Why is a black belt test so hard? In our school, your test for Black belt is completed over the course of 2 weekends. The first weekend includes general fitness like a three-mile run, 200 pushups, squats and sit-ups, and a significant amount of sparring. All of that is completed in about 3 hours. The second weekend is all about technical skills and knowledge. A board of advanced practitioners sits at the front of the room and grills each student on their skills and knowledge for the better part of 2 hours. This doesn’t even include the reading and essay portions of the test that must be completed prior to the testing date. If you haven’t been involved in martial arts for long, all of this may seem overwhelming, but to be honest, our school isn’t even one of the hardest in which to get a black belt!
Similarly, Marines go through “hell week”. To be honest, the Marines take testing to a much higher level than our school, but they serve the same purpose on different levels. In fact, both of us have three primary reasons for implementing a physically and mentally taxing test.
1. Encourage preparation
2. Stress inoculation
3. Build strength of spirit
You see, when people know that they are destined for something difficult, they do one of two things. Work hard to prepare or do their best to ignore the event until it arrives. Those people who choose to ignore the event show the true colors of their character early on. They will either quit and “wash out” of the program, or they will accept the urgings and encouragement of their instructors and build habits of preparation. Those that choose to prepare show that they either fear the test, or understand difficulty, or both. Either way, they have the beginnings of a growth mindset. They believe something they do can affect the outcome of the test.
When someone makes it to the black belt test, they are performing in front of family, friends, and the testing board. They are having to fight harder than they ever have before while they are physically and mentally exhausted. This is the epitome of stress! All of these things happen with the very real possibility of injury and failure. In our martial arts school, we attempt to make the experience as safe as possible, but we are preparing people for what could be the most dangerous encounter of their lives. Pain and risk are part of the training! When you are under intense stress, you often lose the ability to function. The idea behind the stress of our testing is that if you can perform well in the test, you will be more likely to keep your cool (and intelligence) in the stress of a real altercation.
When all else has failed you, your body is tired, your knowledge is exhausted, and your abilities have been pushed to the limit, you need something else to succeed. A strong spirit. There are many stories of people who had strong spirits. Who’s will to survive or succeed was so great that they overcame seemingly insurmountable odds. These are the heroes we look up to, the people we write books about. Unfortunately, we rarely understand that they went through many hard times before they became a “hero”. Whether it was a difficult childhood, an unfortunate accident, or the driving force of a coach or leader that pushed them further than they wanted to go. Each time they were pushed, they had two choices: give up or get tougher.
Over time, we all experience different types of stress and struggle. We also have a choice to make. Are we going to run from the struggle, or are we going to lean in and push beyond our boundaries? The final (and arguably most important) reason for the difficulty of a black belt test (or a Marine hell week) is the ability of participants to look back on it and realize what they have already overcome. Every time a black belt runs into something difficult in life, they can look back on the test and say, “We’ve been here before”. When they do, they will also be reminded that they survived and grew through the process. That will help them to continue with an indomitable spirit in whatever situation they encounter. If you want to have this ability, get out there and do hard things! Whether it is a black belt, or boot camp, or a 5k, or cleaning the kitchen, push yourself to persevere through difficulty. Someday, you may be grateful to be able to say, “We’ve been here before!”