Home | Adventure Sports
The question of whether children should be allowed to earn black belts does not appear to have an easy answer, though it is probably on the minds of many of your martial arts customers. Some break the issue down to "traditional" versus "non-traditional," with the "non-traditional" schools being the ones to offer child black belts. Some are less gracious and define the issue as a matter of respect for the art versus a desire to make money. The heart of the issue seems to boil down to what exactly a black belt means. If a particular belt signifies merely that the student has mastered a certain set of physical criteria after an allotted period of time or course of study, then a black belt could be seen as a logical outcome of steady progress, even at a young age. Even so, some schools have physical requirements at the black belt level which it would not be possible or appropriate for a child to achieve. On the other hand, many of your martial arts customers may believe that achieving a black belt means more than mere physical accomplishment, no matter how advanced that physical accomplishment might be. Proponents of this view argue that children should not receive black belts because they, by definition, lack the maturity, and emotional and cognitive development necessary to the rank. Some of these customers may even feel it disrespectful or demeaning to see children awarded a black belt. Many interpret it as a sign that the ranking system is solely a way to lure students and keep them paying dues and testing fees over a longer period of time. A third group seems inclined to take the middle road. These martial arts practitioners acknowledge that children are limited in their physical and emotional maturity, but point out that, keeping in mind the scale of their development, some children do perform at a "black belt level" relative to their age groups. Generally these proponents suggest some form of "junior black belt," often a black belt with a stripe of either red or white to differentiate it from the adult rank. This junior belt would then translate as a stepping stone toward, though not a guarantee of, a full adult black belt when the child comes of age, enabling them to bypass some, though not all of the preliminary ranks as an adult. The arguments for and against awarding black belts to children are not easily reconcilable, and are quite likely to impact your martial arts marketing strategy, whether you are aware of it or not. Regardless of your position, martial arts teachers and students alike will benefit from giving the issue some careful consideration.
Article Source: http://sports-articles.net
Jody Murphy, Referral Coach in Orlando, is an experienced direct marketer and part of the team at Expect Referrals. " I have been helping clientsconduct effective direct marketing campaigns for the past 17 years. Having worked on thousands of direct marketing campaigns over my career, I have developed a passion for helping small businesses become successful and gain a competitive edge.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
