponsored by a TKD school); we had the hardest time placing ourselves in tournament "categories" because we did not know which "Gup" level is equivalent to what colored belt, so to be fair to the students, my Sabunim at that time ended up using colored sashes (in place of belts) to signify Gup level achievements.

“	Originally Posted By: HungFamilyFist Thats why I started this thread, i wanted to see what peple thaught of them. As I meantioned in the forst post. My current school doesn't use them. My former school did.	”

No worries, but I had to make that comment....

My gf took TKD so..... I'll bag on it every now and then.

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It's all about the nitty gritty.......

“	Originally Posted By: sholo86 "Blackbelt" is the only belt you'll see in our school. We use the "Gup" Level system. You have to complete 8 levels before you are allowed to test for blackbelt. With that said, most of our schools in the U.S. use the belt ranking system though. I must admit, it (belt) increases the students sense of achievement and confidence (and a bragging right for the parents also) by 75% once they see that colored belt around their waist. I remembered when I fist started training in Teoul Moon kung fu, our school was invited to an Open MA Tournament (sponsored by a TKD school); we had the hardest time placing ourselves in tournament "categories" because we did not know which "Gup" level is equivalent to what colored belt, so to be fair to the students, my Sabunim at that time ended up using colored sashes (in place of belts) to signify Gup level achievements.	”

Nice to see you post again sholo.

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It's all about the nitty gritty.......

“	Originally Posted By: jawsman No worries, but I had to make that comment.... My gf took TKD so..... I'll bag on it every now and then.	”

Oh Jaws, I took TKD so I make fun of it constantly. WHen I started Shaolin, I realised how much of what they taught me was utterly useless in self defense. My school taught the strict 'olymppic' style TKD(sparring for points). But every belt level had some defense technique to learn. Like kicking a knife out of an attackers hand....

Ya, I'm much happier with shaolin.

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"When the battle is over, tighten your chin strap." ~Old Japanese Saying
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Hung Gar/Win Chung student

“	Originally Posted By: HungFamilyFist But every belt level had some defense technique to learn. Like kicking a knife out of an attackers hand.... Ya, I'm much happier with shaolin.	”

And how special, useful was that technique? Sorry, had to do it again....

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It's all about the nitty gritty.......

sholo86 has an interesting point about open MA tournaments and belt colors. Occasionally our school participates in open tourneys sponsored by karate orgs (NASKA, e.g.), and competitors have to specify what belt color they are in order to be placed in the right group. So that takes a little work, to figure out where our competitors will go.

On the other hand, at TCMA tourneys, competitors will typically be placed in groups depending on the number of years they have trained (beginner 0-1 yrs., intermediate 1-3 yrs, advanced 3+ yrs., for example). In the intermediate group I've seen a huge range of skill, from novice to "what's he doing in a lower level".

In some ways the "number of years" grouping is a little unfair. Students develop at different rates for different reasons. Take two students from the same system, both with 4 years of training, but one has no problem competing at the advanced level while the other can barely competes at intermediate level. I don't know if the belt system resolves this issue -- if the skills are more standardized at each belt level allowing for a fairer competition. Can anyone name drawbacks to belt color groupings in tournaments?

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"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

“	now i don't care about belts and all that, but at the same time i value my sash because of all the blood sweat and tears i went through to get it. so i think if i started fresh it wouldn't matter but i dont' think i want to give up my sash now.	”

You should watch full metal alchemist. To spoil the ending is the opposite of what you just said.

And as aqira stated those who use sashes tend to argue for it and those who don't use them argue against them. This comes about because most of culture and most of us are followers. This goes for many things our martial training and in society, it is up to us to evaluate how our values can be used for good and how they can be used to hurt us. Then we should choose our poison to succeed.

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"You're lucky buddhism teaches freedom from desire, because I have the desire to kick your ass!" -Richard Gere- from the Simpsons

Nice to see you posting again fire

That was a very good point it is just part of our value system and that is unique to each person.

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You are not where you have been and you are not where you are going you are only here.

“	Originally Posted By: fireinthewater You should watch full metal alchemist. To spoil the ending is the opposite of what you just said. And as aqira stated those who use sashes tend to argue for it and those who don't use them argue against them. This comes about because most of culture and most of us are followers. This goes for many things our martial training and in society, it is up to us to evaluate how our values can be used for good and how they can be used to hurt us. Then we should choose our poison to succeed.	”

well no one hs given me full metal alchemists!! after all i do for people

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"Holy bat farts"
"Just remember there's many kinds of toughness in this world and not all of them involve kicking in someone's teeth to prove a point." SammyGirl Fan Club

“	Originally Posted By: jawsman And how special, useful was that technique? Sorry, had to do it again....	”

don't get me started. All i'll say is that they gave me a technique to kick a knife out of a guys hand....

that would work well, but in the time it took for my foot to get to the hand, all the attacker would have to do is turnt he knife sideways and i no longer have a foot.

just an example

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"When the battle is over, tighten your chin strap." ~Old Japanese Saying
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Hung Gar/Win Chung student

thats a great technique but you have to set it up porperly by pointing behind them and saying "whats that!"

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"Holy bat farts"
"Just remember there's many kinds of toughness in this world and not all of them involve kicking in someone's teeth to prove a point." SammyGirl Fan Club

“	Originally Posted By: HungFamilyFist don't get me started. All i'll say is that they gave me a technique to kick a knife out of a guys hand.... that would work well, but in the time it took for my foot to get to the hand, all the attacker would have to do is turnt he knife sideways and i no longer have a foot. just an example	”

At least you realise what is what.

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It's all about the nitty gritty.......

I just wanted to mention that our school uses a sash system and also makes a point to mention its limitations.

In our oral exam part of our beginning level sash tests we are asked if all people with the same sash level are of equal skill level within the school and if sashes of the same color from different schools mean an equal level of skill. The answer (of course) being no.

-aaradia

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I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me & through me.& when it has gone I will turn to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain.F.Herbert

Sounds like a good way to give students an awareness of sash/belt color systems.

At least 2 tournaments I've attended I heard this: "Why are they letting all these black sashes compete in the beginner level?"

When I was a newbie in Orlando, my classmates & I were trying to figure out who the more experienced/skilled students were (without seeing them in action). We finally decided that those with the most beat-up shoes had the most skill. To a point, that was true -- doing sweeps across concrete day after day will wear holes into the sides & heels of those cheap black shoes, and the tough rubber soles will wear down flat eventually.

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"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...