Blog
Belts for Sale
Today, it's not difficult to obtain a Black Belt as any martial arts store will sell you one and nobody really cares if you buy one anyway. Has it lost its value? I 
remember the days when you walked into the store and a Black Belt was something which had to be brought out from a vault. The vendor would be inquisitive and interrogate you under a spotlight before handing it over. God help you if you got caught wearing one if you weren’t a Black Belt; it was sacrilege. You'd be on the front page of every newspaper and stoned to death in Martin Place!
I earned my Black Belt in the days of ‘only the elite few will get it’. The gradings were long and hard – no mercy, no complaining, no break, no water! Your fitness and spirit were ultimately put to the test to see if they could break you; if they succeeded in doing that then you'd have to wait for the next grading which was only a year or two away. Of course, times have changed and that culture is virtually non-existent but it is a shame things can go completely the other way. Changes are good but not when they go overboard. Just look at discrimination laws, ethics and politically correct statements gone mad. It gets to the stage where it is difficult to know whether you're on the right track anymore.
However, it was time for a change in the way we graded people especially to Black Belt because it had to be achievable for a larger part of the population. Another reason was because some of the new styles that came later on the scene did a good job of marketing themselves at no consideration of jeopardising their integrity. This put pressure on the older and more established styles to make changes in order to compete. I remember one Instructor advertising you can get a Black Belt in 6 months. You can't roast a leg of lamb any quicker. Maybe, the Black Belts he was giving were microwaved. That 6 month thing didn't work and didn't last long.
Today, good schools maintain a certain standard in the grading system to ensure the belt you earn means something, otherwise, it is only a piece of material you buy over the counter.
GA
Out of the Blue
When you have spare time you do catch-ups or do the other things you wouldn't normally do. Out of the blue, I thought I would drop in and see an old student and very good friend of mine who I trained for 6 or more years in Karate and Phillipino Martial Arts. When I moved onto Budoshinkai Karate, I told him it was best he stays there and help out with the Chief Instructor (that was over 20 years ago). Sami is now 61 and has quit teaching about a year ago only because he wasn’t getting the numbers to make it worth his while.
Sami is a very unassuming person. At the age of 61, with a height of only 5’8”, very little hair, a bit round in shape with a slight middle-eastern accent and friendly nature to go with, nobody would think he was a 7th degree Black Belt. He took up Loss Prevention with one of the major retail outlets 10 years ago and has since counted his blessings on many occasions.
For many people fights may be only once in a blue moon. I listened to some of Sami’s stories whilst apprehending violent offenders in stores, which almost cost him his job; he just got his 4th and final warning from the do-gooders of HR (Human Resources). I knew he would've got the better of them otherwise he wouldn't be standing in front of me. What I was more interested were how he handled the situations. I have every bit of confidence in him and know him well enough, his stories have not been blown out. They are definitely true blue.
Now and then I find out things like this from students especially from police officers whom I have trained in the past and their skills which got them out of real trouble. Even one of my Black Belts. doing a lot of door work had a lot to tell. He actually ending up doing personal security for Jean Claude Van Damme and Pierce Brosnan (James Bond character) when they came to Australia on more than one occasion.
Over the years I have always kept turning the wheels and sharpening the blades to ensure the students get the real deal. My reward is the thanks I get from people whom I have helped over the years.
GA
Dojo – Right Place, Right Time
If you're old enough you might remember the days of the black and white TV. If you saw one in a museum you may be forgiven to think it is just as amazing the first day it came out. The question is why would such a 
useless, outdated and worthless piece of junk would still intrigue some people today? If it was on the side of the road you wouldn’t even give it a second look but in a museum, it would probably catch your eye and maybe think how incredible it was that such a primitive piece actually worked. If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t be sitting today in front of our LEDs wearing 3D glasses. It’s all thanks to the inventors and developers of that black and white TV.
In comparison during the same era, martial arts was a black and white TV but having said that, the martial arts began developing over a thousand years ago. That’s how long it has taken the martial arts to reach its heights today. We take all things for granted when we jump on our mobile phones and laptops but if it wasn’t for our pioneering inventors and achievers we would still be rubbing sticks together to get the kettle going. The martial arts are where they are today because of the do-ers and we should not take for granted what is being taught out there. Good Instructors will go out of their way to show as much as they can to their students.
Many people take up the martial arts as a hobby whilst others take it more seriously. If martial arts have ever helped anyone out of a situation, then all that training must be worthwhile. Just hearing from others how it helped them was enough for me to take up Karate as a young man. Thirty five years later I’m still at it. I get strange calls every so often from ex-students to tell me how a little voice in their head said 'why did you stop training', the moment they got themselves into the wrong place at the wrong time! That sends one message – the dojo is the right place at the right time.
GA