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Blackbelt (1992)
IMDB rating: 3.80
Plot: Two evil guys are willing to kill a rock singer, one of them is her manager, someone who is known in the mob, and another one, a martial arts expert who has some mental problems about his mother who died, he thinks that the female rock singer can replace her. The singer, Shana calls in the help of an ex-cop and also martial arts expert to protect her from the guys who are up to no good.
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find and download Blackbelt in DivX quaity
Directors: Jacobson Rick
Actors: Wilson Don ‘The Dragon’,Hues Matthias,Beymer Richard,Blumenfeld Alan,Forcinito Jack,McFarland Bob,Garcia Jose,Bobrow Mitchell,Mohica Victor,Hefton Brad,Rapposelli Michael,Action,
Do you ever hate it when people assume that you got your blackbelt young, that you must be in a mcdojo?
I truly hate this! I received my blackbelt at 16 after 10 years of training with private lessons for 7 years. Our style HATES blackbelts under 18. But our style will allow them to test, most kids become shodan-ho, but I was promoted to full shodan and other styles and other dojos are giving me sh*t about it. Our style is VERY traditional. Yes we have belt tests every 3 months and you can test whenever you want as long as you get your 3 stripes (kata, kihon, kumite), but I would say 25-30% of kids fail, and not because of fault of the sensei. I went and trained at another dojo (different from my style) as soon as I walked in everyone thought I was a joke because of my blackbelt. Before they would let me train with them, just for a class , they made me spar one of their adult male blackbelts, I didn’t win but I was able to hold my own and still have my face intact. So they let me train with them. (and I didn’t walk in wearing my belt acting like I am a total bad a$$$$) I just hate it when people assume that because I am young and a blackbelt my training must be fake. ANyone else ever have this problem
In earned my shodan in 1987 at the age of 17 after training for 9 years straight, four days a week in classes that were two hours long at the least. It was a very traditional dojo and my Sensei had to get permission for me to examine before I turned 18 so I understand your pain but at least back then there weren’t that many mcdojos around. It really didn’t matter though because in competitions I was fighting adults from the age of 16.
It wasn’t until 1993 that I had to deal with the age and rank thing for the first time. I had just passed my sandan test as well as recieved my license as a Sensei. I was 23. We were at a gasshuku (gathering) for our system and a 5th dan who was 39 began complaining about my rank. I heard about it from a friend that day. I simply strolled up to him and asked him what his problem was. He said that there is no way anyone under 25 could be a qualified sandan let alone a Sensei. By this time I had to been to Okinawa to train twice. While I was there I noticed that children black belts were plentiful and even at some of the most respected dojo there were sandan students who were younger than I was. I mentioned this to him and he just scoffed and stamped off. He never let it go either that day so by the end of the day I simply said let’s go out on the floor and train. If you still feel the same afterwards then you can have my belt since it doesn’t matter. After five minutes of Kumite he relented and apologized. He was darn good to and it was fun. We went on to become good friends and he even signed my godan rank promotion when I was 29.
At my dojo I have simple method of dealing with this. If a person comes in and begins telling me about their "black belt" rank I tell them they will begin as a white belt. If they come in and talk to me about their goals for wanting to learn I let them whatever belt they state they earned. Reasoning behind this is that a person who proclaims their rank cares about that rank more than the art. We also have all students from other systems who want to switch to ours perform their highest level kata. It is amazing how many people have poor kata today. Then I have one of my students who is at the level they claim perform theirs. To date not one person has wanted to retain their black belt after comparing themselves to my black belts when they switch to train at our dojo.
Being 16 is not to young to be a shodan. It is to young to be any higher rank than that but 16 is a respectable age for training purposes.
One thing I will state is that I still feel I was to young for my godan rank and that I recieved it rather quickly after getting my shodan but I trained every single day and taught four days a week since my shodan where as most people came and went from the dojo. My biggest complaint about young people and rank is that they care more about their belt color than their art. Being a black belt is great and a fine accomplishment but in reality it means very little in terms of being a martial artists.
nwohioguy | Feb 03, 2010
nwohioguy had a really great answer. A fine example!
I can understand where you are coming from, though I was not a young Shodan. I didn’t receive mine until I was 20, but that was due to the fact that Sensei did not promote students that have not finished high school to the Shodan rank. His reasoning for this was not so much to do with age as it did maturity, and life experience.
Sadly, I think that this is something greatly under-emphasized (in the US) in today’s martial art society. There is so much out there prompting people to worry about their "status" and their "possessions" when declaring who they are. When the only tool needed to show who a person is, is their action; what they do, both in the public eye, and when nobody is looking. These are the principals that the martial artists from the late 17th century began to live their lives by and incorporate into their training, and the martial arts of today.
The question now is what happened to that code of honor, the chivalry?
It changed from a lot of people being lazy, wanting the immediate gratification, and the GLORY associated with "having done something". So, with that you have the birth of the "mcdojo" and the warping of age old systems for no good reason. There are many reasons why the quality of martial arts has waned over the years with its exponential growth in popularity, but we shall not beat a dead horse with expounding on that.
Leaving the reasoning behind, and focusing on the few schools that still teach the traditional skills, in the traditional manner, with the traditional attitude; we can begin to see an EXCUSE for making judgment calls about who should be who and who should be what.
To a person who put in time, blood, sweat, and tears, while forsaking the easy and popular lifestyle to attain a goal. It can seem as a slap in the face when they see somebody (any age) possessing their goal while having circumvented the effort needed to truly earn it. Unfortunately, we are all human and no matter how we try, we are subject to our own emotions, and upon seeing this we give in to them.
So, it may be a social standing that some folks see it as unfair, or even wrong for a young teenager to have attained the rank of Shodan when there is so much that they had to go through themselves in order to reach their rank. As nwohioguy mentioned in his response, in Japan they promote young Black Belts. 15/16 is actually a very common age to be promoted to the Shodan rank.
All that said. Allow me this one piece of advice, that took me a long time to get a grip of myself. Put your goals to yourself, do what you do every day for you and not for somebody else. By this I am not saying behave like a stingy brat and take, take, take. What I am meaning is to not allow how others see you to influence who you are. (For example: If you put in the time and effort for this Shodan rank, and you know you did, don’t worry about the other people telling you that you do not deserve it.) Live your life just, and work hard at the things you do.
EDIT- I just want to add that I used to care immensely about rank and who has what. I cared so much so, to the point of wanting to challenge anybody of rank, and especially kids… (How could a 15 year old kid beat me an 18 year old soldier also in Karate?) After a while and innumerable sparring sessions with challenged opponents (and not children!), my skill level as a Kyu was enough to give me the confidence in myself and surpass the worry about who other people may be. So while there may be doubt as to a teenager having the skills and experience to be worthy of a Black Belt, I don’t care enough to worry about it anymore.
Aaron J | Feb 04, 2010
In the USA most training centers have their students attend only 2x a week, so testing is what every 4 months or so. $$$ IF that is not an mc dojo I don’t know what is.
In Asia, students attend daily. And up until black belt testing is done about every 5 weeks, thus it will take 1 year to earn the black belt.
But from black belt to 1st degree takes about 6 months – 8 months and therefore respectivily.
So in Asia many youngsters have earned their black belt early, but going up to 1st degree etc is another story.
The USA is a capitalist country remember. Argue all you want, but attending 2x a week compared to daily is what it is about.
Benji F | Feb 04, 2010
I’m breaking my rule against answering questions by members that have their Q & A blocked. But there goes. First the fact is that 99% of black belts below the age of 18 are from McDojo. Sorry it is a problem for you, but that is fact. In the last 42+ years of martial arts training and research, I have seen hundreds of children wearing black belts. I have only seen two that came close to being legitimate.
Lets assume for a minute that you are worthy of a black belt. Then you should understand that you will have to prove to others that you are worthy. Is it fair. that depends on how you look at it. If you feel that children can and often do legitimately receive black belts then you will feel that it is unfair to look down on those children that have one. but the old timers like me feel that children are not black belt material no matter how long they trained or under who. So you will find many that will have a prove it to me attitude. That is proper. You must also consider that we older guys are more capable of deciding what is mature. Young guys always think that they are mature. but older guys see things from a different and more experienced perspective. We know that at young ages even under private lessons, …etc., you are still to immature to possible have the mind to understand things that require maturity. The martial arts were designed for life-threatening situations. not exactly the stuff kids are able to comprehend in a realistic manner, nor be able to handle.
So we are left with two possibilities, either you are worthy of your black belt. In that case get used to having to prove your worth as a black belt. Consider that there is a good side to this. If you continue to prove that you are indeed worthy, then you will also be likely to keep up your skills and progress. On the other hand if you are not worthy, then you will either quit or gain the skills and knowledge that will make you equal to that rank. Complaining may be justified. but it would be better if you simply trained hard and progressed. A time will come when no one questions your belt. That can come soon or a while off. your attitude will also effect how quickly that happens. If you let it get to you then you will have wasted your training to this point. And people will always see you as not deserving the rank. Better to concentrate on being the best you can and forgetting about what rank you hold or who does or does not accept it. Then you will truly progress.
Best Of Luck!
pugpaws2 | Feb 04, 2010
While I do understand your frustration I have to agree with Pugpaws2. I have seen far too many undeserving Black Belts than I have legitimate ones. ( Young people I mean ) I could go into a lengthy explanation of why, but it would be moot. I’ll simply ask you to put yourself in the Elders’ shoes. Would you just take a young Black Belt’s rank at face value knowing how many McDojo there are? I probably would have challenged the legitimacy of your rank myself. Sorry, but I am a bit "old school."
JimG | Feb 04, 2010
I received my Shodan in Chung Do Kwan at 18. My age wasn’t so much the issue I had to over come, but the relatively short time it took. I received it in just under 5 years. Now that was a short amount of time for most of the classes we were loosely associated with in KSMA. I was also fairly well known and it still didn’t help much. I was, however the "teachers pet", we had class 4 days a week and most weekends I had at least two private workouts with my instructor. I stayed after class and had another hour of private or semiprivate instruction most nights.
Now looking back, was I ready? Physically yes, mentally and maturity wise, that is debatable.
I did grow into it fairly quickly, I have always taken the responsibilities that come with having the rank seriously. By responsibilities I mean being a role model for the lower ranked students, helping where and when I could. I have always felt a need to share what knowledge I have, it is almost an addiction. I didn’t always make the wisest choices but I usually tried. That coupled with the fact that I had the physical skill eventually lead to a greater acceptance. It didn’t hurt that my first year as a Shodan, I was rated in the top 10 in Kumite and Kata by NASKA, and that coming from a more traditional school, at least in what was taught. We never had scheduled tests, we held one when we had someone ready, even if it was only one or two students.
It is a simple fact everyone has to pay their dues. Right or wrong if the perception is you haven’t then everyone wants to to collect them. It isn’t a personal insult, it has nothing to do with you. It is a sad fact that there are many schools out there that have black belts for sale, pay your monthly dues and testing fees and you have it in 2 or 3 years. Of course then all it is good for is to hold your uniform closed.
I have no problem with certain people receiving a Shodan at 16. I have a large problem with 8, 9, 10, 11,and 12 year olds having a black belt. I would have probably had the same issues with you, unless I was familiar with the school you came from. Heck I would most likely have the same issues with someone else that came up just like I did. Is it right? Who can say. Is it a fact of life? Yes.
David E | Feb 04, 2010
I want to play devil’s advocate for a moment. Imagine you are in my age bracket late 20s/ early 30s, looking to train in a martial art for the first time. Your goals are stress relief from the long hours of work at a job you probably don’t enjoy, weight management because you’ve gained 15+ lbs since you graduated high school (again from the stress of the job) or had that bad knee injury, and "me time" to get away from the kids. You’re not as fast or as flexible as you once were, you can’t remember words in a foreign language as well as when you were younger, and the students who are going to be starting out with you are probably half your age. Now you look for an instructor that not only can give quality instruction, but can understand your needs. Would you pick a 16 year old? Do you have any experience with any of these life situations I’ve mentioned? Most likely not, because they are something you will experience when you are older.
There is something to be said for life experience, and while your dedication to your art is admirable at your age, you should understand why a "real" adult may not give you the respect you believe you deserve. There are other details you haven’t mentioned either that would help your case. How many hours a week did you train? Have you ever stopped training for a period of time? What was your style? One more thing, do you pay for you own training? Do you understand that if you don’t, someone who works just as hard as you and has to work a job to support his/her training might not like you very much? It’s just a line of thought to consider.
Secondly, some people (especially old crooks who get easily offended at the mere suggestion of change) are very anal about ranks. In some cases, it is a tradition thing, and most of the time we ought to abide by it if we are talking about a traditional art. By in other cases, some are just blowing smoke and choose to pitch fits about something just because they can. They feel threatened, and by arguing they deflect any suspicion off themselves. Unfortunately, mean people can be black belts too.
Last, don’t get hung up on what other people say. A black belt isn’t worn, it just is. You as a black belt are supposed to be a leader and a teacher. By posting a question like this, you can come off as a little needy of approval. A black belt should be confident as well as humble and hard-working. Remember that respect is earned, not taken.
cookiesrme | Feb 04, 2010
I do understand your feelings, though I myself have never faced that particular situation (I didn’t start studying martial arts until I was almost 28). And while several people here have already provided some excellent examples of why some adults do assume you’re from a McDojo, I hope I may also be able to provide a bit of insight as well.
Admittedly, many people do, very understandably, expect a certain level of maturity out of martial arts instructors, even when said instructor isn’t the head of a school. And many people equate age with maturity, even though that’s not always the case (I used to work retail, and it’s amazing the amount of immature adults I encountered during that time). It’s unfortunate, but true.
It’s also unfortunate that there are McDojos out there, and they tend to give the legitimate schools a bad name as a result of it. I agree that if a person knows the necessary material, they shouldn’t be denied a certain rank – black belt ranks included – just because they’re under a certain age. But at the same time, I feel that most of the under-18 crowd should be limited to what they can instruct, just because most of them don’t have the experience to know all the consequences of a particular action, which needs to be understood just as much as knowing the action itself. A good, *legitimate* school knows to take this into consideration when determining what a black belt who’s under the age of 18 should and shouldn’t do in classes (and yes, again I agree that sometimes it’s unfortunate that some people automatically feel that a black belt can’t possibly be legitimate if it’s given to someone under the age of 18).
Rynok | Feb 05, 2010
Hi there
The simple fact at the end of the day is do you think you have earned it and are you capable? Thats it! Does it really matter what others think? I mean really does it? Standards are spread so far appart in this game that the only person who’s opinion that really matters is your own. Make your own judgements in life. If you think you got it handed to you without any hard work then put the hard work in! Lets not forget traditional arts or not 99 percent of grades come from a western governing body! A western governing body giving out grades in Japaneses arts? Hmmmmm! Wheres the so called importance in that? So at the end of the day training and how you train is all that matters! I have two dan grades in different arts. Been and trained in Japan twice in the last two years and grades to them dont mean a great deal. They do it for the art! Just as we all should! Dont chase fame and fortune in this game as you will be pushing your own self destruct button. Train because you enjoy it!
If you train correctly all the rest of it will fall into place and the grades will come all by themselves. As for politics in martial arts well thats exactly what this is! Best putting it in the bin!
Best wishes
idai
idai | Feb 06, 2010
i dont fight much but a group of bears approached me in my back yard so i decided to axe kick ALL of them in the head, later i got a phone call from Jet Li saying that Wu Lang wanted revenge for dominating his family and so i have to meet him at the docks around 10:00pm, i was going to going in and just do a FLYING KAMORA and end it so that i can go back to school being a regular kid until goku challenges me to a martial arts tourtament in japan in which it will be postponed because RYU from street fighter is going to blow up all of Tokyo.
So the question is whats the best move to start with in a fight like that?
Mitchell | Feb 06, 2010
