What is a Black Belt?

By Keith D. Yates

I got to the demonstration early to set up and the lady asked where the instructor was. I replied that she was talking to him. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she replied, "You just didn't look like a black belt." Then, trying to cover her embarrassment with humor, she said, "I guess I was expecting a big, bald oriental guy."

Now I am the first to admit that I don't look like Toru Tanaka (the bad guy from many martial arts movies) but I kind of hate to think that no one would ever mistake me for a martial arts instructor.

Just what does a black belt look like anyway? Well, anyone who has been in the martial arts for very long knows that there isn't a definitive answer to that one. Go to any martial arts school and the black belts are tall and short, male and female, Asian, Caucasian, African-American, young and old, skinny or not-so skinny. In other words, a black belt can look like anyone!

Well, if you can't tell the black belt by his or her appearance, how about by their behavior or attitude. Yes, there should be something different about the way a black belt carries himself. He should have poise even in stressful situations. She should be able to control her temper and be a calming influence on others. He should be disciplined in not only the large areas of life, but in the small ones as well. Her sense of self-worth and self-confidence shows in the way she talks and even walks.

I recently met some other black belts for a training session. One remarked that as I approached -- even though he couldn't recognize my face at a distance -- he knew it was me by the way I walked. He said I had that unmistakable gait of one who is self-confident and in control of himself. (That comment makes up for the woman who thought I didn't look like a black belt.)

You don't have to wait until you are a black belt to begin to realize some of these very real advantages of martial arts training. The "tenets of Tae Kwon Do" are courtesy, humility, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. Even intermediate students should see improvement in these areas. Within a few years these characteristics will become a natural part of your temperament.

So I can't tell you that a black belt should be a muscular Asian. He may be a stocky white guy with glasses, or maybe she is a slender Hispanic woman. But the black belt has a humility that is evident to all who know him. He should have the perseverance to face difficult circumstances in the dojang and outside of it. The black belt should always be in control of herself. And he should be a success in the other areas of life outside the martial arts.