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Competency Testing
I know that this might get ugly, but I have a student who came to my school as a Black Belt from the same system. I've fielded some comments from Parents and students about the whether or not this student is worthy of the rank. As chief instructor I obviously let all involved know that my tolerance for this kind of behavior was at its’ threshold. I’m far from a Lamb when it comes to expressing my beliefs on things, but….. a good argument can sway my opinion. I believe that this student is deserving of the rank, he may not be the most talented or promising Martial Artist I’ve ever seen, but he is dedicated, always gives 100%, he gets it….you know what I mean? He is very small for 17, but not afraid or timid. He knows all the material and is slightly more than proficient.
I put this article in my schools news letter and am going to share it with you. I am prepared for the full body slams I may get, but I think that some of you will agree with me.
As Instructors we test and promote our colored ranks on competency. This in no way indicates the students’ ability to defend them self with the technique, it merely means that they have worked hard to learn the block/strike/takedown sequence of events. Is this a bad thing? No, it speaks volumes and lends credibility to the martial arts; this basic principle is why martial arts training is so valuable. It allows students to experience firsthand a great sense of accomplishment, it teaches them to set and achieve short term goals, it helps them to focus and teaches them self discipline, and it also builds self esteem. While these are all positive aspects of martial arts, for every yin there is a yang. The down side to competency testing is that we build a martial artist unprepared to defend them self, we send them out into the world with a false sense of confidence. Let’s face it, who wants their nine year old son armed with the competency and the self confidence to hurt, mame or possibly even kill a would be attacker. Martial arts training for children is not a self defense system; I equate it to giving your child a toy gun and a truck load of flat screen TV's and dropping them of on the bad side of town to protect their inventory. It’s not going to happen, does that mean that only 180 pound 14 year old kids jacked on bovine growth hormone should be able to test for black belt. No absolutely not. I’ve got news for all you martial artists with a 3rd degree brown belt and six years invested in the martial arts, you’ve worked so hard at becoming competent at your skills, and eventually you will test for and earn your black belt. Welcome to the white belt advanced class. You know all the basic and I do mean basic block/ strike/takedown sequence of events. Now while we progress from novice to intermediate level martial artists, we start the long road to perfecting what it is we do, and we have a few years and many bumps and bruises until we earn another red stripe on our still crisp Shodan Belt. Competency is no longer an issue, if it was, you wouldn't have gotten this far. The new task at hand is confidence. With nothing but time on your hands, use it wisely. Be like the watch maker; take apart every one of your
techniques, fine tune and adjust them, look for the physical intent and not just the content, work body mechanics and proper weight distribution, strike with maximum efficiency not just proficiency. Learn to master the machine that is your body and then and only then, will you truly have the level of self confidence that it takes to walk the walk.
This being said, I have never promoted a child to the rank of Shodan as of yet. I use a Junior Black Belt system until the student is both confident, competent, and mature enough to be a black belt.
I know that this might get ugly, but I have a student who came to my school as a Black Belt from the same system. I've fielded some comments from Parents and students about the whether or not this student is worthy of the rank. As chief instructor I obviously let all involved know that my tolerance for this kind of behavior was at its’ threshold. I’m far from a Lamb when it comes to expressing my beliefs on things, but….. a good argument can sway my opinion. I believe that this student is deserving of the rank, he may not be the most talented or promising Martial Artist I’ve ever seen, but he is dedicated, always gives 100%, he gets it….you know what I mean? He is very small for 17, but not afraid or timid. He knows all the material and is slightly more than proficient.
I put this article in my schools news letter and am going to share it with you. I am prepared for the full body slams I may get, but I think that some of you will agree with me.
As Instructors we test and promote our colored ranks on competency. This in no way indicates the students’ ability to defend them self with the technique, it merely means that they have worked hard to learn the block/strike/takedown sequence of events. Is this a bad thing? No, it speaks volumes and lends credibility to the martial arts; this basic principle is why martial arts training is so valuable. It allows students to experience firsthand a great sense of accomplishment, it teaches them to set and achieve short term goals, it helps them to focus and teaches them self discipline, and it also builds self esteem. While these are all positive aspects of martial arts, for every yin there is a yang. The down side to competency testing is that we build a martial artist unprepared to defend them self, we send them out into the world with a false sense of confidence. Let’s face it, who wants their nine year old son armed with the competency and the self confidence to hurt, mame or possibly even kill a would be attacker. Martial arts training for children is not a self defense system; I equate it to giving your child a toy gun and a truck load of flat screen TV's and dropping them of on the bad side of town to protect their inventory. It’s not going to happen, does that mean that only 180 pound 14 year old kids jacked on bovine growth hormone should be able to test for black belt. No absolutely not. I’ve got news for all you martial artists with a 3rd degree brown belt and six years invested in the martial arts, you’ve worked so hard at becoming competent at your skills, and eventually you will test for and earn your black belt. Welcome to the white belt advanced class. You know all the basic and I do mean basic block/ strike/takedown sequence of events. Now while we progress from novice to intermediate level martial artists, we start the long road to perfecting what it is we do, and we have a few years and many bumps and bruises until we earn another red stripe on our still crisp Shodan Belt. Competency is no longer an issue, if it was, you wouldn't have gotten this far. The new task at hand is confidence. With nothing but time on your hands, use it wisely. Be like the watch maker; take apart every one of your
techniques, fine tune and adjust them, look for the physical intent and not just the content, work body mechanics and proper weight distribution, strike with maximum efficiency not just proficiency. Learn to master the machine that is your body and then and only then, will you truly have the level of self confidence that it takes to walk the walk.
This being said, I have never promoted a child to the rank of Shodan as of yet. I use a Junior Black Belt system until the student is both confident, competent, and mature enough to be a black belt.
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