I’ve been doing taekwondo for nearly 20 years, and I’ve learned many things. One of these discoveries is that black belts are smart. Like, really smart. My referee colleagues for example? Many of them are doctors, veterinarians, engineers, etc. That, or career martial arts instructors. So essentially, my fellow black belts are bright people. But why is this? What makes them so smart?
They Know Their Topic
This is fairly obvious. Black belts have to know a lot of things! It’s understandable. They trained for years. They passed a rigorous exam. If they’re masters, then they have been training for over a decade! By the time they’re a black belt, my students have taken over 100 classes (I did the math). Black belts memorize multiple forms, sparring strategies, and even philosophical concepts! In sport taekwondo alone, there are seminars, conferences, and training camps! By the time they’re a master, they might have even written essays on their topic. I sure have!
They Know What They Are Doing!
The truth of the matter is that many of the black belts are well educated. Keep in mind, I said “well educated” not “has been in a lot of school”. There is a difference. Let me explain. I’ve met martial arts instructors who have advanced degrees like PhDs. However, I’ve also met many masters who don’t have any degrees. One of the best masters I’ve trained with graduated high school and then went right into teaching taekwondo! The best part is, he can absolutely hold his own in a debate on any topic. He’s well read, can debate with trained academics, and is an incredible taekwondo master!
They Teach
There is a saying “those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” That might sound wise on the surface, but it’s not true. There is a reason that some of the best doctors work at Harvard. It’s because they can do their job, and they do it well. Taekwondo is the same way. Sure, there are many black belts who don’t teach and only compete. They even win tournaments regularly. But they’re not the best. They might be the best in their part of Taekwondo, but they’re not the best overall. The best of the best run schools. Why do I think that? Well, take a look at the website of a dojang. If they have an instructor webpage, it’s likely they’ll list all (and I do mean all) taekwondo accomplishments. Many instructors are former professional athletes with many awards, certified instructors, and/or career instructors. Impressive, aren’t they?
They Are Confident in Their Topic (and how they teach it)
In martial arts we debate over what way is the best way to solve any particular situation. Martial arts is a curious world. It’s filled with athletes, sure. But these athletes also have a scholarly side to them. Some will say the best way to defend yourself is to do a certain kick, others say blocking is better, others say a particular throw is better. The thing is, they’re all right, and they’re all wrong. (I can get into why that is later). Essentially, martial artists debate (sometimes endlessly), very similarly to their academic counterparts. I’ve ended up in debates with my fellow black belts about how one should handle being attacked with a knife. I’ve also ended up in debates with them over which nearby restaurant is better. They’re passionate, for sure.
They Write
I’m not the only writer. In fact, there are a lot of people who have written about martial arts. Including taekwondo. It might seem like a novel idea, but it has been happening for a long time (Anyone read Sun Tzu? Very useful martial arts writer). The topics in these books range broadly too. Some cover history, others technique, others philosophical concepts. Some even cover a bit of all of these!
The truth?
The truth of the matter is, martial artists are very interested in their field of study. Just like any other academic. Even the MMA and Western boxers will geek out! Black belts, particularly the instructors, love to talk about their topic. The best black belts I’ve ever met are always the ones who are not just interested in learning taekwondo to do taekwondo. They’re also interested in reading about taekwondo. Or talking about taekwondo. They just love taekwondo!
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