A Good Black Belt vs. A Bad Black Belt

What makes a good black belt? What makes a bad black belt? In sum, what does it mean to be a black belt?

Well, I’ll tell you for certain what black belt is not. A black belt is not a black piece of cloth around someone’s waist. Anyone can find those on Amazon and buy one for a few bucks.

What gives a black belt their legitimacy, in my opinion, is their behavior, knowledge, reputation, credibility, and (most importantly), self-control. Much like the degree one receives from an academic or professional institution, a black belt is representative of the training offered by that program.

Obviously, each Tae Kwon Do school’s criteria for a black belt is different. Some care about technique, some care about character development, and some (unfortunately) just care about money. So how do we know if someone is a good black belt? Here is what I believe makes up the definition of a good black belt.

Knowledge

Much like a graduate of any other training program, a good black belt knows their martial art. By that I mean they know their martial art. They have to have reviewed all they have learned and be able to demonstrate their knowledge of at least forms, sparring, and technique. In some programs, instructors also require demonstration of knowledge of philosophy, culture, science, and language. This way, instructors can see a student’s physical and mental skills.

When they're not training or teaching, instructors are reading!

Behavior

Speaking of mental skills, behavior is key in a good black belt. A good black belt, in my opinion, is someone who expresses humility, kindness, respect, integrity, and perseverance. This is not just a set of characteristics that I look for in my students before they test, but after they test as well. These are behaviors and virtues that I look for and expect from black belts.

Reputation

Connected to behavior is reputation. This does not mean the rumors that surround someone. In fact, I find that rumors are rarely true. This is a matter of what the individual known for. A good black blet maintains a reputation of integrity and kindness. That’s what black belt’s reputation is. It’s not what others think of them, it’s the nature of their character.

A good black belt is friendly, kind, and respectful to everyone!

Credibility

A black belt’s integrity is of critical importance. You’ve probably seen this in some of my other articles, but it’s true. Integrity is, in my opinion, key to being a black belt. In order to maintain your credibility, you have to maintain your reputation. In my experience, being known for your integrity will often help people trust you.

Self-control

Honestly, probably the most important virtue of a good black belt is self-control. Learning martial arts is an inherently dangerous endeavor, and harming another person should be avoided at all costs. That means that any black belt must be able to control themselves. Black belts are still human, so they feel emotions and their judgement does sometimes become clouded. Nonetheless, they should still express self control. This is something that was drilled into me from the beginning, and something that I believe should be key in every school’s curriculum.

So there you go! These are my opinion of the virtues of a good black belt.

Professional side note: This post is for entertainment purposes only.