When awarded his fifth degree black belt at the age of 81, Willie Nelson said, “I think martial arts is one of the best exercises you can do. Mentally, spiritually, physically, everything.” His achievement is especially interesting because he started training in his sixties.

Passing the black belt test is an experience any martial artist will remember for a lifetime. The highest color belt awarded in many martial arts grading systems, your black belt does not turn you into a Zen-spouting superhero, but the process is transformative and rewarding.

Having just earned my own black belt at the age of 45, here are six lessons learned from my years of training and from the wisdom and patience of my instructors (Wil Dorsett and Troy Champney of The Edge Martial Arts and Tumbling) that perhaps can enhance and inform your own black belt journey.

1. It’s Up to You

Maybe you chose your martial art to learn self defense, get in shape, compete in tournaments, or discover yourself. Whatever your motivations, while your coach/sifu/sensei will show you the path, he or she cannot walk the road for you. Sure, life sometimes happens and you might have to miss a practice.

Family, job, and other responsibilities pull you in different directions. You get sick and injured. You don’t want to miss the game on television. Simply put, life throws you many excuses not to train, but it’s up to you to make it work.

Have to go out of town on travel? Arrange with your coach to review material in a private session or practice on your own. At home with an illness? Fine, no one wants your dojo to be shut down because of a typhoid outbreak. Injured?

You can still show up and watch or participate as best you can. Want to watch television?

While I understand the temptation, especially on those sultry summer days when the cookouts stretch late into the night or when it’s storming outside and the couch is soft and comfortable, just remember that the responsibility for your advancement, or lack thereof, rests alone on your shoulders.

2. Be in It for the Long Term

They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. You began your martial arts adventure by showing up to practice that first day. Now you have to survive to the end. I don’t mean survive as in not be killed – hopefully the martial art you chose is not that hardcore.

But the road to black belt is in some sense a journey of attrition. Many who started training when you did will not be there when you take your black belt test. Though things can happen that cause you to quit your training, chance, as they also say, favors the prepared.

The black belt journey takes years to complete and you certainly won’t make it if you flame out. As new students, we give every practice 110%, with the intention of transforming into Bruce Lee by the end of the first month.

But your body needs time to recover as muscles are taxed, joints are stressed, and bones are hit. Adequate rest, active recovery, and healthy food help keep the body in tune.

Likewise, injuries can hinder progress and enthusiasm. While you should not train timidly, it makes no sense to purposely ruin your body with reckless training.

You can’t cram for your black belt test and you won’t make it by going all-out all the time. You get there through consistent practice with constant, incremental improvement over the long term.

3. It’s More Than Just Technique

By definition, martial arts focus on training armed and unarmed techniques for self-defense, sport, and combat. Over time you will become proficient with the basic techniques of your chosen style.

While the black belt test will verify that you know your stuff, technique is just part of what makes a black belt.

If you think about it, your coach already knows whether or not you know the techniques. After all, he or she has trained with you for years. But one thing your coach needs to see is how well you can bring together all the techniques you’ve learned and apply them as a whole.

In other words, you need to demonstrate understanding of the art of your martial art.

Also, while knowing the techniques is an obvious, tangible part of the black belt, there is an important intangible component that is just as critical. Some call this grit, courage, or character. My coaches call it heart. Whatever the name, it’s that quality that keeps someone from quitting in a fight – never giving up.

Say you have two people who are equally proficient with the techniques. Also, say one of the two has this heart quality.

Yes, both can fight, but if you had to pick one of these people to fight on your team or to cover your back in a combat situation, you’d pick the one with heart. Thus, the one with heart will earn the black belt.

4. It’s Not All About the Black Belt

If you are doing martial arts just to get a black belt, you are missing the point and will likely fail in your attempt. The belt is a reminder of the tremendous growth you’ve made while training in your art – becoming fit, learning technique, gaining confidence, becoming disciplined, showing respect, overcoming mental and physical challenges – all important life skills that make you into a better person.

Similar to how a diploma is just a piece of paper, a black belt is just a belt. It’s the mountains you climb while on your black belt journey that should be your focus and your reward.

5. It’s Not All About You

Though it’s true the journey is all up to you, the real secret is that earning a black belt is not all about you.

Though you may think that when training you should concentrate only on your own technique, you should also focus on your training partner’s technique.

Your training partner is spending time holding pads or being uke for you. In turn, you should try to be the best pad holder or uke for him or her. By helping your partner get better, your partner in return will help you get better. Also, by learning the receiving side, your understanding, technique, and performance are improved.

In addition, you should be a good member of your gym. Support your gym’s activities, represent well your coaches when out in public, and encourage teammates when they are testing, competing, or want extra training time. Remember that in order for your gym to be awesome, it needs to have awesome members, so do your part.

Finally, try to be considerate of the impact your training has on your family. While it is true that no one is going to take the black belt test for you, no one will support you more than the other members of your gym and family, so be sure to show the love in return.

6. It’s Really Just the Beginning

Unfortunately, I suspect that a large percentage of students, upon earning their black belt, soon quit martial arts training.

This is sad for several reasons. First, earning a black belt does not mean there is nothing else to learn. In fact, there are enough applications, subtleties, and variations to explore to last a lifetime.

Second, there are other martial arts to add to your current skills, which can increase your understanding of not only how to fight, but also of yourself. Third, you can pursue teaching opportunities. They say you really don’t understand something until you can teach it to someone else.

No matter how old you are, training in the martial arts is one of the best ways you can invest in yourself, and the black belt serves as a stepping-stone for a lifetime of growth, learning, and exploration.

Hopefully these thoughts will help you make the most out of your own black belt experience.

References:

1. Weber, J., “Willie Nelson Gets 5th-Degree Black Belt In Gong Kwon Yu Sul.” Huffington Post. Last accessed September 29, 2014.

Photo 1 “Black belt” by Sebastian Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Photo 2 “New brown belt” by Mike Oliverl Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Photo 3 “Black belts only” by Michael Holler Attribution-NonCommercial License.

The post 6 Life-Changing Ways Your Black Belt Journey Can Transform You appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

What do Sherlock Holmes, Steampunk, martial arts, and physical culture have in common? That would be Bartitsu, the eclectic system of martial arts and self-defense originally developed and practiced in England in the years 1898-1902.

Though Bartitsu flowered only for a brief time in Victorian and Edwardian England, it is currently undergoing a revival.

From its historical mixed martial arts origins, systemization of defense across multiple attack ranges, and emphasis on recreational training, motivated by academic interest, it is easy to see why Bartitsu has been used in the recent Sherlock Holmes films, has become the authentic martial art for genre writers of Steampunk novels, and is increasingly being practiced by students of martial arts, fitness, and history.

ORIGINS

British engineer Edward William Barton-Wright, who had previously studied Western martial arts such as boxing, wrestling, fencing, and savate, lived in Japan for several years. While there he studied at multiple martial arts schools and was introduced to multiple styles of jujitsu.

When he came back to England, he announced in 1898 the new martial art of Bartitsu, a portmanteau of his last name and “jujitsu,” publishing multiple articles describing his new art. He then established the Bartitsu Academy of Arms in London, a model gentleman’s club and the first known commercial school in the West to teach Asian martial arts.

In order to teach the various components of Bartitsu, Barton-Wright invited top self-defense experts from around the world to the Bartitsu Club. Pierre Vigny taught savate and fighting with a walking stick. Yukio Tani and Sadakazu Uyenishi taught jujitsu.

Armand Cherpillod taught physical culture classes as well as traditional Swiss wrestling. Captain Alfred Hutton’s classes, which Barton-Wright does not seem to have considered to be part of Bartitsu per se, included fencing and Renaissance-era swordsmanship.

Well ahead of today’s MMA competitions, Barton-Wright and his instructors promoted Bartitsu through a series of public exhibitions and challenge matches against all comers.

The Bartitsu Club also admitted female students, and Bartitsu’s stick fighting and jujitsu were promoted for women’s self-defense. In particular, Edith Garrud learned Bartitsu techniques and later taught classes for the Suffragettes, including the Suffragette Bodyguard team.

Unfortunately, in 1902 Barton-Wright closed the Bartitsu Club, probably due to declining enrollments from high tuition fees. In the following years Barton-Wright pursued interests in electrotherapy, and Bartitsu largely faded from public interest. Barton-Wright died in 1951.

MARTIAL COMPONENTS

Victorian and Edwardian England was a particularly difficult time for urban dwellers, in particular due to large numbers of gangsters and street ruffians. Barton-Wright designed Bartitsu with urban self-defense in mind, so that men and women could live and travel, at home and abroad, without fear of attack:

Under Bartitsu is included boxing, or the use of the fist as a hitting medium, the use of the feet both in an offensive and defensive sense, the use of the walking stick as a means of self-defense. Judo and jujitsu, which are secret styles of Japanese wrestling, I would call close play as applied to self-defense.

In order to ensure, as far as it is possible, immunity against injury in cowardly attacks or quarrels, one must understand boxing in order to thoroughly appreciate the danger and rapidity of a well-directed blow, and the particular parts of the body which are scientifically attacked. The same, of course, applies to the use of the foot or the stick.

Judo and jujitsu were not designed as primary means of attack and defense against a boxer or a man who kicks you, but are only to be used after coming to close quarters, and in order to get to close quarters it is absolutely necessary to understand boxing and the use of the foot. – E.W. Barton-Wright, lecture for the Japan Society of London, 1902

Bartitsu is often called the first mixed martial art, as it was the first martial arts system to combine Western and Eastern martial arts. In particular, Bartitsu synthesized elements of jujitsu, boxing, savate, and Vigny stick-fighting.

The Bartitsu Canon refers to the collection of known self-defense techniques, kata, and drills that were presented as Bartitsu by Barton-Wright between 1899-1902.

It is not known all of the techniques that were taught by Barton-Wright, but there is the corpus of published articles on Bartitsu. This corpus includes two Barton-Wright essays in Pearson’s Magazine in 1899, an interview of Barton-Wright in Health and Strength Magazine in 1901, the illustrated essay “The Bartitsu Method of Self Defence” by Captain F.C. Laing of the 12th Bengal Infantry, Barton-Wright’s two-part series “Self Defence with a Walking Stick” in Pearson’s Magazine in 1901, and several other Barton-Wright interviews and other sources.

Bartitsu self-defense techniques are often described in a gentlemanly manner, such as “A Good Way of Conducting a Person out of the Room,” which describes a method of applying an armbar against a party-goer who needs to be escorted peaceably from the room.

Another is “How to Defend Yourself, without Running any Risk of being Hurt, if you are carrying only a Small Switch in your Hand, and are Threatened by a Man with a very Strong Stick,” which describes a stick-fighting strategy to use if you, with only a light stick or umbrella, are attacked by someone with a stout stick. There are even techniques showing you how to use your overcoat effectively in self-defense situations.

In fact, Bartitsu comprises a system of techniques spanning four martial arts and four fighting ranges. The range of The Stick is covered by Vigny’s stick fighting methods, the ranges of The Foot and The Fist are covered by boxing and savate, and the Close-Combat range is covered by jujitsu.

Neo-Bartitsu refers to techniques that fit within the canonical Bartitsu martial arts framework beyond what Barton-Wright originally taught, to allow Bartitsu to evolve and grow into the modern day.

Much research, experimentation, and development have been conducted around extending Barton-Wright’s vision for Bartitsu, and so Neo-Bartitsu is what Bartitsu might have been had Barton-Wright not closed shop in 1902.

Bartitsu, via Neo-Bartitsu, has developed in part by studying the canonical Bartitsu source materials as well materials from the Bartitsu instructors and their martial descendants, such as Percy Longhurst, William Garrud, George Dubois, and Jean Joseph-Renaud.

This collective wisdom has guided the growth and development of Neo-Bartitsu and has fueled Bartitsu’s revival. In this sense Bartitsu is an open-source martial art, though one that strives to keep the style and sensibilities of the early 20th century.

REVIVAL

Bartitsu might have faded from memory forever if the art had not been immortalized in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes story “The Adventure of the Empty House.”

There, Holmes recounts his use of the martial art “baritsu” to defeat Professor Moriarty on a ledge above the Reichenbach Falls. For a long time Holmes enthusiasts wondered about this secret martial art of Sherlock Holmes.

The martial arts historian Richard Bowen uncovered Barton-Wright’s Pearson’s Magazine articles and they were republished in 2001 in the Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences.

The following year an international association of historians, writers, and martial arts practitioners formed the Bartitsu Society to research the art historically and to revive the art practically. These efforts allowed modern scholars to conclude that Bartitsu is indeed the secret martial art of Sherlock Holmes.

Today, Bartitsu is enjoying growing interest. The 2009 movie Sherlock Holmes and the 2011 sequel Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows saw Robert Downey Jr. incorporate Bartitsu techniques, along with Wing Chun (which bares a close technical similarity to 19th century English boxing), as the basis for Sherlock Holmes’s martial art. See especially the “Punch Bowl” bare-knuckle boxing fight scene in Sherlock Holmes.

Tony Wolf, one of the co-founders of the Bartitsu Society, has, among other instructors, taught Bartitsu seminars at martial arts conferences around the world. In fact, the second international Bartitsu symposium, The Bartitsu School of Arms, was recently held in Chicago at the new Forteza Fitness, Physical Culture, and Martial Arts center.

It should be noted that Forteza was specifically inspired by Barton-Wright’s school, as a place where Bartitsu and historical fencing are taught side by side. Forteza follows a 19th century esthetic, including a “gymuseum” of functional antique exercise equipment.

So whether your interest is in studying the martial arts history of Victorian/Edwardian England, learning a practical method of self-defense, researching an authentic Steampunk or Sherlockian martial art, or just going old-school for your fitness and martial arts training, Bartitsu may be just what you are looking for.

RESOURCES

A number of resources exist for those interested in learning more about Bartitsu:

• The Bartitsu Society provides an active forum and a comprehensive archive of Bartitsu history and revival articles.
• A number of active Bartitsu clubs worldwide are available for personal training.
• The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume 1, compiles the complete history of the art as well as a technical curriculum for Canonical Bartitsu.
• The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume 2, provides excerpts from other self-defense manuals of the time and also details the development of Neo-Bartitsu.
• The documentary The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes, narrated by Tony Wolf, recounts the history, rediscovery, and revival of Bartitsu.
• There is even information, including a template for a Bartitsu training session, for setting up one’s own Bartitsu club and training curriculum.

REFERENCES:

1. The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume 1, Edited by Tony Wolf, 2005.

2. The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume 2, Edited by Tony Wolf, 2010.

3. Articles from the Bartitsu Society, www.bartitsu.org.

Special thanks go to Tony Wolf and Mark Donnelly for their advice and help in providing images for this article.

Photography credits:

1. Author/fight choreographer Terry Kroenung (in the top hat) at a Steampunk convention in Colorado. Photo courtesy of Terry Kroenung.

2. Edward William Barton-Wright. Photo courtesy of the Bartitsu Society.

3. Women’s self-defense. Photo courtesy of the Bartitsu Society.

4. Bartitsu Instructor – Professor Mark P. Donnelly (right). Photo courtesy of the Bartitsu Society.

5. Using an overcoat for defense. Photo courtesy of the Bartitsu Society.

6. Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty. Photo courtesy of the Bartitsu Society.

7. Gymuseum at the Forteza Fitness, Physical Culture, and Martial Arts center. Photo courtesy of the Bartitsu Club of Chicago: bartitsuclubofchicago.com/

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One way to pick which martial art to train in is to find a friend or someone who practices martial arts and ask for advice. Many older martial arts practitioners in the U.S. picked their art based on what was on TV or available at the corner dojo, so it is likely they took up karate, tae kwon do, or “ninjutsu.” These days, the modern martial arts are popular, such as Thai boxing, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Truth is, there are a lot of different martial arts available. For example, here is a very brief, non-comprehensive list of some of the many different martial arts styles and traditions available, roughly grouped by general origin of the art, age, and sport focus:

• Western: Bartitsu, Western, Fencing, Wrestling, Boxing, Archery, Systema, Savate
• Eastern: Karate, Aikido, Kempo, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Kenjutsu, Tai Chi, Shindo Muso Ryu
• Modern: Muay Thai, MMA, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Jeet Kune Do
• Sport: Boxing, Wrestling, Judo, Archery, Savate, Karate, Kendo, Fencing, Sambo
• Traditional: Shindo Muso Ryu, Tai Chi, Kung Fu
• Self Defense: Krav Maga, Systema, Military Combatives

However, no matter the art, if you ask a current martial arts practitioner for advice, it is likely they will just suggest whatever art they are currently practicing.

But is this the best advice?

Humans are funny creatures, and martial arts in particular tweak strong “group cohesion” bonds within the practitioners of the different martial arts styles.¹ The strength of those bonds is often so great that inventive justifications for why that particular martial art is the one and only art the petitioner should practice are often made with high confidence.

For example, if the martial artist practices a “traditional” martial art, then that martial artist is likely to suggest to the beginner something to the effect that he or she should choose their art because it is so old that it has to be a good art to train in. After all, back then people really had to know how to fight, like, for real. A Zen koan might even be offered. On the other hand, if the martial artist trains in, say, an MMA art, then the martial artist might suggest to the beginner that he or she train in their art because it is an art that is actually useful in today’s real world. A tattoo might even be revealed.

These martial artist advice givers each have a point, and both are, in a way, correct. But as far as the person asking their advice goes – the martial arts beginner – those martial artists are both wrong.

Why? Because the experienced martial artists, in immediately suggesting the beginner train in their art, have answered the beginner from an inward facing direction—one of ego—rather than from an outward facing direction, one of actually considering the person asking the advice.

Consider for a moment the bestselling job-hunting book What Color Is Your Parachute?, by Richard Bolles. One reason this book has remained popular for more than forty years is that rather than recommend a job seeker simply take the same job as the seeker’s mother or father, or rather than simply suggest the job seeker take the job that paid the highest salary, that book helped readers first understand who they were, inside, and then, based on that understanding, helped them map out their career goals. The idea was to find the job optimized for the nature and needs of the job seeker.

Similarly in martial arts, rather than using the “Just Because” method of recommending a martial art, it is better for the beginner to seek the art best aligned with their needs and nature.

For example, consider the beginner’s body characteristics: Long legs? Stocky body? Quick moves? Powerful strikes? Quick reflexes? Some martial arts styles are better suited to some body shapes than others. For example, boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao is a relatively “small” boxer, but has the wrist diameter of a much larger person, so his punches are much stronger and more devastating than many of his boxing peers―he punches above his weight class. If the beginner has long legs (i.e., has good reach), they may find one of the kicking arts to be enjoyable. If they are a bit stockier (i.e., have more balance), they may be very effective at the throwing and grappling arts. If they have more power, they may enjoy a striking art. Are they coordinated, with lightning-fast reflexes? One of the weapon arts may be appealing.

Perhaps a more subtle point, but just as important as considering the beginner’s body characteristics – the beginner should also consider matching the martial art to their personality and personal interests.

For example, what aspect of their personality does the beginner want to strengthen? Some martial arts are more direct and aggressive, whereas other arts are more indirect and defensive. Also, does the beginner like a lot of ritual and want to dress up as a samurai? Consider some of the traditional Japanese arts. Is the beginner more interested in combining martial arts with dance and music? Consider Capoeira. Does the beginner have their sights on Olympic Gold? Look to the Olympic martial arts. Some martial arts wear shoes as a part of training, some don’t. Some martial arts require competitors to wear armor, some arts wear just pads, and some arts wear no protection at all. Some martial arts are fueled by pure bare-knuckle and bare-chested adrenaline.

Thus, the beginner will find a better fit to a martial art based on these personal and stylistic differences. As in finding the right career, it is important for martial arts beginners to know themselves in order to find a good fit with their chosen martial art.

What color is your dojo?

In the end, there are only so many different ways the human body can punch and kick, so there seems to be more philosophical, cultural, and ritual differences between the arts than mechanical differences. Thus, rather than choosing a martial art just because a friend likes the one they are currently training in, the beginner should investigate the different martial arts and find a good pairing with the beginner’s goals, motivations, and interests, the rituals they would like to practice, and their personality and body structure. The best martial art is the one that aligns with the beginner as a person, in order to help increase the probability that the beginner becomes a lifelong martial artist.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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