The Black Belt Tournament Dilemma…

In the past 10 years I have been to at least one tournament a month many of which were hosted in the USA and some in other countries. Even today it amazes me that people who have earned a black belt or are a Sensei simply have no idea about the code of being a black belt, what that entails when you are at an event or simply they show no care for this time honored tradition. Today I decided to sit down and right out some outlines for black belts who are attending tournaments with the hopes that this will clear up what you, as a black belt or Sensei, should be doing and behaving as such.

Earning a black belt means much more than just wearing the cloth around your waist especially when it comes to tournaments. If you are a black belt and go to an event you have a higher calling than just showing up. A black belt has been given the honor to judge others and lead by example at tournaments yet many of them seem to think they are above this honor today. Recently at one tournament a person who is both a black belt and a Sensei was walking around while the event was taking place and arguing with officials in the rings their student was in. Now this is a common occurrence and does happen because it is permitted for a black belt to “discuss a call in a respectful manner” but I saw little respect with this situation for many reasons. First this black belt was in street clothes. Secondly this black belt had not helped out in one single ring the entire day. Third they walked right into the ring as if they were allowed to do so and interrupted the match in progress. All these things, to me, are something poorly trained black belts will do to say the least.

When you go to a tournament and are a black belt you should understand these rules if you want respect from the elders, your seniors and generally all around at the event. Here they are and I sincerely hope that everyone reading this post takes them to heart and that tournament promoter’s get one the bandwagon and begin enforcing these traditions.

1. Black Belts show up in uniform. A tournament is no different than a formal event held in a dojo. No self-respecting black belt would ever show up to an event at their dojo in street clothes. We come prepared to train, learn and do our part as black belts so you MUST show up in uniform. If you choose not to be in your Gi then do not be surprised when black belts like me simply ignore you or could care less what you want. In all honesty you actually should not even be on the competition floor period.
2. Be ready to help out the promoter by being a judge. Earning a black belt means you have also been given the right to grade other students. We do this in our dojo everyday through discussing what a student needs to do to become a black belt themselves. When we go to a tournament it is important that we take this honor seriously. A black belt is there to judge (if they are not competing and when they are done competing) period. This is part of the responsibility of wearing that cloth around your waist and calling yourself a black belt. When you get to the event get change into your Gi, find the promoter and ask to judge. They will be delighted that you did so and this is part of earning respect for yourself, your Sensei and your dojo.
3. Understand that your students are there to compete…not to win but to have a chance at winning. Every single student that goes to a tournament wants to win. No one likes to lose but there is method of competing with honor and integrity where the students takes the training you have given them and now can put it to use. If you COACH or ARGUE to attempt to get your student a better score or win then what are you truly teaching them? Let them do their thing and compete. Like all Sensei I want my students to win but I let them compete on their own. I watch, take notes (as time permits) and then we work on their performance when get back to the dojo where training takes place. At a tournament they must be given the freedom to attempt to use their own skills…not have you standing there coaching them. By permitting your students to experience success, failures, being robbed, bad calls and good calls you are truly letting them learn to become their best…by coaching them to win you are simply teaching them that winning is the most important thing which we all know it is not in Martial Arts. In real life when they will have to use their skills you taught them you will not be around to help them...let them use the tournaments to learn this so they truly can be prepared to survive in the streets.
4. Understand that everyone gets robbed in their career as a martial artist. While I do not condone this type of political behavior it does take place at every event. I have had a career in tournaments spanning from 1980 until recently and have been robbed many times…even at the world / international level. Each time I was upset but I chose the higher path and just walked away with whatever place I ended up with. My Sensei always taught me “If you want to complain about losing a match because you were robbed then train harder, get better and that way there is no way they can rob you”. Mistakes happen, judges may show favorites but in the end it is what we teach our students that matter. If more people taught what my Sensei taught me then I believe there would be LESS occurances of people being robbed today as well as a much better quality of competitor.
5. Remember that as a black belt you have two choices when at tournaments. You can be part of the problem or be the solution. I love listening to black belts complain. It seems that we have some of the biggest whiners and children wearing the esteemed rank of black belt these days. If you want to complain then you need to have a SOLUTION. Everyone can complain about something but a true black belt figures out a solution to make it better. Complaining without a solution is redundant and does nothing to solve a problem you have seen. If you see something that was wrong have a solution or recommendation to help make it better in the future...think before you speak. We would not instruct our students in the dojo blindly would we? I sincerely hope not.
6. As a black belt you must also remember that parents and non martial artists are in the stands. They see your actions which reflect on EVERYONE who wears a black belt, owns a dojo or simply trains in martial arts. If you walk around in no Gi, make problems, don’t help out with the event and other things then you are helping to destroy the chances for people to become interested in training…not just with you but with every single Sensei in the world. Simply stated we must remember that we represent all black belts…not just our own dojo but everyone who has ever worn that rank so be a leader, be honorable, have integrity and DO YOUR PART to make the event great!
7. Tournaments can go very fast or take all day. The length of the tournament is not up to the promoter it is up to us as black belts. I have witnessed many times a panel of black belts get done with their divisions in their ring and they up and leave the ring. Then you hear the promoter frantically trying to find black belts for that empty ring which can take 10 to 20 minutes. When you are in a ring stay in the ring. When you are done with the divisions check with the head official to see if they can bring you more to help make the day go fast. If there are no more then it is perfectly fine to leave but not UNTIL you have made sure there is nothing more you can do as a black belt and judge. No one wants to go to a tournament that takes an entire day so we must all do our part to make it great. If we, as black belts, help make the day go fast and effectively then more people will want to come to a tournament which is something we ARE ALL responsible for.
8. IF you are a black belt and assigned as a center for a ring you must RUN YOUR RING. This means you need to be professional, disciplined, in charge of and manage it. I have been running rings for many years now and I simply love it. The first thing you should do is lay out CLEAR expectations for the competitors, spectators and even the Sensei who stands by watching. When the expectations are clear the ring runs smoothly when you are wishy washy then problems WILL happen. If you are in the center of a ring it is YOUR RING. You are responsible to know your job, enforce the rules of the events and run it effectively. You are there to help the other judges if you see they need it so they improve also. No one else is and this lies on your shoulders. Do not be too shy to say you are not up to running a ring and ask another who is more qualified than you to do so but if the promoter put you in a ring they must trust you to do so effectively.
9. Last but never least BE A BLACK BELT. We all market that what we teach is much more than simple punching and kicking. We state things like honor, respect, integrity, discipline, control and more in our marketing campaigns to entice people into to learn the arts. If we, as black belts or Sensei, do not honor what we market then we are hypocrites. This ruins it for EVERYONE so think before you act. You would not go into a real fight situation without thinking and making a game plan would you? If you did you would get thrashed or worse. Being a black belt means that we all must stand for these principles. If you are wrong or did something wrong ADMIT it, fix it and move on. It always amazes me the number of black belts who make a mistake and don’t want to look foolish by admitting to it. Think back for a second…you did not earn a black belt without making A LOT of mistakes. We are all human and will screw up but it was what we do when we do this that represents those character traits we claim to teach others.

In closing it is important to remember that we are ALL in this TOGETHER. Regardless of your rank, your achieved status or whatever you may think you are entitled to we have a job to do at tournaments. Next time you go to an event please remember these things and let’s all work together to make whatever circuit you are on a better one…not just for the competitors but also for the parents and others who are watching. We must live what we preach…anything else is NOT BEING A BLACK BELT period. Thank you for taking time out to read my ramblings and I sincerely hope this makes you think before you act. As always train hard and remember to apply the lessons inside the dojo outside of the dojo everyday :)

I have tagged some people and would enjoy everyone's feedback on my articles so please feel free to leave commentary. As with everything these are my thoughts based on my experiences...just opinions and therefor I always welcome commentary.