What It Means to Be a Black Belt

         “Empty your mind. Be formless. Shapeless. Like Water,” said Bruce Lee. To be water means that you are able to adapt to our surroundings and challenges. Though challenges given at the present can be hard to tackle, the will and ability to adapt is what it means to be a black belt. Strength and ability to fight isn’t everything martial arts offer, but it’s the discipline and will to keep going. What it means to be a black belt is to be humble, be able to teach, and be a role model because these are the challenges that you will face to be water.
         Imagine this. Your fellow classmate John Doe just got his 1st degree black belt, but then he starts boasting nonstop. John was saying how he can beat everyone in a sparring match and be better in strength just because he has the rank of a black belt. In the end, he lost to a green belt in a sparring tournament and an arm wrestle. Bluntly speaking, John Doe is very annoying since his boastings are inflated, and there ARE lower belts that are stronger than him. Since he reached the rank of a black belt, being humble will save people’s ears and his deflated ego. Being a black belt doesn’t mean that you are better than everyone, for there is still more to learn and improve. Being humble on the other hand is a skill that will enhance the nobility of the rank black belt. Being humble is not only a factor of what it means to be a black belt.
         Teaching people is the next factor to being a black belt. An excerpt from the Gestalt Prayers states, “I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, And you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I.” In short, German psychotherapist Fritz Perls meant that everyone is different. No one is to live up to anyone’s expectation, and people shall learn at their pace. With teaching, you will have to deal with a slice of humanity. This is challenging and takes patience, but teaching also offers you the ability to improve your style of transferring knowledge. Teaching doesn’t only help others, but it’s also testing your skill. When you reach a high rank, my question is do you know your techniques? Teach it, and if you can, you have owned it. It’s wonderful that you can teach at this point no matter how many times you get frustrated, for this will boost the meaning of being a black belt.
         Now, there are unspoken ways people learn. This is called being a role model. Whatever the higher ranks (aka the mama duck) do, the lower ranks (aka the ducklings) will follow. Though it can be fun to goof off and slack off in class, this does no justice to the black belts or anyone. As a higher rank, it means that you have more self-control and discipline. In other words, if this isn’t fulfilled, then the black belt is a hypocrite and a bad leader. You don’t want a bad leader ruling your country and causing repeated history. Right? Like a political leader, being a role model is key for a country’s success. What it means to be a black belt is to be a leader. You can lead and show everyone that you are living up to the standards.
         The given title of a black belt means nothing if the standards aren’t living up to. A black belt doesn’t always have to be about strength and the ability to fight. It’s about discipline and the strength to mentally adapt to your environments and obstacles. These obstacles are being humble, teaching ability, and being a role model. To be humble means that you accept that you are not better but are willing to improve. To be able to teach means that you can transfer knowledge to others and own your techniques. To be a role model means that you can lead by example and obtain self-control. These are the factors of what it means to be a black belt because it’s not easy to master these. Once you are able to adapt to these challenges, you will “be water, my friend.”