Chasing Black

Editorial

by Sibok Lloyd Fridenburg
Fu For You Winter 2024-25

I often hear students, of all ranks and ages, state that their ultimate Kung Fu goal is to get their Black Sash. It’s an admirable goal to be sure but sometimes it can become a fixation. Fixating on the prize, especially for younger adult students, can have a negative effect on their enjoyment of Kung Fu. Giving them support and helping them understand how to integrate Kung Fu goals with other personal goals is essential.

Sometimes students put undue pressure on themselves, and sometimes parents put undue pressure on their kids to get their Black Sash before heading off to post-secondary education. Please read Sifu Erich MacLean’s article about Managing Life and Kung Fu Commitments to understand why pressure to advance can be detrimental and needs to be managed.

At WKFA we structure the move to Adult classes in a way that allows younger students the time to integrate. That is why nobody can move to the Adult program at a rank higher than Adult Blue Sash and:

  • They must pass an Adult Novice II grading before receiving their adult Blue Sash.
  • It could be well over a year from the time Junior students move to the Advanced Adult program before they have met the requirements to grade for Brown, and likely two years after attaining Brown before they could grade for Black, and that assumes very diligent training habits. A minimum average of three classes per week is expected of all Advanced Adult students.
  • We introduce Advanced Juniors to many of the skills associated with the Adult curriculum while they are still in the Junior program, but it still takes time for most younger adult students to adjust to Advanced Adult classes.

As someone who has been around since the policy was first initiated over 25 years ago, I understand, and support the reasoning behind the policy. An Advanced grading, especially for the rank of Black is a grueling and time-consuming endeavor. Students moving from Advanced Junior to Advanced Adult classes are often unprepared for the level of intensity, commitment, and expectations of Adult classes.

We had two brothers many years ago that moved into the Adult program as Brown Sash students, which meant that their first Adult grading would have been for Black. Both were very accomplished martial artists, at a Junior level, but really struggled to adapt to the expectations of the Adult program. To compound the situation, they were being aggressively pushed by their parents to grade for their Black Sash before heading off to university. Without going into detail, suffice it to say that the brothers became disenchanted with their training, frustrating both their parents and instructors. They eventually left WKFA without ever testing for Black. They were the stimulus for the policy that exists today where Juniors cannot move to the Adult program at a rank higher than Blue.

So, take a deep breath, enjoy the journey, and don’t fixate on the prize.