Why Not Become a Black Belt?

A couple of years ago, I decided to stay at the rank of brown belt in Judo for a while.  As a black belt in Taekwondo, I always assume that you keep going until you reach black belt in the art you are practicing.   However, I began to change my mind about continuously trying to obtain a black belt in every art you study.

First, Judo rank is very much based on competition.  I decided to retire from competition at age 40 but I was still a brown belt.

Second, I had become disenchanted with the direction of Judo.  I strongly feel that Judo’s inclusion in the Olympics may have advanced the sport but it hurt the art.  Now, the changes that the IJF is making to keep wrestlers and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes from being able to win in international judo competitions is hurting the sport as well.

Third, the politics of the United States judo organizations seem to be geared to producing Olympic champions.

Finally, I felt like I knew what I needed to supplement my self-defense skills and add Judo to my self-defense curriculum.  We often think you have to earn a black belt in everything to be competent but training in an art for a couple years can prepare you to competently use those skills in a self-defense encounter.  Many MMA trainers often talk about a purple belt is the best rank for most fighters because they can defend submissions but they don’t tend to specialize like a lot of black belts.

While it didn’t really figure into the decision, Theodore Roosevelt, who I admire, was also a brown belt.  He did okay for himself.

Starting a martial art and not getting to black belt seemed anathema to me several years ago.  However, at some point you have to quit chasing rank in other systems and focus on developing and building your own system.  You don’t need to be a black belt in five arts to defend yourself.  In fact, the closed curriculum of some established martial arts can be a stumbling block in martial arts.

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