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Origin of Colored Belts

The concept of colored belts as a level of rank originated with the founder of Judo in 1888. Jigaro Kano popularized the practice by awarding different colors of “obi”, or belt to distinguish between beginner, intermediate, and advanced practitioners. Shotokan Karate founder Gichin Funakoshi picked up on the practice when the two founders shared Kanos dojo for a time. Prior to that, students had one white belt that matched their white training “Gi”, or uniform, that held their gi top closed. Over time the uniform would be washed but not the belt. The belt would get darker and darker with sweat staining and more worn indicating someone who had trained for a long time. Through this process, the “black” belt became a representation of a high level of skill. Today, belt rank still symbolizes the progression of a student’s ability with each color representing the next step in the growth of the student. Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean based forms of martial arts utilize the belt rank method of progression with anywhere from 4 to 10 different colors of belt up to the Black Belt level.

Colored Belts Validate Progress

This tradition encourages and awards students. Through this practice, the student can visually see his or her progression. The belt ranking system also functions as a tool to encourage and reward students. Those who work hard, train, and continue to learn will take a test, and upon passing will receive a new belt or a stripe on their belt. A properly earn belt is a validation of the effort put forth in class.

Americanized Belt System

While seeing your progression through successive colored belts is a good thing, it has been abused by many schools and instructors. It can be used as a tool for some to justify additional test fees adding to the overall tuition cost while providing nothing tangible to the student. The concept of breaking down the time required and skills learned for a specific belt onto smaller units, shown by taped stripes on the belt, has proven to be popular in America but has not been adopted as much outside the United States. Some Americanized dojos have two or three stripes for beginner white belt before promoting to the first colored belt level with another two or three stripe levels for each colored belt as well. This usually serves as a reason to charge extra testing fees and gives the students an unrealistic sense of accomplishment instead of a true and well-earned sense of what they have attained. Most traditional dojos with ties close to their original discipline tend to use a solid color belt for all ranks below Brown or Red belt and breaking down these advanced blocks of instruction into two or three levels due to the time and complexity of these advanced skill sets.

Belt Rank Meanings can Vary

This practice preys on the student in need of validation or the family who pushes the student to acquire physical symbols of worthiness. Most people that are new to martial arts don’t realize that belt rank only has meaning in that dojo or organization that issued it and is not a guarantee that another dojo or style will equate the rank with the same color belt. The skill required for each belt level can vary dramatically from dojo to dojo even in a similar style. Green belts in one style may surpass Black Belts of another style in skill and knowledge.

Mastering the Martial Arts Skillset

In our modern times, many people put too much emphasis on the color belt and not the skill set being mastered. Everyone learns at a different rate and the amount of time needed to make proper physical habits to build reactions on before jumping to the next level varies from person to person. All too often kids are being passed for a new belt without even really knowing what they are doing or why. Having a Black Belt in Karate but no practical skill is a waste of time and effort for an accomplishment that cannot serve its intended purpose. It’s better to be a white belt with 3 techniques that you can actually use without thinking, than a Black Belt with 300 techniques you have to think about before using.

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Many objects that are carried by people daily can be used effectively for self-defense. With a little forethought and minimal training, everyday items can be an armory of improvised weapons. Keys are carried by virtually all people as well as cell phones, pens and sunglasses. All of these items can be used for effective self-defense as force multiplying object, an object smaller and harder than the hand used to multiply the force of a strike.

Keys

Almost everyone carries house or car keys. Keys can be an effective force multiplier. Many of us were taught at a young age to prepare to defend ourselves by carrying our keys sticking out between the fingers while the rest of the keychain is gripped in the fist. This is highly effective and makes a thrust toward the face very incapacitating. Thank your mother for that one. She was right.

Cell Phones

A cell phone is another object that most people carry with them today and can be a useful tool in preventing crime. Taking pictures or video of suspicious surroundings or people is a great deterrent to anyone wanting to do something illegal. Using the camera feature to look around dark or dubious corners before exposing yourself is also an excellent tactic.  Cell phones can also be used as weapons. Many cell phone cases are impact resistant. This allows the corners of the cell phone to be used as great force multipliers for striking.

Pens

Many people have pens easily accessible, and they are convenient to put in your purse or pocket.  Pens are an immense force multiplier. Striking with a pen causes pain and can cause serious wounds to soft tissue areas which will aid in identifying a suspect. Regular pens will work, but tactical pens are available that are made of hard military grade aluminum and are shaped and gripped for striking effectiveness while still being a working pen.

Sunglasses

The arms of sunglasses are long and slender and are made of mild metal or hard plastic. This material is capable of stabbing in the eyes or neck if gripped like the keys. They will probably break during impact leaving a jagged tip should you need to stab again.

With a little training, these objects can be the difference between victim and victor. These items paired with basic techniques, and a little tactics will make anyone capable of thwarting a potential attacker.

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We live in a fast paced society that makes it hard to remember that some things are still earned through hard work and sweat. On every television and radio station, website, or grocery isle is an advertisement for products that promise amazing results with no work. These products primarily appeal to our vanity. They tend to focus on wrinkles, cellulite, weight loss, and just about every industry manufactured “problem” that pertains to our bodies. Unfortunately, this is a marketing contrived misconception. They are quick fixes that do not last, and can be harmful, if they even work at all.

Put in the Effort

The good news is that there are truly ways to curtail these “problems” if you are inclined to do so. The bad news is that it may take getting a little sweaty, a bit of self-control, and even a little discomfort. Weight control and health can be attained, but forget the easy stuff. Resign yourself to putting in the effort as distressing as it sounds.

Sweat Earned Accomplishment

At ArtFit, we specialize in sweat earned accomplishment, so I have learned a few things about it over the years. Without trying to sound like a motivational poster, accomplishments are so much more meaningful when they are earned. We have become so accustomed to not being uncomfortable that we have forgotten the exhilaration of accomplishing something through hard work and effort.

Set Goals

Find something that you enjoy doing, and set goals to accomplish activities, not inches around your waist. Focus on what your body can do, not what it looks like. Fuel your body with food that is good for you, not just easy to find. You will find this makes the work so much more enjoyable, and the goals more achievable.

Achieve

You can win a title fight! You can achieve that crazy pole dance move! You can lose 75 pounds! In the midst of the struggle it seems like you will never get there. You may feel like you can’t even make the next five minutes, but you can. You can achieve these goals. When you do, you will never forget how good it felt. You will want to do it again. Set another goal, work hard, and achieve it.
Be careful. It might even become addicting.

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The more things change, the more they stay the same. This is never truer than in martial arts. Historically accurate, traditional martial arts have spent generations perfecting the techniques of hand to hand combat and weaponry. Defensive tactics is modern curriculum taught to law enforcement and security professionals as a means to defend one’s self and to subdue attackers.  A comparison of modern and traditional techniques proves that it is nearly impossible to improve on centuries of warfare experience. The ancient techniques are still applicable in modern self-defense and defensive tactics situations.

Japanes Swordsmanship

Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu, the Japanese swordsmanship taught at ArtFit, goes back roughly 425 years. It was used by the samurai of Tosa in ancient Japan. This ancient discipline has paved the way for law enforcement defensive tactics training. Martial Arts instructors and law enforcement officer Walt Bushey says, “the law enforcement defensive tactics that I teach is contemporary and designed for my job as a Deputy Sheriff. Yet, I find myself using similar, if not identical techniques in both disciplines. The shooting posture that I use and teach in law enforcement is identical to the basic sword posture taught in swordsmanship. The same techniques taught to prevent an attacker from grabbing your sword hilt, four centuries ago, works perfectly today in preventing an attacker from grabbing an officer’s duty weapon.” There are many examples of sword techniques that are still completely functional as modern self-defense techniques. The act of raising a sword over one’s head with both hands, in preparation for a downward strike, would seem to be a single purpose movement from a bygone era. However, holding ones hands together and utilizing the same movement works as a simple, yet highly effective, means of blocking a punch or strike aimed at your head. Grabbing a sword with a two hand grip and cutting upward, then turning 180 degrees and cutting downward seems only applicable in sword fighting, but grabbing an attacker’s forearm exactly like a sword while executing the same movement results in a forceful and controlled throw of an attacker. Although swordsmanship is no longer the basis of warfare, its techniques are proven effective, even in modern situations.

Karate

Karate, like swordsmanship, is still as useful today as it was at its inception. The difference in traditional Japanese karate and modern defensive tactics is simply history and culture, not the physical technique. Both traditional karate and modern defensive tactics teach self-defense. Karate teaches the use of force in greater detail and imbues the foundations of discipline, courtesy, and respect while broadening the mind of the student to another culture. This is what makes a Karate class the best environment for children. Defensive Tactics teaches the same techniques as a professional adult curriculum. The fundamentals are the same, but the emphases of the training changes. Defensive tactics concentrates on the use of force. Discipline and respect are assumed to be already ingrained in professional adults. Karate’s emphases on the art form and culture are the only things that make it different from modern defensive tactics that are taught to professionals. Both the modern and traditional discipline proved an effective self-defense curriculum with different focusses to fulfill different needs.

Modern and Ancient Martial Arts

Modern society has brought a different need for the techniques that began centuries ago, but the fundamentals have endured. Walt Bushey has studied and taught both modern and ancient martial arts. He said, “As a student of both hoplology (warfare) and personal martial arts, I research both historically and physically how techniques work.  It never ceases to please me that things passed down to me from centuries ago are fully applicable in modern times.” Some things don’t need reinventing.

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