Sandee Northern Open Champions

Ten members of our junior fight team took part in the prestige Sandee Northern Open yesterday.

We went with no expectations and wanted to use the event to gain experience. We walked away with 7 new champions and one happy instructor.

Running On Faith

            

We are in a poor part of Shropshire and welcome everyone. We have over 200 students visiting us over a multitude of classes and £29k a year overheads to find.

Running a club of this size is not easy, it demands a huge personal sacrifice and dedication and I’m often asked “How do you do it?” “How do you cope?” There isn’t a simple answer; to understand how I cope you have to understand what’s required to keep things ticking over.

When I joined this club as student - I joined a part time club with no overheads, no commitment and no equipment. It was a great little club, four regular people in every class, occasionally after a recruitment drive we pushed six people training, you simply chucked your subs (£5) in an old Tupperware container placed on the middle of the floor and cracked on with training.

It was a constant struggle balancing the books, it was commonplace for instructors to pay the difference if we didn’t make the £24 rent, nothing much has changed. Unlike some of the others training at that time I actually knew what was needed to build and grow the club, I knew what we had was “the best kept secret” in Telford and I quickly got a grasp of the mentality that local people posses, it was “unique” in a non-disrespectful way, it reminded me of the south west with a different language – no urgency mukka!

After moving several times to get a “better deal” or not as it turns out! We had established a good base of committed students, we introduced standing orders to make training cheaper as a reward and to give us stability – there were still occasions where we didn’t make the rent but on a whole it was better, we’d purchased our own training equipment and things were looking up.

We were slowly achieving our dream and managed to find a property in Hadley that was vacant and earmarked for demolition as part of the regeneration programme, the rent was only £100 a month more than we were currently paying so it made perfect sense to move and the dream started to become reality.

In 2008 shortly after setting up our new gym my instructor left the club to focus on family commitments and I took over, I was already the person “named” on all the official documents and was already running the club from a operational point of view, the alternative was to shut down.

What I wasn’t prepared for was all the baggage that comes with running a club. It used to be “turn up” if you wanted to train and occasionally you were nominated custodian of the training equipment and that was the commitment.

The initial plan was to share the classes between senior students so we could equally spend the same time to teaching versus training - but this quickly fell by the wayside. With a volunteer club there is little we can do when people drop you in the brown with an hours notice – its not like we can sack them or beat them to a pulp. The stark realisation was senior students just wouldn’t help. A selfish “take what we can and f’off” attitude was taking over and the club was suffering and more importantly the senior instructors were suffering.

Nothing much has changed to date – its too easy for people just to say “I can’t make it” knowing that I will just cover classes – There are genuine excuses but they are few and far between - then there is the excuse that is my pet hate “family time” – where is my family time? – But hey the alternative is closing the club - we can’t run classes without instructors can we?

If I was to ask you what a Martial Arts Instructor does they just think its turning up and showing some paying customers how to punch, kick & elbow – I wish it was still like this.

Firstly you need students to teach, it’s a full time job on its own just to keep on top of the marketing and publicity to encourage new students to come though the door, managing all the enquiries, comments and likes on every single social media site is relentless.  Communication – nothing but a headache - there simply isn’t a platform where I can contact everyone using one media – some aren’t on facebook, some aren’t on email, some wont provide mobile numbers its crazy trying to remember who to contact on what.

Then we have all the operational needs everything from purchasing toilet rolls and cleaning equipment to comfort items such as heating – then the fuel for heating etc. This extends to every single item you see in the gym, weights, coffee machine, and water in the fridge – the fridge. The shop doesn’t fill itself either uniform orders go in weekly as well as specials like gloves from different suppliers, we have over 15 suppliers all with different discount rates. When placing an order we have to try and get the best deal to pass onto the sometimes ungrateful. Most of the suppliers cost too much to ship, so collection is the only option - at my own expense and time.

The banking itself is a massive burden, I desperately want everyone to pay by standing order – the money would be available to meet the bills rather than me heading to the bank every single day with scraps of coins or screwed up notes – often personally costing me for parking & fuel – if I’m late by as little as a day we bounce bills and then I have that to deal with along with the charges for going overdrawn and the clubs credit rating being affected. All because people won’t pay by standing order – or witchcraft as it’s known locally.

Dealing with business enquiries? Dear god, 10+ phone calls a day, phone suppliers, electricity suppliers, bloody gas suppliers  - we don’t even have gas. Would I like to advertise with this and that – no I wouldn’t… but it’s the sheer inconvenience that’s the problem, I have to answer the phone cause its potentially a new student. I try not to be rude but these animals invariably only understand two words.

I mentioned baggage earlier, we have every walk of life represented at our club, and we never turn people away. Some of the kids have really had a horrendous upbringing; I’m talking the worst physical abuse imaginable. I have to accommodate those responsible for neglect and abuse because I see progression in the kids. We have students in all classes with mobility issues, kids with autism, asperses, dyspraxia, speech impediments, confidence issues, obesity, hepatitis C, we have victims of domestic abuse, victims of awful crimes against the person and all of this and much more is kept confidential  - even from the other instructors. The worst is having to deal with the perpetrators of these despicable crimes – I’ve had parents arrive drunk to collect children and expect me to let them drive away, we’ve had to exclude adults arriving at class under the influence of drugs – it all happens in our wonderful town.

I just keep saying to myself “the kids can’t choose the parents”

Then we have the wishy washy parental approach to tolerate – giving a three year old absolute and final decision making responsibility – cant get my breath! “Little Johnny won’t be training again – it clashes with Mr Blooms Nursery”

Then there is the responsibility of running a large club - I get calls from schools on a weekly basis – so and so has Thai Boxed another pupil – after much digging and grovelling it turns out that the Thai Boxing “used” wasn’t deadly elbows or knees – it was banging heads against a locker! (Not in our syllabus)

Then calls from the police – same scenario plus “Do I know if my students were involved in a disturbance” “because the CCTV showed someone who could handle themselves”

Protection for our students is also a time consuming factor – our students social media exploits are nothing but stupid – from comments to questionable photo’s posted – we’ve even had to report stalkers to the police and provide evidence for prosecuting nonce’s. When will people understand how dangerous social media is? In short a Martial Arts instructor becomes a father figure to some kids, a councillor and confidant.. and people wonder why were always miserable lol.

As a Marital Arts Instructor, (volunteer I’ll add again) the baggage accrued is phenomenal. More pressure and responsibility than running a £10m a month transport department with 200 staff – staff are easy to deal with in comparison – they are there for something (Usually a wage) – our students want an education and pay good money for it – or do they?

To them there is a misconception – “They don’t owe Martial Arts anything” and that’s the first failure – we all have a duty to give back selflessly without smoke screens or financial gain – the rewards are personal gain and that is humbly sufficient. We have made huge strides to avoid organisations that don’t share the same values – we’ve cut out all the associations, greed and selfishness and operate a non-for profit club for our student’s benefits.

The cost to our students is minimal – it covers the basic costs of having a nice gym. The real cost is your time, your sweat and your honesty – your words and intentions are everything.

Your rewards are equally minimal – to be associated with men, women and children with the same goals, mentality and ilk – no exceptions!

Our club agenda is equivalently as simple – to share knowledge and help each and every one of our students irrespective of background / ability or struggles. Doing this we are slowly eradicating the ever-expanding “Selfishness” BS that’s eroding our beloved Martial Arts.

Dedicating our lives to helping others, promoting good values and supporting our Martial Arts values for NO acknowledgement or appreciation is the only way that we can be seen how we are intended to be seen be society.

We all know that money can be made from Martial Arts, but the only option is to do this through honesty and not through smoke or lies, not by milking the vulnerable or those who cant see the real objective, not by pressuring the insecure, not by engraving your thoughts on others and creating clones but by leading from the front and hoping people see the good that you are doing and change there lives to replicate some of what we do.

Honesty, honour need to be restored. “Give me 10 men to dine with over 1000 selfish snakes” – great saying!

So why do I do it? How do I do it? It’s really quite simple – the club IS running on faith and I just point it in the right direction from time to time,  when I have faith in the next generation of Muay Thai Instructors - the club will be handed onto the next person / persons who show the values necessarily to help to change lives positively and without acknowledgment or remuneration and I will move on and start a new chapter.

Ketosis..

Well its that time of year again, all the new years resolutions are on the way out people are either celebrating because this years resolution of diet and weight loss has worked (i.e you probably didn't have that much to lose and your doing it because the "office" is doing it) or you have failed miserably for another year because you have no will power and your confused by what everyone else is saying.

One word that is being used more and more over the last few years is Ketosis, but what is it and whats involved?

Before discussing diets - I'm a strong advocate for the 1) Eat Less, 2) Move More, 3) Repeat diet - its the ONLY safe and healthy way to lose weight. I'll add at this point that anyone wanting to diet should see a Doctor for a check up and then see a professional for advice. Office banter is not the place for factual advice and is often tarnished with BS because the individual wants to be perceived in a different way.

Another fact that you should be aware of before we talk ketosis is that the human body primarily burns Carbohydrate - it struggles continuously switching from burning fat to burning carbohydrate this is why low fat diets or low carbohydrate diets work.

Ketosis is a potentially serious medical condition.
Ketosis can be found in those suffering from diabetes and other conditions such as alcoholism.

• Ketosis is a condition where levels of ketones in the blood are elevated, 
• Ketones are produced by the liver when glycogen has run out. 
• Ketones are used for energy, they are a small carbon fragments created by the breakdown of fat stores.

Modern diets such as the Cambridge or Exante promote ketosis as a form of losing weight by forcing the body to switch from a carbohydrate devouring organism to a fat burning one by cutting down the intake of nearly all carbohydrates.

The results can be dramatic with individuals losing over 1-2lbs per day. After several days hunger is reduced, your ketones are elevated and you can say your in ketosis.

But is it a good thing? 

Experts can't decide if forced ketosis is good for you or not, some even say that higher levels of ketones in your blood are putting strain on your liver and kidneys. Side affects can include a higher risk of osteoporosis, kidney stones, unhealthy cholesterol levels.

Some experts also liken a low carb high protein diet to how our ancestors used to live, hunter gatherers used to live on a high fat diet consisting of nuts, berries and the occasional hunt winnings. but in between feeds they spent a lot of time in ketosis.

Most people will going into ketosis at some point during a 24hr period usually during the night. 

Understanding Ketosis is vital to staying in the state and losing weight as is knowing what food is carbohydrate based - eating cakes, biscuits etc will kick you out of ketosis and you'll need a couple of days to build your ketones up again. Eating foods like fruit are highly recommended but on a ketone diet the sugar from natural fruit will get turned into glucose and again kick you out of ketosis.

The problem with dieting to achieve ketosis is that your calorie intake is dramatically reduced, sometimes to down to 600 calories a day - this is dangerous if you are doing a sport like Muay Thai where you will use 1000 calories in the average class. You are putting yourself at risk of fainting, dehydration, collapsing through fatigue or - this is dangerous for you and puts pressure on your colleagues at the club.

So in summary, if you are in control and can stay in ketosis the weight will drop off and fast. Staying in ketosis requires will power - if your obese you don't have will power so your ability to get results will be limited, if you don't know your food groups you have no chance, if you stay in ketosis for long periods of time you could be causing long term damage.

Good luck!!

1) Eat Less

2) Move More

3) Repeat

(The only safe way)

Why Gradings Are Important.

"There are no gradings in Muay Thai" is something batted about in the inner circles of the Art, usually on forums and social networking sites. I fully understand the logic of these purists. In Thailand there is no syllabus, you won't ever be asked to take an exam, you prove yourself in the ring and its as simple as that - however your not in Thailand....

In the UK there are two types of Muay Thai Gym, firstly fighters gyms - gyms that are only interested in ring success and they operate a production line of fighters and frankly do a fantastic job. Secondly there are gyms that accept and understand that there is more to Muay Thai than fighting.

Its widely recognised that Masters Sken, Toddy & Woody were the forefathers of the modern grading syllabus. In 1977 they looked for a way to asses their students in the art of Muay Thai. Understanding the wider reaches of Muay Thai (Not just for fighters) the Masters created an assessment processes which consisted of a series of examinations where successful applications would achieve a rank often known as a Khan.

There is a common denominator in the purists negativity to the gradings systems available in the UK- the critiques have not done any gradings themselves! They have not felt the progression and have not had to work towards anything other than the next fight.

There is a reason why gradings are supported by every single governing body in the UK, its simply to keep the tuition standard across the UK, so everyone is learning the same thing - non of the history is being lost, the art is not being watered down.

One of my students told me of a friend who trains at another local gym,  a gym that doesn't do gradings, incidentally the same gym doesn't do history, no Waikru or Ram Muay, no music on shows, no bowing in class etc - nevertheless my student seemed quite proud that he knew that there is no gradings in Thailand.

This student is currently booked in for a grade six examination next month. I asked him if he would like to cancel his forthcoming grading and renounce the first five gradings that he has achieved. He sharply replied "no" and went on to add that he's worked hard and felt like he had achieved something, that the certificates were on the wall in his room and he loved taking them into school to "show off" - he went on to add that its not his fault his mate chose the wrong club - chuckled to myself.

Joking aside personal fulfilment is a key factor to why gradings are important. Many people who train in Muay Thai have no intermediate goals, working towards a gradings gives the students focus, this then ensures that they attend class, learn new skills and a byproduct of participating in Muay Thai on a regular basis is weight loss, toning & increased self confidence - win win.

From a club point of view the more people doing gradings the better, it keeps the instructors on their toes - teaching more complicated techniques, the standard of the class improves dramatically because everyone aspires to be like that "Brown Band over there" The more people that are a higher grade the more help is out there for beginners. Beginners learn faster! Classes are always set to the average ability, the higher the ability the better the class. (nothing more demoralising than another night of basic punches)

Then there is reassurance - if you pass you can be proud and confident in your ability. Then the reassurance that if your being taught by a higher graded person - they have been there and done that, probably struggled with the same things as you are - the perfect person to help!

Contrary to peoples beliefs grading examinations are not a "cash cow" for the club, they may cost upwards of £20 but by the time they are registered, certificates are purchased and Kruangs are purchased there isn't a lot left for the club - given that classes are cancelled to take gradings were lucky to break even.

So gradings are very important to individual and the club. If your goals are fighting, I can see why you may dislike the idea of periodic examination. But for the other students not interested in fighting how do they get the same recognition?

In short they are necessary part to learning Martial Arts its a way to show your instructors the level of your progress and to identify areas that need to be worked on and its as simple as that!

Muay Thai Tattoos

I hate crap tattoos, there is nothing worse than crap tattoos!! there is nothing worse than getting a tattoo when you are young and watching it fade as you grow old, there is nothing worse than tattoos of peoples names.. There is nothing worse than Japanese writing, my friend speaks Japanese and the stories he tells are hilarious..

If your thinking of getting marked why not make it a Muay Thai Tattoo?

Muay Thai Tattoos called (Sak Yant) are traditionally done by buddhist monks with needles made from bamboo, they are traditional and hold meaning. They are even thought to give you protection in the ring & banish evil spirits - nearly all of them are thought to make you stronger - probably something to do with the bamboo needles being slowly pressed into your skin! If you not that bothered about the spiritual connection I suppose you could get your tattooist to use his normal method.

Apart from spelling things wrong, or cutting cost one of my pet hates would be seeing someone with the same tattoo.. however you will be in famous circles if you choose one of these designs.. the average joe from your local council estate is unlikely to be sporting the same design.



Hah Taew (5 Sacred Lines)
This is a very popular tattoo with fighters and practitioner of Muay Thai, each line carries a different meaning and would be discussed with the monk prior to commencement. It's said that the lines will help the fighter succeed in all aspects of life, bestow them in loving kindness, good luck and most importantly for Thais - protection for evil spirits, especially when fighting.





Hanuman (King of the Monkey Gods)
You see this tattoo everywhere (amongst the fighting community that is) Hanuman is depicted in historical plays and this tattoo can bestow the same traits of bravery and courage. Hanuman is also features in Hindu text and is worshiped all over the world, he is a symbol of strength, perseverance and devotion.







Gao Yord (9 Spires)
This tattoo is usually on the neck or smalls of your back, its represents the 9 sacred peaks of Mt. Meru that features in buddhist text. This art is said to give you good luck in life and again protection from evil spirits.








Tiger Yant (Tiger Tattoo)
In Western culture the Tiger represents strength, power, cunning. Its fearless and ferocious in battle and clinical in the despatching of its pray. These traits are passed onto the bearer of this tattoo - oh it also drives evil spirits away.







Ganesh (The Elephant God)
Again taken from Hindu Scribes, he is a human with an elephants head, mythology says he had the ability to remove obstacles, he also represent a new beginning or chapter in life.





There are many other tattoos from the east that you may like to research, I found these design and explanations at www.sak-yant.com

Fighter Poisoned..

Article written by Bloody Elbow @bloodyelbow

One of the top superstars in the Muay Thai scene was poisoned with a cocktail of benzodiazepines before a bout at Rajadamnern Stadium according to a blood test just released.

Last month shocking news came from Bangkok that Muay Thai superstar Sangmanee Sor Tienpo collapsed after a bout at Rajadamnern Stadium.

It was feared at the time that Sangmanee had been poisoned, and Champ Boxing Magazine has reported that the blood results have come back positive.

The evidence is damning :-

Sangmanee Sor. Tienpo's blood result, regarding his poisoning at the "Onesongchai" event on 1st of December, has been released. The doctors found a cocktail of 1.Nordazepam, 2.Temazepam, 3.Oxazepan, which are all Benzodiazepines and cause heavy sedation and in overdoses may even be lethal. Sangmanee collapsed after his main event fight versus Thanonchai Thor.Sangtiannoi and was rushed to the hospital. He stated, that after his holiday, he will now report the results to the police.

Although there have been many accusations of corruption in Bangkok, and instances where fighters have been doped, this development is still shocking, and a black mark on the brilliant fight scene over in Thailand. Sangmanee, only seventeen years old, was used by someone (still undetermined who and likely will remain that way) looking to make money on a bet.

Not that the top Muay Thai fighters can be kept down for long. Sangmanee returns tomorrow at Rajadamnern Stadium, taking on Petchlamsin in his first fight back in Bangkok since this horrible incident.

Workout Recovery

This Article has been taken from jbsfitnesssytems.com 

Are you sick of being tired and sore at the start of training? 

Confused about what to eat or drink for recovery? 

You’re not alone.

Training soreness happens to EVERYONE. Especially when first starting out or returning to training after a break. Most people who train 2-3 times per week just put up with it. Being sore feels like a part of getting stronger, fitter and faster. It’s a reminder they worked hard and their soreness proves it. 

However for people training 5-6 days per week, being sore ain’t no picnic. For them, being sore and tired prevents them from training harder than yesterday. Worst case scenario, athletes who train through muscle soreness are likely to get injured, a beat up immune system, or suffer over training syndrome. To minimize muscle soreness for my professional athletes, I developed a recovery nutrition plan.

Below are the 4 very important strategies for the ultimate recovery plan:

The Workout Drink

Did you know that your recovery begins while you’re still training? Well by consuming an amino acid/carbohydrate and electrolyte drink during training you can give the body what it needs recover fast.

• It will help repair muscles and restore muscle glycogen.
• It increases the use of fat during training
• It helps you push harder and longer
• You can prevent immune stress and over training syndrome

To make your workout nutrition add:

• 1 scoop of amino/carb supplement to 1.5ltr water
• 1 pinch of Himalayan salt
• Drink 250ml every 15 minutes training.

Recommended brand: Surge Recovery, Optimum nutrition 2:1:1 

The Post Workout Shake

For someone training multiple sessions per day, nutrient timing couldn’t be more important. Right after training is the body’s happy hour for nutrient absorption. But for most people eating a meal immediately after training is the last thing they feel like doing. This is why a protein/carbohydrate post workout shake is most athletes preferred choice.

• Post workout shakes are convenient
• They are easily absorbed by the body
• They reduce post exercise immune compromise
• They enhance muscle protein synthesis
• They improve recovery and reduce muscle soreness
• They enhance carbohydrate uptake and glycogen synthesis

To make the post workout shake add:

• 1 scoop protein (whey, casein, plant based, egg white)
• 1 cup carbohydrates (mixed berries, mango, pineapple, banana, oats)
• 1 tbsp. fats (coconut oil, peanut butter, flax oil, hemp oil, fish oil)
• 1 cup of liquid (almond milk, cow’s milk, water, coconut milk)

Recommended post workout shake recipes:Rawkus Banana, Mango Punch

The Post Workout Meal

The post-exercise meal is often considered the most critical part of recovery. The primary goal of traditional post-workout nutrition recommendations is to replenish glycogen stores (carbohydrates). Remembering if you’re training again in the morning, your post workout nutrition is your pre-workout for the following morning. However the 2 main nutrients your body depends heavily on in order to recover and repair are both protein andcarbohydrates.

To make a post workout meal add:

• 30-50g Protein (Beef, chicken, fish or plant based)
• 100g carbohydrates (Rice, potato, fruit)
• 15g fats (nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado)

Recommended post workout meal recipes: Quinoa Chicken, Proat-meal 

The Pre-Bed Time Meal (Optional)

That’s right, pre bed time nutrition. Research demonstrates that protein ingested immediately before sleep is effectively digested and absorbed, thereby stimulating muscle protein synthesis and improving whole-body protein balance during post training overnight recovery. Your pre bed meal could be a small meal or liquid nutrition – whatever is most convenient for you.

To make a bed time meal add:

• 25g Protein (2 eggs or 1 scoop protein)
• 15g fats (nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado)
• 200ml water or milk

Recommended bed time meal: Coming soon.

Summing It All Up

1. During training – drink an amino acid/carbohydrate drink
2. Immediately after training – Drink a post workout shake with fast absorbing proteins and carbs
3. 1-2 hours after training – Eat a high protein carb dense meal
4. Before bed time – Have a high protein high fat meal or shake

Hydrate or Lose Performance..

                             

I think we can all agree that water between rounds is amazing, there are times that in the absence of water you'd even contemplate licking a puddle!

With the abundance of water replacement products on the market now and following clever marketing by soft drinks manufacturers people are less inclined to head for boring simple water, the reality is we only drink water if we are thirsty.

The problem is that by the time you feel thirsty you are already unto 2% dehydrated and your performance is already compromised. Endurance is reduced, fatigue sets in quicker, you have reduced motivation to do anything and increased perceived effort. This is just from feeling thirsty!

In a normal two hour Muay Thai workout its not uncommon for athletes to lose up to 3-4% of body weight in sweat. If you are in hot climates this could be increased to 6%, this can lead to dehydration, exhaustion and even heat stroke. When dehydrated your blood thickens making your heart work harder. Your temperature increases as your body fights to keep you cool.

Still think that not drinking enough water isn't an issue?

Quick test -  go to the toilet right now and test the colour of your urine against this chart.

So if your piddle is coloured like numbers 3 or 7 the chances are that your dehydrated - drink!!

How much water should we drink?

The European Food Safety Authority recommends that women drink 1.6 litres and men should drink 2 litres of water per day. This is just to replace water lost in normal day to day activities and is based on the average person (whatever that is) the bigger you are, the more active you are and the temperature all increase this amount quite considerably.

Before Training

Its recommended that you take a look at your water intake long before training commences, if you wait until you are given permission to drink the chances are that you are already dehydrated and your performance is hindered. I would recommend that students drink at least 500ml of water at least 30 minutes before training. Dont drink like a camel at an oasis either - gulping down half your water in one intake is only going to cause further issues with your training.

During Training

Fluid replacement is the main objective, take regular sips of water and aim for around 250ml of water every 15mins or so.

After Training

Forget that alcoholic treat as a reward, a good litre of water will re-hydrate you pretty quickly.

So next time your not feeling energised when your training take a serious look at the amounts of water that you have consumed in the last 48hrs before training. Water could be holding you back.

What does a Black Belt mean?

Back in the early 90's I witnessed something that would change my outlook on Martial Arts. I was at school in the English Corridor waiting for permission to enter our classroom. One of the school idiots was coming down the corridor towards pushing and shoving one of my mates, Dave Stanford. Dave was a lot smaller than me and about 7 stone lighter and its fair to say it looked like he was going to get a pasting.

Dave never bothered anyone, he was quiet, respectful and wouldn't ever start any trouble or gob off at anyone. I naturally starting walking towards them to help my mate when something incredible happened - The bully threw a punch towards Dave's head and a moment later was crying in pain on the floor - Dave had somehow deflected his punch and managed to over extend the bullies elbow taking him down to the floor in the process.

A crowed of bewildered onlookers cheered, it turned out that my mate was studying Karate and was due to take his blackbelt exam the following Saturday. I now knew a few things - 1) Watch out for the little ones 2) Martial Arts work and 3) Martial Arts were accessible.

But what does it mean to be a blackbelt nowadays?

Dave became an instant superhero as far as the onlookers were concerned he had special powers,  anyone stupid enough to bully him would get seriously hurt using an ancient system of kicks punches, blocks and throws - the only other person I'd heard of doing Martial Arts was Bruce Lee and I knew he didn't do Karate.

I now know that there are many different Martial Arts, everyone has something to teach and there are no bad Martial Arts - just bad instructors - it lead me to pursue my own Martial Arts Career albeit a few years later when I was earning my own money.

In Muay Thai there is no Black Belt, black is a colour associated with death in Thailand - but I understand that the belt system is a relatively new concept - back in the day belts held your trousers up and your Gi top together - it was as simple as that. 

The uniform was white and so was your belt, now the next bit I'm a little skeptical about but its been said that the colour black came from years of dirt and sweat getting embedded into your belt symbolising that you had been training sometime - I'm skeptical because I know that hygiene plays a huge part in Martial Arts and I can't imagine in feudal Japan you would be allowed in the Dojo looking like a scruffy git.. however thats the story, I will add that I have seen many practitioners of high grade with frayed / worn faded belts but never dirty. 

Ignorant people who watch too much telly perceive black belts either of two ways  - 1) They are like Bruce Lee, kick ass and someone not be messed with or 2) belittle the Arts because the colour of your belt only symbolises that you have passed an exam - you are not a pro-fighter. 

Those people who belittle the arts are usually simple folk who walk around like they have had a trouser accident, you can spot them by there 'swag' and you usually instantly want to punch them in the face upon meeting them.

In the Martial Arts community Black Belts mean different things to different people, bearing in mind that most students have a goal of becoming a black belt (me too, I just chose the wrong art lol) Getting your blackbelt is an amazing achievement if you actually earn it. The biggest issue for me is that the elusive black belt is becoming more widely available nowadays - there is a club in Telford that offers you a fast track black belt for a fee - either financial or repayable through a franchise. I've even seen 5 year olds are becoming Black Belts and going on to be World Champions at the same age? WTF?

I teach at a lot of seminars and see a very good standard of black belts. The to pass the examination and be awarded a black belt in these clubs follows a heroic performance over many hours and when the practical examination is over they are interrogated by senior students & instructors - it really is pass or fail. I consider these students the best at what they do - passing is many years in the making and a real achievement.

After the examination has ended celebrations continue into the early hours with friends and family members joining in to congratulate you - a real envious event thats fitting for the hard work and effort put in. For these students passing a black belt examination is a real achievement.

I've witnessed what I perceive as the best, but I suspect is that a high percentage of Martial Artists (prob 80%) walking the street or talking the talk in the local pub are not actually qualified to wear that rank with only 20% actually physically and mentally up to the job.

The black belt has lost validity due to children getting them and due to people buying them and not earning them. Many schools and instructors will give our grades in exchange for money and this happens very quickly. They end up with black belts who not only look horrible, but also couldn’t protect themselves if their lives depended on it. Not to mention, these so called black belts have a false belief system of actually thinking they are capable of defending themselves in any situation. The instructors who foolishly promote people like that are setting so many students up for failure and possibly worse.

Sadly un-warrented promotions are commonplace. I've seen people be award promotions and even skip grades - when you consider that there are effectively 10 black belts in the form of Dan grades. surely this should be enough grades for a lifetimes dedication? No people are achieving 10th Dan at a far younger age.

I believe that the problem is worsened by different organisations competing for members! Owners / Presidents of these organisations are quick to mention that "Joe Bloggs" is undergraded and if he joined "X" organisation he would be instantly promoted to his rightful grade. (As long as he brings his 200 students with him that is)

I’ve seen instructors go from 4th to 7th completely skipping over 5th and 6th. I’ve also seen 3rd to 5th, 5th to 8thand 7th to 10th. I can be farcical. 

I believe passing your Black Belt is like passing your driving test, only then do you start to learn, individuals will either go on to inspire others with there dedication and maybe never recognised for there hard work or they will sit back and "talk the talk" in front of the right faces to ensure a fast promotion. I know which i'd prefer, I'd want to feel like I've earned it.

I try and encourage my students to look past the colour of the belt or the grading tags but to make judgments based on character and ability on the Mats, I'd much rather train with someone who can actually show me something rather than tell me something - guess thats just the way I learn.

Back to the question, what does a black belt mean today? In my opinion your only a black belt if you have earned it. If you can busted your balls for many years, gone out of your way to learn from not only instructors but from beginners alike. You are also only a black belt if you can comfortably defend yourself and go toe to toe with someone when sparring.