Tae Kwon Do Tutors | A Martial Arts Blog

Recently, I had a student who asked me why her instructors were taking black belt testing so seriously. It baffled me that a student would ever ask this question. I mean, what kind of question is that? Of course black belt testing is important! The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that it’s a really good question. So, I decided to write a post detailing why black belt testing is such a big deal, and taken so seriously.

It’s a Big Achievement!

Let’s start with the obvious. It’s a big achievement! You’ve been training for years, you’ve put in hard work, and now you’ve finally made it. You’ve faced challenges and gotten through them. You’ve endured. Now, you’re about to join a collection of other extremely talented and passionate martial artists. That’s a pretty impressive feat! Shouldn’t it be taken seriously, if it’s that remarkable an accomplishment?

It’s a Recognition of Responsibility

Being a black belt is pretty cool, but it’s also a responsibility. You are trained in a martial art. As a result you most likely know how to fight. You also need to know when not to. You need to recognize that you have power, and should use it responsibly. A good instructor gives a black belt to students who they think are responsible enough to not go out and fight the first bad guy they see. Sorry, being a black belt doesn’t make you a superhero!

You Represent Your Teachers

There is one truth of education that often goes unacknowledged. The performance of a student’s skill is, in part, a reflection on a teacher’s ability to teach them that skill. It would reflect poorly on your instructor’s judgement of your skill and their teaching if they didn’t take your education and performance seriously! That’s why the testing is taken so seriously. Not only are you about to represent your teachers by showing what you learned from them, once you become a black belt, you will become one of them. Naturally, they want to make sure that you can do that effectively.

It’s an Important Tradition

The examination of a student’s skill in martial arts is a very old tradition. The oral tradition states that it was common for people to bring rice and food in exchange for training and testing in Korea. Now, the historicity of that statement may be dubious, but you get the point. Testing a student’s knowledge is an important part of training. Essentially, the testing is a review of a student’s progress so far. It has lots of ceremony attached to it now, but the purpose remains the same. 

Jung Shin

If you’ve read my other articles, you know what Jung Shin is. If you haven’t, very basically, it’s the philosophy that makes up what a black belt is. They’re also called the Five Tenets of Taekwondo. One of the things that instructors are testing you on is how effectively can you demonstrate these tenets? Are you respectful? Honest? Do you persevere? Do you have good self-control? Most importantly, do you have indomitable spirit? If the answer is yes to all of these, then your instructors will be pleased. This is such a big part of what taekwondo is, so it is taken quite seriously when someone tests for their black belt. After all, we don’t want to give a black belt to someone who doesn’t have good self control, is disrespectful to others, and lies a lot! That would be terrible!

Respect

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Many of the examiners at a testing are doing the testing without being paid. Your examiners are taking their time to come to your testing. Why? Many reasons, not the least of which is that they want to see you, their student, perform. They know you can pass, but they want to make sure they get the opportunity to see you do wonderfully! No pressure, right?

Scared? Anxious? Excited? Totally understandable. Just remember, they wouldn’t test you if they didn’t think you could pass. Good luck!

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