Knowledge, Wisdom, and Rank

Editorial

by Sibok Lloyd Fridenburg
Fu For You Spring 2025

Regardless of the colour of your sash, it means little more than, at a given time, you acquired enough knowledge to pass a test. It does not necessarily correlate to retained knowledge, wisdom, skill or anything else commonly attributed to a higher rank. Those things don’t require a sash, and when combined with time, experience, the application of knowledge, dedication, and judgment (good and bad), the result is Kung Fu wisdom.

I have even seen instances where the colour of a sash might stifle someone’s true ability. Years ago, when I used to teach a lot of mixed classes I would sometimes ask students to remove their sash at the start of class, and then to take their place in line wherever they wanted. It was common to see students migrate to their normal place in line, so I would move students to someplace they were uncomfortable with, perhaps some orange or yellow sash students in a line that would typically be occupied by advanced students. It was not unusual to see lower ranked students performing at a higher level than normal.

In traditional Kung Fu training, there was no ranking system. The only way to advance was when the Master took you aside and told you it was time to move on. Ranking was for a large part a western invention developed to appease our need to see tangible results. It was no longer good enough to merely acquire knowledge and skills. We in the west live in a society grounded in the myth that if you didn’t pass you must have failed. The knowledge you gained seems to count for little, without the symbol (the sash, degree, or title).

Do you want the sash as recognition that you have truly learned the requirements for that rank? Do you want the sash to keep pace with your peers, or are you merely feeding your ego? Perhaps you have a completely different reason, or perhaps you’ll answer yes to all the questions.

The point that I’m trying to make with all this rambling is that it’s not the colour of the sash, but the knowledge you’ve gained, retained, and applied over time, combined with your dedication that is important.

I teach, on average, 5 classes per week and sometimes wonder, if I took my sash off and taught those classes would I feel the same confidence that I do when I wear my sash? The answer is a resounding YES! But that was not always the case, so perhaps we do acquire a bit of wisdom with age. There was a time when I felt that I needed the sash to show a level of knowledge that gave me the authority and ability to teach. In time I realized that it was constant practice, willingness to question, willingness to accept new ideas, willingness to fail, and the desire to constantly learn that developed my Kung Fu wisdom, not the sash.