Lower Providence Aikido

People put so much value on a black belt, and it is a fair question to ask what it is really worth. After all, time and energy in, a black belt is a very costly possession. So what is the real--actual and intrinsic--value of the thing?

To answer this question I must tell you three specific tales. These three stories will illuminate the points of this bit of writing, and provide some rather enlightening notions regarding value and expert status in the martial arts. They should provide real knowledge as to what a black belt is worth.

One day I was doing kumite with my instructor, and he suddenly leaped in, grabbed my belt, pulled, and elbowed. My balance went out the door, I ate the elbow, but what was worse was in my mind. He had actually touched my precious belt!

My instructor just grinned a quirky grin. He had used my belt, but, in teaching me a lesson, and therefore there was no abuse. He could treat that bit of dyed yarn like a mop, and it would always hold his respect.

The second anecdote concerns a fellow I met where I was working. He was a black belt, supposedly higher ranking than me, though he had never taken instruction at a dojo. He received a taekwondo black belt from his friend solely because he was a good fighter.

This fellow used his black belt for a jump rope. Scuffing it off the ground so he could do mindless exercises. There wasn't one bit of respect in his entire, puny, little soul for a his so called higher rank.

The third anecdote regards me: I use my black belt to help myself stretch when doing yoga. I loop it over my feet, hold the knees and hips taut, and relax into whatever pose. I am using that belt to help myself learn, become better, become a better human being and better at martial arts.

Now, I respect the belt, even as I pull on it and stretch it out. And when I wear it out, and it finally breaks, I will bow to it as I place it in the trash, and then I will get another one from a store and try to wear that one out. I do this with utter respect for the masters who have gone before, for the insight that makes me want to do more than mindless exercise, that impels me along the way that the Black Belt opened up so gloriously for me.