The revered black belt and the secret training of which they undertake is the dream of every karate-ka when starting out. I’ll let you in on a secret - we don’t train any differently to anyone else. We just train. Well, ok - the Black Belt has amassed their knowledge of Karate over the years, being the how, what and why we move a particular way & a varying depth of understanding of what they are doing. Generally the Black Belt is just a person who is just further ahead in their karate journey and as the years go by, should if consistently training always be progressing to move further ahead.
This morning I had one of my Black Belts in the Dojo, a Ni-dan no less. Well, to tell the truth - I had his belt in the dojo being he had left it behind from last week. Earlier in the week, ‘as a bit of a dig’, I sent a Ransom note to this particular student (let’s call him ‘Nairb’) in a group chat. A simple photo of his belt & advising him it was a ransom note & if he wanted it back, he must come and train.
No response. Hmmm.. I kind of thought it was funny? Maybe I just misplaced my humour. No worries, he’ll work it out eventually right? Later in the week I got a response. ‘Ohh Dear’. Cha-ching! The penny had dropped. I think I laughed out loud. I kind of figured I would get a response of ‘I’ll be over next week to train & get my belt’ - But no, nothing. Hmmmm.
This morning, I took Nairb’s belt and trained with it. I popped down the dojo and after sweeping the floor, got dressed, set up the camera and took a few photos. One of Nairb’s belt doing Chin-Ups, using the Chi-ishi, the makiwara, using a kettle bell, some kumite and the like.
I was smiling - my hint of ‘come train and get your belt’ was in full swing. I was pushing a point because Nairb doesn’t train with me too much these days & if nothing else I value him as a Karate-ka and also as a friend. Any excuse to get him back in the dojo! I edited these photos on my phone, spending all of 10 minutes & sent them off to the group chat. The response was a happy face :-)
I started my training just afterwards, continuing for a period just shy of 2 hours. All through this time all I could think of was “A black belt means nothing, if the person who it belongs to does not train. Karate can not exist unless the Karate-ka is in the dojo and actively training - otherwise karate is nothing but a fading memory”
Even now, as I write this - my “secret black belt karate training” from this morning's session has become nothing more than a memory and I only finished an hour ago. But tomorrow (and the next day and the next) I will make it real again, even if only for a few hours.
Craig