Not a Genuine Black Belt

After reading Brian Copeland's "Not a Genuine Black Man", my thoughts wandered to my own personal experiences as an outsider, not just culturally, but also within the martial arts world. As an self-identified independent martial artist, I've received a wide range of responses in my encounters with other black belts and masters (mostly respectful), but like Copeland, the one that most deeply affects me is the viewpoint that my rank and/or practice is not legitimate, as if I'm not a "real" black belt.

It doesn't affect me out of a sense of doubt about my own knowledge and/or abilities, but because I feel excluded in a way that is contrary to our practice. I find it sad and distressing that an industry that preaches respect and discipline is, all too often, prone to petty bickering and a brand of multi-generational politics that runs deeper than a high school drama club.

It is interesting to note that while Copeland's reflections on identity reinforce his belief that identity is self-constructed and not subject to the opinions of others, martial arts ranking is, to some extent. Your instructor awards you rank, and in the eyes of other martial artists, that instructor's standards, connections, reputation, style, and affiliation is somehow embedded into it. Fortunately, most of us are fortunate and come from a proud and honorable lineage, yet the same characteristic can backfire when political lines are crossed.

This has been on my mind as of late because recently such accusations came from someone within my own lineage whom I consider to be important in my life. Their words felt like an attack on my sense of self, almost belittling in tone because it hid behind the facade of polite conversation. I didn't get defensive though. I felt sad...it was disheartening to hear such things from a person who was like family to me, and who I thought understood me and my work more deeply than a lot of people ever will.

I will not be held down though.

I will continue to hold my head high and press onward.

My legitimacy is best defined by who I am and what I do. Perhaps to them, I may not be a genuine black belt. Sorry to hear that. In my heart, I live it to the best of my ability because regardless of pedigree, I can always do my best to be a genuine human being that happens to train like a black belt. That's more important to me than anyone else's opinions about who respects the signatures on the papers on my wall and who I choose to train with.

"Understand: people will constantly attack you in life. One of their main weapons will be to instill in you doubts about yourself - your worth, abilities and potential. They will often disguise this as their objective opinion, but invariably it has a political purpose - they want to keep you down."
~Frederick Douglas (thank you to Robb Hamic for sharing this!)