Split: Why did/do you want your KSW black belt??????

Yes, more than just a load of techniques . I started KSW because I liked all that it had to offer and I viewed getting a blackbelt as just a necessary acheivement to continue on in the system. That's about it.

 

thankyou paul i'm so glad this thread is back here everyone is so much nicer to each other.

 

I think mine is probally the sadest reason here but oh well no one here knows me so i started because of a cartoon i used to watch called Dragon ball Z and i wanted to kick ass like they did then i just got hooked and now i practise all the time and i want my black belt so i can start learning the more complicated things.

 

lol Dragon Ball Z was ace mate, I used to watch it too. :woo:

 

I think that we do know each other but maybe only in passing dear monk! If not then I am sure we will bump into each other along our journeys at some point.

 

You mention confidence, proving physical ability, and self-protection. All of those are reasons for studying Kuk Sool, and similar to the reasons I started training in Kuk Sool, but I don't see them as reasons to earn one's black belt.

I think I've talked about why I chose Kuk Sool and why I continue to study it often enough in other forums.

For me, I want to earn my black belt for a mix of factors, some good and some that I would prefer not to admit to.

One is proving that I can reach that level of "completion" in a martial art.
--I tell myself that the only reason I didn't reach black belt in TKD is because I didn't return to the town where my dojang was. I know the reason I never got past white belt in Shotokan was because my heart wasn't in it (too in love with TKD). Regardless, Kuk Sool is the third art I've studied, and I don't have a black belt yet.

Another is, as others have posted, that it's the next step, the key to unlocking more cool material.

In Shotokan and TKD, getting my black belt seemed to be an end goal. You'll see debates in other forums about whether juniors could/should get black belts, probably because American culture (maybe even Western culture?) sees it as a big deal.

But in Kuk Sool, I soon realized that my goal was NOT 1st degree, it's somewhere around 4th. Obviously that'll take years of training, but I enjoy it. And I want that because I would like to learn so much of the neat stuff I see in demos.

 

I think at first (ever since I was like 7), I was really driven to be a great martial artist. I eventually found Kuk Sool and realized how long and difficult that path to greatness is.

At first I thought 1st Degree was a huge stepping stone on that path. If I ever wanted to be my best, I knew I had to pass that. Now that I'm there, I realize that it's just barely the beginning(if that) of what I think I want to achieve.

 

Same here. :Alien:

 

Another old but good topic. Any newcomers care to add their reasons?

 

I will also add a vote to the 3rd art studied w/o a black belt yet. It started as one of those "lifetime goal" things, but somehow I have a feeling that even after I acheive a black belt I will continue to study as much as before. There's just so much to learn!

I find it attractive on many levels. Of course the stereotypical good exercise and self-defense aspects, but for other reasons as well. I've always enjoyed activites where I felt I was actively learning something and this certainly qualifies. I also find it calming and relaxing, most especially in a former job that included being around a lot of aggressive people. Because of my martial arts training I was more comfortable in approaching someone who was in a violent state of mind and able to talk them down, knowing I could defend myself if necessary. I also have found that most of the people I've trained with have been some of the most non-competitive, helpful people I've met in a "sports" environment, contrary to what many outside martial arts might think.

As for Kuk Sool specifically, I really enjoyed my time in Hapkido and when the time came to move to Texas I began searching for schools but found that they weren't as common. Then while reading about style descriptions I happened upon Kuk Sool. It had similar elements to Hapkido, along with other added elements that sounded interesting as well. I decided to try out a school when the time was right and it seemed like a pretty good fit. There's still some things I'm not as fond of (forms) and there are some things I'm looking forward to (weapons). And of course there were other factors as well (If I have to move again in-state there's more likely to be another KSW school where I can continue and not start all over again). The first few months have been fun and I can't wait to learn even more.

 

a) In part because I had to leave Ju Jitsu the week before getting brown, somewhere I'd always assumed I'd study until some dan or other.

b) For teaching. Did some months, that same year, as assistant instructor to kids and children and I learned as I've never learned (and, anyway, I liked it!)

c) For a certain 'coming of age'. If KJN is a PhD, then BB is going to college, knowing the basics enough to take on certain ideas, tackle certain questions and, in KSW, getting to know certain weapons (I'm fond of 'weird' weapons: fans, Sheng Biao, ... I'd also like to know --although I'm probably spoiled for life by Japanese swordwielding-- how does KSW handle long blades, specially when wielding double and straight-edged).

d) It'll probably take some weight out of my shoulders. As much as I might wish not to, I'm probably spoiled by the "BB-goal", so getting there should let me focus better on the road.

 

Just a few thoughts on what having a "black belt" means to me...

To me, a black belt indicates the wearer is competent in a style's basic technique- not that he is a "Master" or "expert", as many people assume. To me a black belt is only the beginning...a solid step into a much larger world. I love the Martial Arts and as such I am tempted to practice more than one style, in order to be "well rounded", and I think that it is well to do so. But recently, I read an article where Chiefmaster In Joo Suh described what it meant to him to be a Master...

The following taken from an article The Master MASTER

In Joo Suh Tells What It Takes To Be
A Great Martial Arts Leader
By Jane Hallander
Originally Published in Inside Kung-Fu, November 1986. -

Website posted article from San Antonio Martial Arts Center

"...while two decades of practice is necessary, it must be spent studying but one art, not a host of different styles. One who holds two or three black belts in different styles is only going to be able to scratch the true surface of any system. Suh compares practicing more than one style to a student simultaneously seeking three doctorates. Something has to give and it´s usually in the area of deep understanding."

"Nothing takes the place of experience," Suh said. "And only time and exposure can give experience."

What he is saying makes sense to me, however; as far as self defense goes...I wonder if in todays world one art is enough. If I was shooting to be an instructor and own a school, I'd probably stick with one style.

Personally, I don't want to wear a black belt just to have it. I don't want to get a black belt unless I absolutely deserve it. You've heard the term- “Not all black belts are created equally”...this is something I have observed in Kuk Sool Won as well as Tae Kwon Do (2 of the arts I have practiced). This is where the rubber meets the road. Any Martial art will only give you what you put into it. It’s all about having a good teacher and then applying the concepts, principles, techniques he/she gives you to the best of your ability while putting in enough 'sweat' time. How effective your style is for you depends on how much of yourself you give to it. This goes for your instructor as well. If the teaching is lousy, and the promotions easy...you will probably be a lousy black belt.

 

I've thought on this for sometime now, and personally I don't think I ever had a choice, it was going to happen anyway. With MY instructors it's not a matter IF you get a BB/ or master it's WHEN. As long as you continue to pratice consistantly you will get it. I think the question in my head would be "why do you continue to train". I posted the answer to this on the poll thread.....

 

I had always wanted to do martial arts and both my dad and mom signed me up but never really followed through then one day i was at my uncle's and he said if i wanted to do martial arts and i said yeah so after looking around for one day we kinda stumbled across kuk sool.Seemed like fun and my uncle told me if i went till i got my blackbelt he would pay for it so i said yeah.

First day i was excited but after i found out i had to give up saturdays i thought i might give up.My uncle joined to and then after watching my first tournament it just grew on me.I guess after going for a while it wasnt even getting my blackbelt it was just doing something i liked to dnce i heard i'd get my blackbelt i was proud because i went from this shy lil non athletic kid to tough out going teenager.And here i am today the only one still in my family who does kuk sool,already a blackbelt working on my 2nd degree in i think 6 months.

yeah i know really long but got over excited lol

 

A Kuk Sool Black Belt Is Nothing

KUK SOOL IS really crap most of it would not work for real

 

when you become a blackbelt...

you get new techniques,
new forms,
new kicks,
and more practice time in the dojang

'nuf said

 

stop trolling! 90% of your posts are trolling, stop it.

 

Kuk Sool helps me to grow as an individual, that is one of many reasons why I continue to train. Though there was a bit of a break in there!

 

As some others have said, the black belt is just one of the milestones in my training. I'd be lying if I said I didn't view it as a more significant milestone than others up to this point. But it is still a milestone in a bigger, ongoing process.

The teaching aspect also means something to me. Not just so I can teach a specific thing or aspect, but because in general I enjoy helping others who sincerely want learn something.

 

I just enjoy the art, and the odds are that as long as I keep having fun I will eventually have put in the time and effort and developed the skill and determination required for bb.

I used to think about how great it would be to be a bb, but the more i think about my training the more important i feel the learning is rather than the knowing, and from there more important than knowing seems to be the passing on of knowledge.