11/7/07 - What Would A Black Belt Do?

I think on of the most important life skills taught at our center is the black belt attitude. Using black belt as a metaphor for high standards of personal excellence, students seek to “act like a black belt would.” This attitude of excellence extends beyond the martial arts class. Students work not just to become black belt martial artists, but academic black belts, black belt employees and black belt parents.

You create a standard that asks throughout each day, “How would a black belt do this?” How would a black belt sit and listen to the teacher? How would a black belt clean his room? How would a black belt work on this job?

This new standard develops into an attitude of positive self expectancy which means good things happen to people who work hard.

In our belt system, students learn the importance of the four steps to goal setting through the example of earning their black belt.

Step one is to know what it is you want. In the martial arts, it's the black belt. Most students don't set black belt as a goal initially. It's up to the instructor in the beginners classes to motivate, educate and instill the desire to earn a black belt in each student.

The second step is to take the long term goal and break it down into short term goals. In the martial arts, this is the importance of having a well structured belt and stripe system so students have exams every month. These short term goals work as motivating mini-victories for the students. All confidence is built upon a foundation of excellence and accomplishment. With each exam successfully completed, the student builds confidence towards seeing themselves as black belts.

The third step is to map out a very specific plan to take you to your goal. A good martial arts school has developed a curriculum that, while possibly based in a particular style, does not make the student serve the style. Instead, the style or curriculum serves the student. If the student attends class and practices with the black belt attitude, the curriculum is well designed and specific in helping them achieve the goal of earning a black belt.

The fourth step is critical. You must develop a team to help you achieve your goal. This is why the student/instructor relationship is so important. That's why we our Leadership Team and Instructor Team are so important. It's difficult to obtain a goal as worthy as a black belt without the help of people who have already taken that path.

We know you too can earn your black belt, but there will be obstacles and it won't be easy. In fact, you are taking portions of your black belt test every day. Every time you don't feel like coming to class but make the effort to get in your car or on your bike to get here, you have passed a part of your black belt test. Every class that you take is part of your black belt test. Miss class and you fail that part of the class. Attend class and you pass. Of course, you have to work hard in that class to make it count. Let's see how hard you will work today. Let's get started... (adopted from John Graden)

Another Sixth Dan thesis excerpt:

The Power of the Body

The body weeps the tears that the eyes refuse to shed.
Proverb

If you don’t take good care of our body, where will we live?
Anonymous


I started martial arts over 27 years ago because of the physical benefits of the martial arts, and I am just as amazed by them today. Each stance is a strengthening, stretching, and energy moving exercise. The intricate hand techniques develop coordination and brain function. The kicking not only stretches and strengthens the legs in every plane, but helps make taekwondo a more cardiovascular and weight managing workout. The best part of the physical aspect of our martial art training is the variety of movement that we continually expand on. As participants get older they may not do the jumping and spinning as much, but there are so many movements that they can continue to do and not only maintain function in those joints, but add to their ability.


Taekwondo has a unique blend of whole body movements that take into account the entire well being of an individual. The movements are natural and engaging because they are based on real-life application. An emphasis on self-perfection helps ensure safety and injury prevention. Taekwondo participation has a positive influence on health related fitness such as cardio-respiratory fitness, joint flexibility, and muscle strength and endurance, and weight management.

Cardio-respiratory fitness refers to the ability of the heart and lungs to operate efficiently during exertion over an extended period. Taekwondo striking and kicking performed repetitively over an extended time represent the upper and lower-body movements that offer aerobic improvements for the martial artist.

Joint flexibility refers to the range of motion a person has at each joint in the body. Joint movement at the ankle, knee, and hip are essential for kicks, and the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joint movements are necessary for strikes. Rotation and flexion movements at the trunk are necessary for strikes and kicks, and require flexibility of the pelvis.

Muscular strength and muscular endurance will improve when practicing taekwondo skills. Muscular strength refers to the ability to exert short-term forceful movements, and muscular endurance involves eliciting force over an extended time. Forceful contractions of upper-body, trunk, and lower-body muscle groups are necessary to perform the striking and kicking skills correctly. Students develop muscular strength through these efforts. In addition, when students perform these skills repeatedly, as in a taekwondo aerobic routine, they enhance muscular endurance.

Taekwondo can be used to aid in weight management whenever students participate in vigorous physical activity, and burn a large number of calories. Expending calories is a key factor in managing the health-related fitness component of body composition. Body composition is a person’s ratio of body fat to lean body mass, often referred to in the context of body fat percentage. A well-planned taekwondo lesson can require demanding upper- and lower-body movements. This type of energetic workout results in significant calorie usage.

Performance-related fitness such as balance, coordination, speed, agility, and reaction time will be improved through taekwondo practice as well.

Balance involves maintaining equilibrium against the force of gravity. Kicking skills require maintaining balance while standing on one leg, and at the same time moving the other leg forcefully and dynamically. Add to these circumstances bending and twisting the trunk, and studens can develop balance considerably.

Coordination involves performing a set of movements with the proper sequencing and rhythm. Taekwondo skills require a series of specific movements that flow from one to another. Practicing the transition from one movement to the next with fluidness will result in a coordinated, skillful appearance.

Speed refers to moving the body or parts of the body as rapidly as possible from one point to another. Striking and kicking with speed are important aspects of taekwondo training. When students combine speed with the force of muscular strength, the result is muscular power.

Combining two or more skills in a series of movements will improve agility. Agility refers to the ability to change directions rapidly and accurately. Moving the body forward, backward, and sideways while moving into the various techniques is what promotes agility. Students need agility to make these changes in direction quickly, efficiently, and precisely.

Reaction time refers to the length of time it takes to respond to a stimulus. The speed of the reaction determines whether you get hit a strike or kick in the martial arts class.