What Is A Black Belt

[Dave McNeill]

From Champions Martial Arts, Colorado

What is a First Degree Black Belt? 

A first degree black belt is an advanced beginner.  The belt signifies passage from the ranks of those who are still learning to the ranks of those who’ve learned how to learn. 

The transition from white belt to black belt has less to with technique than with learning the methodology and procedures necessary to think like a martial artist.  A black belt should be able to grasp the concepts on which the arts are based, which is far more important than his ability to perform any technique.  There’s a saying about human survival:  Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.  This is similar to the climb from colored belts to black belt:  The black belt has learned how to learn and therefore becomes more proactive in there own education.