The magic of achievement

[wushi]

When I was a kid I used to study Tae Kwon Do, and was always amazed at how strong, capable, and poised our head instructor, Anthony, was. He was a third degree black belt, though I don't recall the federation, ITF I think, and I had this notion in my head that being a black belt (as I was impressed with all of them at that school) was some kind of

Comments

[steelvictory]

Wait, so did you just make black? If so, Congratulations!!

I made it up to purple belt (5th or 6th belt) in two and a half years when I was taking Tae Kwon Do in junior high and high school. I could have done it faster if I was waking more than one class a week and actually practiced on my own. I never felt that I deserved it either.

[wushi]

Yes, I did make black sash. I, and many of those who are rising through the ranks quickly, had quite a bit of prior martial arts experience before we started at my current school. Because the black sash test is overseen by the grandmaster of the style, my feelings of inadequacy over my rank have more to do with my own perfectionism, than they do with my lack of ability (at least I hope).

[wushi]

Modern ranking systems really do seem to help modern students. As I noted in my older post, I think that personally I prefer a rankless system where the master decides what the student learns next. I know I'm quite an outlier here though.

It is always difficult watching a school make the choice between quality and profitability. Some few manage both, but most of the schools I've seen that are high quality are not sufficient as a primary source of income for the teacher.

As I used to be really interested in fencing, I've been following the saga of your youth classes with quite a bit of interest. It is always such a pain when someone comes in and messes up a well ordered system. At my old club it was absolutely clear who was in charge of what, and unsolicited aid was decidedly unwelcome.

[ididntd0it]

First, Congratulations.

Second, I know how you feel. My Sensei used to say...
"Becoming Shodan only means you have shown that you are able to learn"

[wushi]

Thank you.

The words of your sensei resonate with me.

[wushi]

As I ended up with in the post, there is no one to decide whether you are ready or not other than Sifu. And no one to decide whether or not to find out other than yourself.

Personally, I don't think you're that far off. Now that I think about it, one of the problems with self evaluation is that I can feel sloppiness when I'm doing a form or technique, even though it may look and even perform acceptably.

[zhenzhi]

when i attained the lue sash, denoting me as a (junior) senior in my masters school, i felt so embarrassed, like i was a fraud. i spoke to my master about it, and he said to me that his standard was high, and if i had not met it i would not have the sash. he went on to thank me for being a diligent and loyal student and that i should take more pride in my achievement rather than focussing on my self criticism. he said that for him to see a student progress so well through his system of teaching wing chun gives him a lot of satisfaction... etc. i started to see it in a different way, so that by the time i received my official senior's blue uniform a couple of years after the sash, i felt so proud of myself. not in an unhealthy way, but more of a gratefulness to myself for putting in the hard work to get there and a knowing that this uniform was my sifu's way of rewarding my efforts. i have seen many others fail along the way, it is not an easy school to progress in. it is a frequently heard complaint at the school that it takes "too

[wushi]

I completed my sash test a couple of weeks ago, but have not received my sash yet.

It's strange. I had gotten very used to being a purple or brown sash, and having quite a bit of responsibility teaching classes and the like. I had a certain reluctance to test and go higher, even though my sifu was prodding me to test soon.

Hopefully I will grow into my rank and ultimately beyond it. At the moment I still feel like a kid trying on his parents' clothing.