Shoshin - Japanese
for "Beginner's Mind"
When a
student begins to train in a martial art, a white belt is typically worn around
her waist. Many times new students feel uncomfortable wearing a white belt
because they think the belt is one of low status, while, by contrast, the words
"black belt" conjure up images of a practiced and seasoned
master.
What many students don't appreciate is that a white belt can symbolize "a beginners' mind"--that a student who is a white-belt is open to new learning. If a martial artist is not open-minded throughout her training, she will never grow in the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve the rank of black belt. But why would the color black symbolize years of training and practice? In theory, when a white belt is worn many times, it becomes soiled with use, acquiring a darker and darker color. Those students who earn a black belt have done so through their own hard work and effort. However, extend this analogy one step further: If the black belt, darkened through years of use, is washed, it would return to its original white color. In this way, even though a black belt represents high status, a black-belt martial artist really is a white-belt student, still practicing and learning.
What many students don't appreciate is that a white belt can symbolize "a beginners' mind"--that a student who is a white-belt is open to new learning. If a martial artist is not open-minded throughout her training, she will never grow in the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve the rank of black belt. But why would the color black symbolize years of training and practice? In theory, when a white belt is worn many times, it becomes soiled with use, acquiring a darker and darker color. Those students who earn a black belt have done so through their own hard work and effort. However, extend this analogy one step further: If the black belt, darkened through years of use, is washed, it would return to its original white color. In this way, even though a black belt represents high status, a black-belt martial artist really is a white-belt student, still practicing and learning.
 |
| With an open mind and persistent effort, anything is possible. |
This has
become a powerful metaphor for students in my classroom. For any student
to learn and grow, he must be open to new learning--whether this is in Bushintai-Do,
history, math or English. With an open mind and persistent effort, a
student can become a black belt, can become an accomplished mathematician or
writer, and, then…can continue to grow and learn. This is the definition
of a life-long learner.
At the start of the new school year, I like to honor the new white-belt
students in my classroom with a special White-Belt Ceremony. At the
ceremony, new students learn how to wrap their white-belts around their waist.
They also are introduced to a notion that may seem contradictory; white-belt
status in not one of low rank, but one of endless possibilities and growth--whether
they are at the dojo (Japanese for
martial arts studio) or in the classroom.
Welcome
to all new students of Bushintai-Do, the way of the warrior in mind and body.
Always keep your white-belt mindset.
Nancy
Keller, Teacher
Winooski
Middle and High School
Winooski,
Vermont
Education
Coordinator
Bushintai-Do
Programs, Inc.
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