Some People

Just don't get it.

First, some back story is required.

There's been a hot argument raging on a forum I frequent these last few days. There is this one guy who always comes on asking questions and seeking advice. He is given both advice and answers, and usually ignores both. Then he'll come back and ask the same questions again and again, and still ignore the advice he has been given. Some of the more experienced people on that forum are getting pretty tired of it and have called him on it.

Anytime that happens, there's always going to be the inevitable whine about lack of respect. What he said was:

Ok you guys. Let me ask you something. Can all of you please stop treating me like a child and calling me immature? Immature I am not. You guys don't know me besides on here. I have a lot on my plate for someone who is my age. The fact that I work full time, I have a girl friend, I have a lot of bills to pay, I have my mother to take care of, and the list goes on and on. I'm tired of you guys treating me like a child. As fo your younger kids, your parents need to teach you better manners. I AM older that you and you guys should show a little bit of respect. If I sound angry, thats because I'm frustrated with the way that I'm being treated.

Without getting into a debate about whether he is in fact immature and childish (I thought he was around 15 years old, but he's really 20), has a lot on his plate (it's called LIFE baby, you don't have anything that the rest of us don't have to deal with also), and is deserving of respect (respect is commanded by the man you are, not demanded by throwing childish temper tantrums), or is even older than most of the posters on the forum (he isn't), or not, this response by a 15 year old really amused me:

honostly i dont have to show you any respect, because as a second degree black belt i EARNED it, and i dont dish it out to beggers and those wanting attention. i spent 8 years of my life training and EARNED it. you have not earned it you have aksed for it, not gotten it asked for it again and still not gotten it, in my opinion you dont just get respect you EARN it, you just are not born with respect, and lashing out at people who are trying to help you is not respectfull, so before you make yourself seem more idiotic just shut up, and use google to research your question first before making yourself seem more stupid.

I really had to laugh at that. First off, this was a reptile forum. What does martial arts have to do with it? He pulled that info completely out of the blue and completely off topic. Anyway, aside from the fact that this particular bit of information was completely irrelevant to the conversation, it amused me that he was talking about earning respect because he'd earned his belt. No 15 year old earns a black belt, much less a second degree. It is given to him. To be a nidan at 15, he must have gotten his shodan at 12 or 13. No respectable instructor would give a child a black belt in the first place.

Before I started training, I thought that if a child could do "the stuff", then the child ought to be able to get the belt. However, now that I know what "the stuff" entails, I realize that there's no way a child could withstand the rigors of a true black belt test. Those who do promote children to black belts usually modify the test so that the child can complete it. So, to me, it isn't a true black belt. It's a gimmie.

In Isshinryu, very few dojos will award a black belt to anyone under 18, though there are a few that will promote to black belt at 16. Many will offer a Junior Black belt to younger students, but they have to re-test for full black belt when they reach 18. And that one is a full fledged black belt test.

James is an exception. He is 15, but will be 16 in two months, so sensei is going ahead and testing him since it seems to be so hard to get tests scheduled in our association. If it were up to me, though, he'd have to wait because he is very immature in someways. He doesn't understand what respect truly is, nor does he understand the difference between authority and power.

There are lots of dojos that do promote anyone and everyone. Most of them are in it for the money, not the quality of the art. Pay your money, get your belt, no matter what. I've even seen black belts being offered over the internet. Pay your money, get your belt, certificate, and a tape of what you are supposed to learn before you wear the belt.

Things like that really cheapen the art.