In the 1990s, many schools were encouraged to discard the "ironman" style of testing. Such testing methods were often characterized by long hours performing every technique in the system, multi-day events in which candidates were subjected to treatment that was often brutal - perhaps even on the borderline of hazing.
Maybe it was.
I remember tests like this. I was part of them, but I try not to overromanticize my own journey because some of it was just plain stupid. I watched my best friend pass out from heat exhaustion 3 hours into our black belt test because access to water was unheard of. I've seen more than my fair share of people knocked out from matches that were out of control because it was intended to be a beating and not a tough challenge. I've seen people get bashed by weapons and slapped around while performing their katas in order to test the stability of their movements. I have partaken in the endless rounds of sparring versus hordes of black belts from both sides of the fights. I watched as my own girlfriend performed pushups on a suspected broken hand (it was) because she didn't want to fail by giving up. I was stabbed once during a knife defense portion of a test, and on another occasion, I cut my wrist on the edge of a brick and I stayed for another hour or so to watch the rest of the test and make sure that my blood was mopped up properly before leaving for the hospital.
We were dumber then. Sorry. It's a wonder that I even lived long enough to sign up for the UBBT. No wonder the recommendation was that testing like that disappear. I'm all for eliminating "stupid" testing.
Surely, there were a lot of factors that didn't help it, many of them coming from the instructor(s) themselves. Since there is no universal standard for black belt education or instructor training, schools varied widely in their approaches and a lot of unsafe practices were being performed. Their rationale, when present, often consisted of phrases like "we are a traditional school" and "black belts need to be tough", or some permutation of it.
I don't disagree with those things. I've been known to say them about my own program. I just don't use them as my sole explanation.
My own UBBT experience in the past year (plus the lurking I've been doing for years prior to enrolling) has taught me much about a 21st-century version of the 'ironman' style test, and my candidates begin heavy preparations 12 months ahead of time (I say "heavy" because they've been training for this moment ever since they walked into the school, yes?), where they convert a general awareness of 'black belt training' into a much more focused (but well-rounded) awareness. This, as Coach Tom jokes, allows me to 'torture' my candidates for an entire year and not just a weekend. ;)
When I run my black belt tests now (approaching my third annual test this month), everything about it is carefully constructed and purposefully placed into the test. Even after a year of grueling preparations, I still run a multi-day test and challenge my candidates to "do the impossible".
Why? Well, several reasons, but the major theme behind them is: it's my way of serving the student the maximum benefit for a focused amount of time, with the highest degree of life-changing impact. As Paulo Coelho wrote in his bestseller The Alchemist, before one realizes a dream, everything that has been learned along the way must be tested, not because we are evil, but so that we can master those lessons in addition to realizing our dream. When someone evolves in this manner, it has a profound impact on everything and everyone around them.
Through this process, I have the opportunity to pack multiple peak experiences into the test (conditioning, technical, learning, life, etc), and even though such things may be superfluous after someone's gone through a year of testing, it will certainly not feel anticlimactic for someone who has spent a year training. I get to travel with them and we can experience a new place - not to mention the benefits of interrupting your pattern and having to refocus. From a safety standpoint, I can also monitor rest, food intake, stretching, activities, and other things as necessary in order to ensure that no one gets injured....and I have time to do this without sacrificing my timetable on a shorter test.
I also get to coordinate more than just an opportunity for the candidates to show off. It becomes a learning experience (I like workshop-style testing anyway) that provides mental, social, and emotional challenges for the group to overcome while they are in a tight support group to encourage each other as we face our trials together. Additionally, I try to coordinate the release of new curriculum with the test so that candidates get a 'sneak preview' of the material during the test...they're going to be helping me to teach it anyway, and I want part of their test to include their ability to learn.
Since most parents cannot sit through the event in its entirety due to work and other family obligations, we still host a graduation ceremony that is much like a demonstration and a party. By then, the 'test' is a formality. After playing full-out for a year, the rest is all a celebration of their ascent into the black belt ranks. We still provide an official setting, but they're all fired up because they know it's the home stretch!
Of course, none of these things are necessary. It could easily be accomplished in a 90-minute demonstration of technical skill, but all of these things are added values which will make the experience one to remember forever. I put in the extra work to coordinate it because I feel obligated to my students to deliver something special since they're working so hard. Even in my more 'commercial' days (I say that in the most well-intentioned way possible), I have always tried to deliver far more value than I charged while still maintaining good business sense and adhering to intelligent safety, educational, and martial principles.
Then again, perhaps all of those lessons are necessary, and this is one way to teach it.
I will be in the Lake Tahoe, Nevada area with my latest group of candidates from May 17-19, in Pleasanton, California on May 20, and back in San Jose for our graduation event on May 21. If any of you are in the area, I'd love to welcome you as an honored guest. Please let me know!
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