Should black belt= a life commitment to your art?

Yesterday my brother and I went to TKD at the request of our instructor. (we usually go on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but driver's ed is preventing us from doing so for the next two weeks) The dojo is pretty empty on Wednesday mornings, so it was just the two of us and the instructor, almost like the private lessons we had with him before we became white belts (yes, we test for white belts. the white belt test doesn't cost anything though). We were going through the two yellow belt forms and the instructor stopped me on almost every step of the form. By the end of that portion of the lesson, my form was much better. I realized that I need to practice outside of the class a lot more often. My form had been getting progressively worse while in our usual 10-15 person class.





This fact made me wonder how someone can become a black belt and just leave/quit training because they've obtained a piece of cloth. Their technique would be horrid only after a year or so.





(interesting quote about commitment I found)





“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” -Unknown





I believe that this is the type of philosophy a black belt or anyone trying to become a black belt should have. So in order to be a black belt, should you make a life commitment to your art?|||Nope. I have a Black Belt in TKD but I no longer take it because TKD (in North American anyways) is an impractical and quite useless art to be honest for self defense or fitness.





D: I was in TKD for over 5 years so don't tell me what it's like haha your only a yellow belt calm down. you don't know what cardio intensive is because you have not trained in real martial arts like muay thai haha





I'm not trying to put you down for taking it, i'm just giving my reasons for why I quit and why I don't like the martial art|||Crap, I was too late to choose a best answer.

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|||That's the greatest gift we possess.....FREE WILL!!! The right to choose our own paths, and therefore our own destinies, by the choices we make!!!


One thing is certain....IF you make it a life-long commitment.... "a journey, not a destination"..... you will EVENTUALLY learn that Martial Arts has very little to do with fighting! Learning to fight is only the beginning..... only a SMALL portion of the whole! The Martial Arts are NOT just forms and fighting.....it's a LIFESTYLE..... a way of LIFE!!!!!|||You make a good point. You know what, it differs between person to person. If you're enthusiastic about TKD, which sounds like you are, you should have no huge problems remembering or perfecting forms and techniques. Just, don't try too hard to remember things from earlier belt levels unless it's crucial to understanding some things in your current/future level. For example, don't forget how to do a tornado kick that you learned in blue belt because it's essential for later levels. If you give yourself some decent practice, those techniques and forms will stick into your mind like second nature. Just see what happens, man. If you seem too overcommited to it during busy times, then just drop it because I'm assuming you value your education and college more than TKD. Just take it easy. Goodluck.|||Interesting question which reminds me of a story I heard. "When I started BJJ there was an incident where a student kept fixating on how long it would take for a black belt. Carlos Valente (6th Degree under Rickson Gracie) got mad and took off his black belt and gave it to the student. Then he went in his office and grabbed a couple of black belts and asked anyone else if they wanted one? He then put on a white belt. He says "So tell me what has changed besides the color of our belts?" He then quotes Royce Gracie, "A belt just covers two inches of your ***, you have to cover the rest!". He wore that white belt for over a week without problems. The student finally had to beg Professor Valente to take his black belt back."


So although it would be honorable to do that, you should dedicate your life to your art if you have a great passion for it and wish to continue it, you shouldn't be obligated by your belt color.|||Lifetime dedication to a martial art is not for everybody; different people have different priorities, and new ones may come up. Increased workload at the office, a newborn child, or any other personal reason can be a 'valid' reason to leave the dojo/dojang.





The bigger problem here, IMHO, is that too many people, even after years of training, equate a black belt with mastery; while it actually means that the student in question is simply now ready to train for real. Of course this is what the general public sees - and expect and encourage - as well. So, whether any sort of dedication is required and enforced for black belt ranks is up to each individual instructor, but I think it would be hard to implement.|||Nope. I have a Black Belt in TKD but I no longer take it because TKD is an impractical and quite useless art to be honest for self defense or fitness.





I am taking other martial arts now.


I know its sad...