Rejoining a MA - etiquette

RoboRat

Just wondering if there is an etiquette in rejoining a Martial Art in a different dojo.

To give a brief history, I used to study Kempo over 20 years ago and I was a purple belt. I gave up Kempo for personal reasons and done Bushido instead. I then stopped that because it clashed with my football. I didn't do any MA for about 16 years until I started doing Muay Thai & Judo (moving from Judo to BJJ as there was no Judo training near me now).

Although its been so long since I done Kempo, I still know all the techniques and I would be very comfortable sparring. I used to have documentation with my grade and classes attended but I have moved about 10 times and I cannot for the life of me find it!

So, the question is, if I joined a new dojo would I have to grade for my purple again?

DeVore

I'm in a similar situation in some ways. Trained in Kempo to blue belt, took 20 years off and returned to Muay Thai 2 years ago. One of the nice things about MT is that they dont seem to give a monkeys about belts and grades. The attitude is "if you want to know how good you are, there's a ring right over there"

In a sense you *are* your own grade! (My right cross is easily purple belt while my right kick is languishing somewhere in the yellow tip region )

I think you should return to training and take a white belt. Take it as a lesson in humility and go back to the start, relearning all the basics (its not about remembering katas imho, its about reflexes, and natural/instinctive responses to attacks). You will still be the same fighter you are no matter what colour the belt around your waist is, so if the colour makes that much difference to you that you would or wouldnt return because of it... you might want to rethink why you are returning at all. (Don't mean to sound harsh, just my opinion from an unbiased viewpoint).

RoboRat

I think you should return to training and take a white belt. Take it as a lesson in humility and go back to the start, relearning all the basics (its not about remembering katas imho, its about reflexes, and natural/instinctive responses to attacks). You will still be the same fighter you are no matter what colour the belt around your waist is, so if the colour makes that much difference to you that you would or wouldnt return because of it... you might want to rethink why you are returning at all. (Don't mean to sound harsh, just my opinion from an unbiased viewpoint).

Belts don't mean that much to me to be honest, I never graded in Judo because I wasn't interested, I haven't graded in BJJ yet either... I just want to learn and get better.

The reason I ask is that I just don't want to go back as a complete beginner and have to relearn what I already know or have to train with complete novices. I am not belittling people who are new to the sport, I just don't think it would be good for me or them to be training with them. I agree with you about MT but thats a different animal altogether... MT is about the sparring whereas a lot of Kempo (from my memory) is about learning the techniques & Kata's for grading, then its sparring.

I have been training for nearly 3 years now so my reflexes & instinct are spot on - probably 100 times better now than when I was a purple belt.

Clive

Have a chat to the instructor and tell them your background, let them decide what belt you should wear.

You don't want to be "Mr. Used to Be" if the syllabus and requirements have changed. Similarly you don't want to be "Mr. Just a Whitebelt" who has obviously trained before. An experienced instructor will be able to place you in the class/with the right partners. They might ask you to rattle through the grades again, or to drop down one and retest for your purple quite quickly. Either way give them the full details - it's best for everyone.

antybots

I did this in TKD years ago. I left as a blue belt and returned after 6 years.

If the Kempo guys use the same rules as TKd then you are still a purple belt so you won't have to grade for it again and you can still wear the belt to training. They will just make you wait a lot longer before you can grade for the next level. If you do grade for the next level, they will make you demonstrate all the stuff from the previous gradings as well.

Going back to being a white belt is an option also but unnecessary.

Peetrik

DeVore wrote: »

(My right cross is easily purple belt while my right kick is languishing somewhere in the yellow tip region )

Haha, I think everyone has a touch of that

Dermighty

If i got a belt then I'd wear that belt. You might be a ****e purple belt, but if you earned it legitimately (through widely accepted means) then you should be wearing that colour!

CIARAN_BOYLE

I'm a member of a college club (shotokan karate) and at sign up days we get a huge number of people saying I used to do this but haven't trained for years am I still an x belt.

What we tend to do is say is wear a white belt untill you are told not to. The instructor will quickly move you up to your proper grade if you are training at that level without a formal grading. We also have a rule that if you wear a belt you will be treated like you have that belt in sparring or partner work which wouldn't really have an effect on you because you are comfortable sparring but to see one of the seniors going full on a guy that hasn't trained since he got a blackbelt 25 years ago.

RoboRat

What we tend to do is say is wear a white belt untill you are told not to. The instructor will quickly move you up to your proper grade if you are training at that level without a formal grading. We also have a rule that if you wear a belt you will be treated like you have that belt in sparring or partner work which wouldn't really have an effect on you because you are comfortable sparring but to see one of the seniors going full on a guy that hasn't trained since he got a blackbelt 25 years ago.

Thanks for that Ciaran, I don't mind wearing a white belt as long as I am not having to relearn what I already know, it would be akin to putting a 5th class student back in with 1st class and expect them to be interested in learning to read again! I don't care about the colour of the belt but I don't want to go back and end up bored... I am there to challenge myself.

I would be more than comfortable to spar at purple belt level as I have done nearly 3 years of Bushido & Muay Thai since Kempo. I have often sparred with a friend of mine who is a BB in Bushido and I am well able for him so that really wouldn't be an issue.

alaimacerc

I'd be a little cautious about simply turning up and wearing your old belt straight off. In some arts, there are all sorts of "federation splits" and political complications. The belt gradings might not be exactly the same; in some cases, the actual number of kyu grades isn't the same from one federation to the next! And you might be rustier than you realize, so why set yourself up for a fall? Or kick, depending.

There's also "etiquette" concerns. In Japan, wearing the wrong belt in the wrong place in the wrong way can apparently get you beaten up, if the tales I've heard of "dojo breaking" are even partially accurate. Western dojos, even of Japanese arts, aren't going to quite that hung up on "correct form", but they're not necessarily going to be quite as relaxed as your local 5-a-side soccer setup.

One local dojo's website I noticed asks people who're new to the art to watch a session then speak to the instructor before actually participating. I might be inclined to do that even if I had some previous familiarity, but from elsewhere. (Or at least to speak to someone senior-ish beforehand, to see if they urge otherwise.)

Having said all that, I'd imagine that generally you'll end up being told it's no trouble at all, at all, sure go ahead and wear your existing belt. But better to wait and be told that, than presuming and being told otherwise...

Doug Cartel

alaimacerc wrote: »

In Japan, wearing the wrong belt in the wrong place in the wrong way can apparently get you beaten up, if the tales I've heard of "dojo breaking" are even partially accurate. Western dojos, even of Japanese arts, aren't going to quite that hung up on "correct form", but they're not necessarily going to be quite as relaxed as your local 5-a-side soccer setup.

I don't know about people beating you up for wearing the wrong belt, but it can happen that if you wearing a high-ish coloured belt you don't get treated with kid gloves and this can come as a bit of a shock if you've become rusty.

alaimacerc

I think "dojo breaking" is a bit more complex than just wearing the wrong belt, but I'm plenty hazy about the details, so I think the moral I took away is mainly "err on the side of safety". (And in Japan, err several tens of metres on that side.)

I think the "rustiness" point is very salient, though. I'm toying with the idea of finding a local dojo after... some time, and if there was a "beginner kyu grade-3" belt, I'd be looking to wear it.

RoboRat

I think the "rustiness" point is very salient, though. I'm toying with the idea of finding a local dojo after... some time, and if there was a "beginner kyu grade-3" belt, I'd be looking to wear it.

Rustiness isn't an massive issue for me, I have been full contact sparring for the last 3 years so I am sharp... I may be a bit rusty on the Kata's and some of the techniques but I know I would pick them up very quickly again.