You can still do that which you do, because you do it.

This is one of my not so famous sayings. I can still punch and kick because I punch and kick every day. I am fit and trim because I work at being fit and trim every day. If a black belt does not care enough about his or her black belt status to stay fit and trim and performing at a level greater than do non black belts of the same age, then the prestige of the person’s black belt will drop and the prestige of all black belts in general will suffer.

Sometimes black belts cannot do, but they talk of when they once could. However, the reason they cannot do may be because they never could.

Once you cannot maintain the standards of a black belt, do not appear in public as a black belt. I am a retired U. S. Navy master chief and as such, I am still permitted to the wear the uniform at special occasions, which I did for years. However, now, while I am still fit and trim, when I wear the uniform I look like an old man who is trying to relive the past, so I do not wear it. I still retain the rank of master chief petty officer but I do not pretend that I am still a master chief petty officer. I am a black belt and at age 60 can still perform as a black belt, equal to if not better than much younger black belts, so I still wear a black belt. However, I no longer test for rank. If I did, I would probably be promoted, but I would not be judged as a younger person, I would be judged as a senior citizen, so the rank would mean less to me.

The Rolling Stones are old, but they still perform as well as they ever did, so they keep making music and people still pay to see and hear them. When people start to say, “I can remember when they were good” it is time, actually past time, for the Stones to hang it up. I am old-ish but I still wear a black belt because people still say, "He is good." When people start to say, “I can remember when he were good” it is time for me to just teach and not perform.

Is there something that can be done?

There should be just one set of black belt requirements and standards, not a series of requirement and standards that accommodate various ages, genders, and physical or mental abilities. When we lower standards to accommodate certain ages, genders, or levels of physical or mental abilities so everyone may attain black belt, we degrade the value of the black belt for everyone. To be awarded a black belt, a person must be able to meet or exceed all the requirements for a black belt. If the person cannot meet these requirements, it does not mean the person is not a dedicated martial artist, it just means the person does not, or cannot, meet the standards required of a black belt. They may have reached the limit of their abilities and will always remain at their current rank.

Has the prestige of the black belt been lost forever?

Regrettably, yes! There are still some schools and instructors, not too many organizations, that still regard the black belt as a vaulted position of honor that must be preserved. They have high requirements and standards that each person must meet to attain a black belt and they do not bend them to allow lesser-qualified persons to attain a black belt. Their black belt testing is long, arduous, and only offered to a select few; and only a few make it. In these schools and organizations, the black belt still has prestige and it is still considered a major milestone in a martial artist’s life, not just another rank. These black belts realize the awesome responsibilities that come with a black belt and they behave accordingly.

However, these organization, schools, and instructors are relics of days gone by. Today, money rules! To make more money, organization, schools, and instructors make black belts available to everyone.

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