Limits

There are limits and requirements in life. When it comes to their beliefs and behaviors in respect to a limit or requirement that may affect them, people fall into one of five categories:

• Category 1: Those who agree with it and obey it.
  
• Category 2: Those who agree with it but do not obey it.
  
• Category 3: Those who do not agree with it but still obey it.
  
• Category 4: Those who do not agree with it and do not obey it.
  
• Category 5: Those who agree with it but think that it is arbitrary and does not always apply to them, so they do not always obey it.
  

This topic deals with people in the fifth category: those who think limits and requirements should be flexible and change according to the needs or desires of the people to which they apply. For example, these are the people who believe there should be a speed limit in their neighborhood and it should be used to catch speeders from other areas who use their neighborhood streets as a shortcut when going to work. However, these same people will scream and complain if they are caught speeding on the same streets; they always have reasons why they should be exempt from the speed limit.

These people see a limit or requirement as merely a base mark from which decisions may be made as to whether the limit or requirement should be obeyed under the circumstances, or who should obey it. For example, while most people would agree that 32 degrees Fahrenheit is the established freezing temperature of water, category five people would argue that if pure water is cooled without being disturbed, it will not freeze until much lower temperature, so therefore, contrary to it being everyone else’s limit, to them, 32 degrees is not the freezing point of water.

There are limits and requirements in the martial arts. There are limit on the age a student may be to enter a certain program, test for a certain rank, or participate in a certain event; or there may be limit on the size students may have to be to compete in certain divisions in a tournament. Some limits and requirements were established at the beginning of a martial arts existence and traditionally have been observed since that time, such as the minimum requirements for attaining a black belt. However, even that sacred requirement has been changed in the last few years to make it easier for students to make rank so more students will be retained and a steady supply of income will be maintained.

Category five people, while agreeing that there should be limits and requirements on certain things, think that the limits and requirements should not apply to them, or to certain groups of people, because of their special circumstances. Many times, after these people are given an exception to a limit or requirement, they will then argue that the exception should not be given for others under the same circumstances. A perfect example of this is people who are trying to build a house in area where the homeowners are attempting to prevent new construction due to overcrowding. These people will hold protests and fight in court until they are allowed to build, then they will join the homeowners in efforts to keep anyone else from building in the area. In the martial arts, we see people who think black belt requirements should be lower, and then after they make black belt, they argue that the requirements are too low and should be raised.

One martial art set of requirements that draws much controversy are the requirements for attaining ranks. Each rank in a martial art has certain age limit and requirements that must be met before a person may be awarded that rank. As long as people have no problem meeting these requirements, they think the requirements are fair. However, when they have a problem meeting the requirements, or they see some “limited” person who is not able to meet the requirements, they demand the requirements be changed, waived, or a special exception given.

Regrettably, many martial art organizations, schools, and instructors have given into these demands. Now there are so many exceptions to rank requirements that they are considered guidelines that may or many not apply depending on the person and the circumstances. The following are a few examples of these expected exceptions:

• During testing, a student makes a mistake on the pattern or did not break the board, but he has done it properly in class many times, so he should not be punished for not doing it this one time because: a) he was sick, b) his grandfather just died, c) his parent overslept and caused him to have to rush to get to the testing, or d) a friend gave him the wrong advice on how to do it.
  
• The student is mentally or physically disabled and is doing the best he or she will ever be able to do, so he or she should be promoted.
  
• My child may be young but she deserves a black belt now because otherwise she will have to wait years until she is old enough.
  
• My son may have failed the test, but he came to class everyday, is a very good student, and he is well liked by everyone, so he should be promoted,
  
• My daughter is small for her age so she should not have to break the same number of boards as others her age.
  
• My student is good at sparring, but is only able to spar one round instead of the required five rounds due to a heart condition.
  
• If a child can perform the pattern movements correctly, spar effectively with children of the same age, and break a smaller or lesser number of boards that adults are required to break, the child should be awarded a black belt regardless of his or her age. Physical, mental, and emotional maturity should not be a factor.
  
• Aged students should be promoted just because they are doing more than others of the age are capable of doing, or are doing.
  
• The student is a community leader and could do much to further the acceptance of the martial arts within the community, so she should be promoted.
  
• The student is wealthy and, if promoted, will continue to train and pay testing fees for many years.
  
• The student comes from a minority or an underprivileged group and, if not promoted, it will damage his self-esteem and self-confidence.
  
• The student has volunteered his time to assist at every event and is a staunch supporter of the school, so she deserves to be promoted.
  
• Although the person is not nor has never been a student of the martial arts, he is a celebrity or a politician, so giving the person an “honorary” black belt will be beneficial to the school and increase the school’s image.
  
• The person is a master in the XX style so he or she should not have to complete our style’s normal rank progression; he or she should be awarded a master rank in our style based on rank in another style.

No matter what the level of a given limit or requirement, category five people will argue, why is this the limit when it is nearly as good. Following their logic that the next lower limit is just a good, if you lower the limit to that level, they will make the same argument again, etc. etc. until there is no limit remaining. This is what has been happening to the traditional requirements on rank promotion.

As a result of all these exceptions to traditional limits and requirements, martial art rank now means little to nothing outside of the school or organization that issues it, and, in many circumstances, it mean little within the organization or school. Nowadays, martial art rank merely indicates the length of time a person has been a paid up student of good standing within an organization or school.

When limits and requirements are not enforced, they cease to be limits or requirements and they become meaningless.