What happens then, when your sensei has not seen fit to promote you even though you may believe that you have fulfilled the requirements necessary?
At times like these it's good to think of one's progress in the martial arts as climbing a long set of stairs. While you may have placed your foot on the next step, you may not be ready to continue the climb immediately. Sometimes one has to take a step, and make sure their foot is firmly placed before moving on. As we know, climbing stairs to fast or skipping steps can lead to falling.
Another thing to keep in mind is the purpose of kata in karate. Kata were not created as belt promotion requirements. They were created to teach our style of karate and that requires meditation on it. You cannot simply memorize the movements of a kata and then move on to the next. If you do that, you miss the point of learning the kata. Memorizing and correctly performing a kata is merely the first step on a long journey to understanding the deeper meaning of our art. For example, I learned the first kata in our system almost two decades ago, and yet I am still learning new things from that kata.
The last thing to consider is what actually decides whether you're ready to progress or not. Successfully sparring a few times and memorizing a kata do not fully decide this. Below is a list of some of the things that a martial artist should develop as they progress.
- Kata (Memorization, performance, and understanding)
- Fighting skills (Using principles of our style in your sparring practice)
- Attitude (Respect shown to instructors, parents, and other students. Eagerness to train and learn. Responsibility with the knowledge you are being entrusted with.
- Exercise (Both your skill and development in our warm-up exercises, as well as other exercise which maintains a healthy body necessary for serious martial arts.)
- Knowledge of the traditions and history of our style.