One Man Passes His 4th Degree Black Belt Test: A Revolution In Methodology For Black Belt Testing

After much hard work, I've just passed a student of mine from 3rd degree black belt to 4th degree. This fellow had passed to 3rd degree in 2005 -and spent the entire last year doing 1000's of repetitions of his techniques, as well as changing careers, having his first child, moving and expanding his school, making contributions to his classmates, and doing a number of comprehensive community-based projects.

Let's just say that I feel he's earned the rank of 4th dan (level) through taking on and acing all of the appropriate physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual challenges/accomplishments.

I know he feels a sense of satisfaction from having his effort and work acknowledged -and at the same time, I can guess that he feels "unworthy" too.

Well, that's just the nature of the beast, yes?

From my perspective, I feel his work is worthy of the rank, I know he's an accomplished technician, I have witnessed his ability to get things done (an often under-acknowledged skill that I hold in high regard), and I feel like he's someone I can use as an example of what I, personally, want a 4th degree black belt to be like.

This accomplishment, however, comes with a burden. Having just finished his 4th dan testing, he has become a 5th degree black belt candidate. In other words, today he begins his "test" for 5th degree.

Over the course of the next 5 to 6 years, this new 4th degree must craft a test of his skills, on all levels, that is indicative of a "master teacher." More than that, I am challenging him with the following:

For 5th dan, this student must design the ultimate test; it must serve as an example of the potential and capability of someone of his rank that will serve as an example to all of the world's 4th degree black belts. His test must be a model of accomplishment that other black belts can look to as a standard for performance.

He must plan and execute a martial arts educational program that can serve the entire international martial arts community.

He will be required to perform a minimum of 2000 hours of meditation, 3000 repetitions of his forms (kata), engage in 2000 rounds of sparring, earn his second rank in ground-fighting (purple belt, minimum), teach 5000 young people the ABC's of anger management, and teach another 5000 the ABC's of diabetes prevention.

He must engage in "The Compact" (an experiential exploration of sustainability and voluntary simplicity)which is a commitment to buy nothing new (except absolute essentials) for a one-year period.

He will also be required to document, in significant detail, the particulars of his training and test, so that it may serve as a guideline for other people.

Over all, this black belt's test should touch the lives of between 10,000 and 100,000 other people.

There will be other requirements along the way; some will be self-imposed and others will just appear. What you see here however, is a shift in thinking about testing for "master level" ranks of black belt.

This is a new level of expectation and accomplishment that contains all of the ingredients a martial arts teacher needs for success. For his 5th dan test, he will be in the absolute best shape of his life. His test will have made him stretch, in equal proportions, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. He will have left a trail for all testing students who follow him; and he will have been involved in a process that wasn't simply about his own accomplishments, but engaged and affected 1000's of others.

In today's world, there are high-ranking black belt "tests" that are made up of a few rounds of sparring, some board breaking, a few self-defense techniques, and a written essay. It's time for a change -and this 5th degree candidates upcoming test must serve as an example of exactly what kind of behavior and accomplishments represent "martial arts mastery" in the 21st Century.

Imagine now, the power of 10,000 black belt testers, worldwide, doing work on this scale. What would happen to the martial arts world? How different is this from what we have today?

For those of you who are in "the business" of running martial arts schools,I'd like to propose that this kind of test and these kind of standards are the very thing to fill your schools and have people truly -and deeply -value your work.

Now THAT is a test. So, good luck Sir.

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