The martial artist's belt (obi)

So what’s with the all the belts and stripes (or lack thereof) in martial arts?  This is one of the most- asked questions that someone with no previous knowledge with martial arts, asks.  It is also one of the most misunderstood aspects of training, improvement, and growth of those of us who practice the martial arts.

First, one must understand the history of the belt itself and then we can take a look at the modern use of it.  There must also be an understanding that there is quite the difference between the way in which martial artists in different regions of the world have utilized the obi, particularly in modern martial arts. Today we will only be considering our understanding of things with a Japanese origin.  These ideas do not apply to those martial arts outside of Japan, namely those of Chinese or Korean origin (Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do, etc.) nor do they apply to very modern martial arts such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I am not a student of these arts and have no formal training in them  other than brief visits to my friends' facilities to train with them.  

Kaku Obi

The belt in its simplest use was very utilitarian in that it simply held an overjacket such as a kimono closed.  For the warrior class it also served as the connection point for a swordsman and his sword.   For those who study martial tactics in the koryu manner (old school, before the Meiji restoration) the belt worn was something similar to the one shown here and listed as a kaku obi.  These obi were much wider than what is usually worn in martial arts dojos today.  Often you will still see practitioners of koryu arts as well as some gendai (modern) martial arts such as Aikido, Kendo, and Iaido wearing them as well.  As with most things related to martial arts, this is certainly not a rule for these modern students, but certainly is possible.

In 1883, a change occurred that would prove to be the genesis of when distinguished ranks occurred.  It was then that the founder of Judo, Jigaro Kano Sensei, awarded shodan to two of his long time students.  However, it was not until 1886 that he asked all of his shodans to start wearing a black obi.  Again this was like the one pictured above, to distinguish themselves from the mudansha (those without a dan.)  It was not until many years later in 1935 that Mikonosuke Kaiwashi Sensei, who was teaching in Europe at the time, began using colored ranks before achieving a shodan.  It is believed, although the research is not clear, that Kaiwashi Sensei had so many students that he could not keep up with their progress.  To help him sort his students out, he started using dye, paint or some other sort of coloring upon white belts or their uniform to help him distinguish between the particular ranks of his students. 

It is this author's belief that proponents of the colored belt system have found a wonderful home in the United States of America.  For it is within America that self-aggrandizement and self-absorption is at a high.  Most have missed the internal aspects of proper budo training and think that belt colors, uniform adornments, trophies and medals are in some way indicative of one's skill.  While this is certainly the case in tournament fighting and such, it is in no way an indicator of one who understands the maze of arcane traditions of martial arts training.  I have been fortunate to train with many high-ranking martial art teachers of both Japanese and American birth and background.  These men and women never indicated to my understanding, that their abilities lie within a belt and its color.  My understanding of their teaching to me is, particularly from a Japanese perspective, attainment of a black belt means nothing more than you have finally grasped most of the basics. 

Some would think that a black belt means that you are now a teacher, sometimes referred to as a Sensei.  This too, could not be further from the truth.  The more advanced a student and the rank that goes with it do not necessarily mean that they yield a certain power over less advanced students.  What I believe, is that they may have more knowledge, but having that knowledge means more responsibility goes along with it. 

From a pure business perspective some dojos and other martial arts facilities utilize the belt as a carrot for continued connection to the training.  While we must admit this is an important aspect to some martial artists training (and at times I am a bit ashamed to admit, my own), it should never be the first and foremost goal of the trainee.

At one point in my training many years ago I was researching ranks and titles and such and came across a forum discussing the topic at length.  It was there that a very self-absorbed person was detailing how to use sandpaper to sand the edges of his black belt so that he could make it seem as if it was more worn and old.  Therefore, from is perspective,  he would garner more respect among his students.  I am naive' at my core and I was completely disheartened that such a practice was being done, let alone the method of doing it being taught in such a way. 

For those of you reading that are familiar with our dojo here in Kentucky (Bluegrass Budokai), we have a colored belt system in place for our youth classes and only white and black belts in adult classes.  Many ask why this is so, and the answeris very simple.  I saw my Aikido teacher doing it that way and I was trying to imitate what he was doing. I never asked him why, because that would have been rude. The longer answer is perhaps my personal feelings and observations after doing it this way for a number of years now.  Youth simply need the positive reinforcement of the colored belts to keep them motivated. It is within those classes that we do very specific activities so that none of the kiddos get too focused on the belts.  However, we mostly have only dedicated students in our adult classes because there is no certificate, belt, or other outward display to indicate their rank.  While this sometimes causes problems when our adults travel to train, it has not proven to be a problem for our dojo.  However, we do lose those students seeking the belts before they every really get started.  Our loss I suppose.

Our dojo was very fortunate for a short two years to have a fine older gentleman training in judo, aikido, and iaido with us.  This gentleman was 63 years old at the time, had very high rank in judo and aikido, along with being an olympic gold medalist from the Phillipines in his youth.  He chose to wear a white belt most of the time while at our dojo for various reasons that are known only to a few of us. At 63, he was one who would simply do breaking balance and loading up practice and throw us without even trying.  He would tell me his "secret" every time he appeared at our dojo and this secret was three stretches and this particular hip movement practice that he utilized in each of our martial traditions.   He had been doing this daily since he started his judo training at the age of 12. 

Make no mistake about it, the only way to develop a skill in martial arts is practice.  It is through such hard practice that one's understanding of self will grow and hopefully flourish, particularly under the tutelage of a capable teacher and a mat containing like-minded students.  The belt itself is not an indicator of true skill.  All martial arts have their imposters and ridiculous methods of pretending to put their skill set on display.  At the same time there are many martial artists with great skill who never wear anything other than a white belt, or no belt at all.  Some great martial artists throughout history have suggested you can see great skill by how a budoka walks into a room.  So are your powers of discernment that keen?  If not how do you go about getting them?  My guess is by following the three most important aspects of training, and those are:

1.  Practice.

2.  Practice.

3.  Practice.

Yours in Budo,

Craig Caudill