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Just found a quote from Geoff's (Thompson) site that I find I agree with a lot... kinda like a description of the Samurai Spirit
Here it is:
Here it is:
Does acquiring a Black Belt really mean that you are an expert in fighting? If not, what does it mean?
It doesn't automatically mean that you can have a fight. What it does mean is that you have reached the level of proficiency set out by the system that you are a part of. If it is a blood and snot system then it usually means you have developed an ability to handle the physical side of combat. If you are in an aesthetic system it probably means no such thing. Again it comes down to why you are there in the first place. You might not care about the self-defence side of it, on the other hand that might be very important to you. If it is and there is no fear in the training, if there is restrictions in what range you are allowed to fight at and if there is no contact or no randori then it is unlikely to work in a live situation. To me the Dan grade means nothing more than a level of proficiency attained. When I was a younger man setting out in the martial arts the coveted black belt meant everything to me, I felt that when I was a brown belt or a black belt I would be invincible. Off course when you get there you realise that no one is invincible and that getting to the top rung of the black belt ladder just places you on the bottom rung of another ladder. There is always another precipice to be reached. By the time you really are capable you don't want to hurt any one any way, so you spend most of your time walking away from violence and letting people off. When you can do it, and I mean really do it, when you have the ability to kill another human being there is not a single part of you that actually wants to do it. That is the level we should all aspire to. The great Don Dragae said that we should become so proficient at out art that we can kill, then we can transcend the need to do so. When we have attained this level - very few people ever do - people are safer because of our presence. If you find your self on a bus or in a room full of people they should be safer because we are there, even if they do not know who we are. Safer because we can protect them against bullies, and also because we have the self control to allow them t take liberties, as some uninitiated people do, and let them off, not hurt them. There is a responsibility that comes with skill, we have a platform and a knowledge that others do not share, or indeed even understand. We must develop the self-control not to abuse this position. Training in a real, forge system will give us this, but it will take many years.
It doesn't automatically mean that you can have a fight. What it does mean is that you have reached the level of proficiency set out by the system that you are a part of. If it is a blood and snot system then it usually means you have developed an ability to handle the physical side of combat. If you are in an aesthetic system it probably means no such thing. Again it comes down to why you are there in the first place. You might not care about the self-defence side of it, on the other hand that might be very important to you. If it is and there is no fear in the training, if there is restrictions in what range you are allowed to fight at and if there is no contact or no randori then it is unlikely to work in a live situation. To me the Dan grade means nothing more than a level of proficiency attained. When I was a younger man setting out in the martial arts the coveted black belt meant everything to me, I felt that when I was a brown belt or a black belt I would be invincible. Off course when you get there you realise that no one is invincible and that getting to the top rung of the black belt ladder just places you on the bottom rung of another ladder. There is always another precipice to be reached. By the time you really are capable you don't want to hurt any one any way, so you spend most of your time walking away from violence and letting people off. When you can do it, and I mean really do it, when you have the ability to kill another human being there is not a single part of you that actually wants to do it. That is the level we should all aspire to. The great Don Dragae said that we should become so proficient at out art that we can kill, then we can transcend the need to do so. When we have attained this level - very few people ever do - people are safer because of our presence. If you find your self on a bus or in a room full of people they should be safer because we are there, even if they do not know who we are. Safer because we can protect them against bullies, and also because we have the self control to allow them t take liberties, as some uninitiated people do, and let them off, not hurt them. There is a responsibility that comes with skill, we have a platform and a knowledge that others do not share, or indeed even understand. We must develop the self-control not to abuse this position. Training in a real, forge system will give us this, but it will take many years.
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