I came across this very question in a forum recently and I was more than a little surprised at some of the answers that were left in response to it. What surprised me most was the apathy towards such a question, like it didn’t matter if someone in that position within the martial arts had responsibilities or not. The worst answer that came up was someone who said a black belt had no responsibilities at all, a reply that I found to be short-sighted and ,quite frankly, bordering on stupid.
Like it or not, if someone spends years attaining the coveted martial arts black belt and thinks there are no responsibilities that come along with it then they don’t deserve to have one. Thinking otherwise is, in my opinion, showing a total disregard for the art they practice and the many traditions on which it is built.
If you have spent all that time reaching that level then why not take it seriously when you get there?
Even pushing the traditions to one side for a moment, there are still responsibilities that must be upheld if one is to hold the rank of black belt.
Below are some of the responsibilities that I think go along with being a black belt in any style. No doubt you will disagree with some of them or feel that I have neglected to mention some things. In that case leave your comments below. I’d be interested to hear some of your opinions on this one anyway.
![BlackBelt[1],black belt training,martial arts black belt](http://urbansamurai.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/BlackBelt1-300x202.gif "BlackBelt[1]")
1. Responsibility to Your Art. First and foremost I believe that if you attain a black belt or sash in any art then you have a responsibility to uphold and maintain the traditions of that art, whatever they may be. In general, this means staying true to the style you have been taught by continuing to learn and perform the techniques within that style as they have been taught to you, not as you think they should be performed or taught.
This also holds true for any other traditions that are held within your style like etiquette and dress code, both of which you have a responsibility to maintain. I am not of course saying that you cannot try to affect positive change, and indeed doing so is another responsibility that I think you should take on at black belt level, but we’ll get to that in a minute. For now, realise that the art you are training in made it possible for you to get to were you are today and so you owe it to your art to maintain its integrity as much as possible so that other people may benefit from it in the same way that you have.
2. Responsibilities to Your Students. Reaching this stage in the martial arts will inevitably mean that you are required to take on teaching responsibilities. In effect, you become an apprentice instructor and it should be your duty to learn as much as possible of your head instructor/s about how to teach a class and how to deal with students. This does not mean that you should strive to become a carbon copy of your Sensei but that you should learn all there is to learn from them and then try to forge your own style of teaching from that knowledge, which you will inevitably do anyway, for all of us are different.
3. Responsibility to Yourself. I believe the biggest responsibility you have as a black belt is the one you have to yourself. At this point in your martial arts career you now have the tools and relative experience you need in order to take yourself to the next level, so to speak. After so many years of hard training and learning the basics of your art it would seem foolish to just rest on your laurels and dupe yourself into believing that you have made it to the pinnacle of your career and you don’t have to do anything more except maintain what you already have.
It is tempting to believe that when you reach black belt stage that you have nothing left to learn and that the only thing you have to do now is grow a long beard to stroke contemplatively while dishing out sage advice to your adoring students. As ridiculous a notion as that sounds, some people actually believe that. The reality of the situation however, is that when you get to black belt stage the real learning begins in earnest.
The responsibility you have as a black belt, at least towards yourself, is to strive for a deeper and more profound understanding of the art you are involved with. This means not only getting a better grasp of technique, but also beginning to personalize those techniques to some extent so that they are entirely suited to you as an individual. I don’t mean you have to start dismantling things to create your own style, I just mean you have to find the techniques that are best suited to you and make them your own by studying and practicing them hard. There are so many techniques available to you that it would seem to me silly to think that you are able to expertly grasp them all. I think it’s better to try and master the techniques you are comfortable with since your ease with them will make it easier to do so.
That’s not to say you should shun those techniques you are not comfortable with or don’t like doing. I still believe you should have a good grasp of such techniques, to the point were you can at least perform them correctly for teaching purposes. Don’t forget your duty to your students. Teach them everything but let them choose which ones they want to make their own.
By personalizing things in this way you are very much forging your own path in the martial arts and taking some responsibility for your own progress and understanding of your art. To me, this is what being a black belt is all about, finding your own voice and discovering things for yourself.
It’s obvious then that there is more to being a black belt than power-tripping round the dojo and lording it over your students. Fundamentally, black belt training is about building relationships, with your students, with yourself, with your art, and the deeper you can make these relationships the better and more fulfilling your career as a martial artist will be.
If you like this post, be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed and claim your free e-book.
