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Belt Testing
Author: MASTER HEE IL CHO
There has been a lot written and said over the years about the concept of belt testing in the martial arts. Most styles of training have some form of promotional exam, while some styles do not. For those people who are training in a discipline which grades its students for each higher belt, testing is often a mysterious and nervewracking event which causes more stress than perhaps any other aspect of training. This should not be the case, and students should be encouraged to discover what belt testing is truly about.
"Testing" is perhaps the wrong word for the event since in the west a person who "tests" is also a person who can possibly "fail". If we are taught that in the martial arts there is no "failure", how does one rationalize a belt "test"?
In each school, even where there are dozens of students, the master should be able to keep accurate track of each student's progress. However, for each student to come up to the master for advice on their training would be impractical. It is for this reason that belt testing was first developed.
What a belt test really is, is a dialogue between the master and a student where the student wants to know how well he or she is doing. Test is the student's way of asking, "How am I progressing?" By leading the student through exercises and techniques, the master can then assess the student's ability under pressure. At the end of the test, the master will say one of two things: "I think that you are doing well. Why don't you progress to the next level of training," or "Why don't you continue training at your present level for a while longer."
This is why there is no "failing" in the belt test. To be told that certain techniques need additional work isn't "failing", it is constructive criticism. It is for this reason that a student shouldn't be nervous during testing. Once all students understand that there is no "failure", the pressure of testing is lessened considerably.
Although I have heard about other schools which have no tests, I have always been a supporter of belt testing. Indeed, I feel that a belt test is itself a wonderful tool that each student can use to help develop their character and discipline in several ways.
By placing the time constraint of an upcoming test on a student's training, each student begins to become more goaloriented. This leads to more highly motivated students. As nice as it would be for students to train for the love of training, western culture often demands clearly defined goals to work towards, and belt testing accomplished this nicely.
Additionally, belt testing provides the student with the opportunity to look deeper into their training. The student's character develops by them knowing that their techniques and abilities will be held under close scrutiny with the only person answerable for those techniques being themselves. This is quite an important concept in today's unfortunate age of "pass-the-blame".
Also, we train in the martial arts to learn how to handle ourselves in a confrontational position (them "versus" a panel of judges); the students learn to conquer their natural fear of confrontation.
These are some of the benefits of testing when viewed as part of an overall training program. However, there are those students for whom the belt test is the single goal of their training. These are the students who go too far in the opposite direction; instead of being nervous about testing, they test constantly. For these students, the only goal is getting a higher belt. I have never encouraged this type of training, and have found that these are the students who are the least fully rounded.
From the white belt to the black belt level, there are only ten or so patterns in any style. If a student were to memorize one pattern a month (which is very easy to do), that means they would be ready for the black belt test in ten months. This is, if patterns were the only aspect of their training.
It is even easier for some students to learn how to spar. Just put on equipment and go to work. It doesn't take a lot of devotion to individually learn sparring or patterns. That is why the students who just focus in on one or the other should not be allowed to test.
For these students, the martial arts is more like a sport than an art, and they typically have very poor basics. They learn how to do a pattern just well enough to maybe pass a test, but their spiritual level is very low. One needs to invest time in training, not to rush it for the sake of a certificate. There is no trick involved in getting a belt certificate, if all you want is a belt certificate. Some of the biggest names and organizations allow you to send in money with vauge proof that you've been training, and you can then get an "official" certificate from Korea. I am far more impressed with a student who has a certificate from a smaller school with a respected master, than with a student who has a certificate from a large organization that has never even seen the student before.
It is very important for everyone to keep in mind that belt testing is based on individual achievement. What is a passing grade for one student is not necessarily passing for another. For example, one of my own black belt students had polio as a youngster, and as a result his abilities are limited. Does this make him any less of a black belt? The answer is, of course, "not:' By the same token, should I allow other students who do not have his physical challenges to pass to the belt level if they are no more able than he is? The answer is "maybe", depending on the particular abilities and problems of the student. The point is that all students are different, and testing must be conducted by a proper master who can quickly assess a student to determine if that student is working up to his or her full abilities.
Even a limited student can excel at some techniques. In the olden days, every student, regardless of how limited he or who was in certain areas, always tried to do something which other students couldn't do. Maybe it was a particular kick, or a particular pattern or a special breaking technique. Whatever the student chose, it would be the type of thing which made that student stand out in a crowd. Today, most students don't specialize in that fashion, with most students being able to do the same techniques as their fellows. I personally would like to see students apply themselves more to specialized techniques.
This type of focus helps to keep the training fresh for the student as well as giving the student a wonderful sense of accomplishment.
I have had the privilege of going to England many times in the past decade to sit on the Taekwondo Association of Great Britain judges panel for their testing. I believe that the TAGB has a good testing system established, with certain time restraints placed on students to keep them from testing too frequently. This allows the student ample time to prepare for each test, while also impressing on the student the importance and significance of testing.
As martial arists, we must remember that the goal of training is better health: physical, intellectual, and spiritual. A test which only examines the physical aspect of a student's training is an incomplete test. All three of the following things must be weighed carefully before giving a student a higher belt lever: the student's physical ability, the student's intellectual growth, and the student's character. The experience of testing, conducted by a respected master can not only help to gauge a student's progress in these areas, but can help the student to grow in these areas at the same time.
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