What degree black belt is jesse enkamp?

But people call Hokama Sensei a master, of course, and he is a 10th dan, 10th degree black belt in Okinawa.

Source: www.pmaoakridge.com

The call came from somebody who had been training Karate once (a long time ago), and now wanted to continue. Obviously, somewhere along the way his career, wife and kids had come along, leaving Karate pushed aside. But now he was ready to rock ‘n roll again!

“Sure, why not? No problem at all, just come by the dojo when we have class. You can just wear regular clothes if your old gi doesn’t fit.” I told him.

But… even though I didn’t have a problem with anything he said, it seems he had a problem with what I’d just said.

Listen:

“Oh, but… can I have my blue belt on?”

“Say what?”

Freeze.

At this point I’m wondering if I just heard right, or if I needed to dewax my ears. Apparently, this fella’ who hasn’t been training for 10+ years, feels like turning up for his first session wearing his blue belt. A real blast from the past.

Just like his real skills weren’t as important as his perceived skills.

“Umm… well… of course, you can wear whatever you feel like” I hesitantly replied. “But then we presume you remember everything for the blue belt, of course.”

I could hear his face turning red.

That was being kind. Really, I would have wanted to say: “Hey, you know what? I have an even better idea: Why not just wear my black belt instead? Sure, it’s a little worn, but that just adds to the blackbeltness! And it has “Jesse” written on it, but you can just scratch that away. What the heck, you can probably special order a golden belt with red stripes and built in laser cannons on it from the internet and wear that instead!”

Really, I couldn’t care less.

Apparently he was bringing his wife along with him, so it was probably a “man” thing.

But nontheless, it seems we have a problem here.

Because this wasn’t the first time an old-timer had returned to train Karate, wearing his old sweaty belt (though this guy has yet to show up). Far from it. We’ve had brown belts and even black belts with the exact same question.

The problem, I think, lies in the very fact that many people think that the Karate belt is a static symbol of your skill level, and that once you’ve “earned” the belt it’s yours forever. And, if somebody says different they’ll simply have to rip the belt away from your cold, stiff corpse.

It’s like, “Who DARES question my rank?!”

I do.

Because it’s not static.

It’s dynamic.

Your black belt (brown belt, blue belt, green belt…) is just as dynamic as Usain Bolt’s three Olympic gold medals, which are probably stuffed away in a locker under a pair of dirty socks somewhere in Jamaica.

And even though Mr. Bolt happens to hold the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100 m world records, he lost his last race.

Lost.

Imagine if he would call up the guys at the Olympic committee, asking if he could “wear his old medals” at the next Olympic Games.

He doesn’t.

Because he knows they’re not static.

The black belt, or any other belt/rank, is just like an Olympic medal. You train very hard for years, step up, do your best, spill some blood and earn it. It is a measurement of the level you showed at that occasion (the grading/the Olympic race), which was in the past. Not now. It is up to you to keep that level.

To believe that a Karate belt is a static, fixed, symbol of your current skill level can be likened to an old, retired military officer who walks around proudly with his Medal of Honor at the military reunion, bragging to his old pals.

We see the medal, and acknowledge it for what it is.

An old merit.

The grey-haired officer wears it to remind everyone at the reunion that he once did a heroic deed “above and beyond the call of duty”, and has the potential inside him to do it again, if necessary. He doesn’t need to prove anything again. He’s not in a war anymore, so he doesn’t need to back it up.

But we need to.

Constantly.

Because you’re never better than your last technique. And if you’re training in my dojo; that technique  better correspond to the piece of cloth (belt) dangling around your waist.

Or else you’re confusing this dojo for a military reunion.

I mean, even in rural Okinawa some old 10th dan “grand master” hanshi dudes are training like crazy (CRAZY)! They’re not covering anything up with corny lines such as “Sorry, young grasshopper, I cannot show you this technique because it is too deadly/you are not ready yet/you don’t pay me enough/the stars and planets are not aligned properly”.

No, not at all. On the contrary, these ol’ motherlovers regularely hold demonstrations, camps and seminars everywhere (even internationally), gladly doing a thousand shiko-dachi punches with you just for fun. And most of them are somewhere between 65 and 75 years young.

In short, they always represent their belt.

Compare that to many modern Western 10th dan “grand master” hanshi-soke-elite-dudes who probably haven’t done a single full speed kata or self-defense move (I’m talking that “ikken hissatsu”, kill-or-be-killed stuff here) since they got their first (!) black belt.

And that was 30 years ago.

In fact, they quite proudly walk around representing their 30 year younger self.

How uninteresting is that?

But let’s forget those sad has-beens for now (who are not exclusive to the Western world, mind you), and let me just tell you briefly about a member of our dojo who really impressed me lately. Let’s call him Ted.

Ted, who could easily be mistaken for a tall, dark, handsome stranger in his late twenties, recently came up to me before class was about to start, and asked for permission to – listen closely here – wear his brown belt. “What’s so special about that?”, you’re wondering. Well, nothing…

Except for the fact that Ted is really a black belt holder.

Ted, in his own words, felt like he “couldn’t uphold the standards of a black belt anymore” and humbly asked for permission to degrade himself(!), if only temporarily, until he feels his skills match his black belt again.

Lately, he had been feeling like a brown belt, apparently.

After nearly stumbling on my jaw (which was lying somewhere on the floor), I told him that he really didn’t need to. He had been bestowed the black belt for a reason, and it should be his goal to push himself every session to that black belt limit, showing his true colors. In fact, some teachers might find it offensive if their students just “degrade” themselves like that, because it implies that the teacher had shown bad judgement when awarding the student his belt.

But he was having none of that.

Ted wore his brown belt for almost a month. And don’t tell me that’s not a refreshing point of view.

In fact, Ted perfectly embodies what that guy who called a couple of weeks ago (asking to wear his blue belt) totally failed to comprehend.

Your belt is not static.

It is dynamic.

And you’d better be prepared to back it up – irregardless of your age, ethnicity, gender or grade.

By Jesse Enkamp I have an even better idea: Why not just wear my black belt instead? I mean, even in rural Okinawa some old 10th dan “grand master” hanshi dudes are training like crazy (CRAZY)! They're not covering anything up with

There are already some really well thought out and thorough answers posted, but I would like to address a couple of other points regarding this. I do know of at"Missing: jesse enkamp?

He is the only 10th degree Black Belt in FILKENJUTSU and is the founder of our method of teaching. He prefers to just wear the Black Belt with ten stripes (or even

Those who have at home sons found of technological ‘wanders’ via PC or mobile, will certainly have heard of bloggers and Youtuber. That is, those who mostly use the web network and videos to communicate. Some, just for fun. For others, in front of the huge number of visualizations and sponsors they attract, the fun turns into a trade.Sport adapts to changing times, so… could karate be missing? Yes, even the art of the empty hand has its sparkling star of the web. It’s about Jesse Enkamp: Swedish, 27 years old, 4th Dan black belt. And… much more than a blogger and a Youtuber. He is an agonist, a sportive karateka – among other things, has a fifth position at the absolute European kata, in 2011 in Zurich – and an instructor. A competent coach that wrote several volumes on martial arts, some of which under pseudonym, who earned him first place for Amazon sales.Since 2008 he has poured his history of karateka into a site, www.karatebyjesse.com, well-known to fans, accompanied by links to the most famous and used social networks, which on average counts 190,000 visits each month (as of 2014), and in a very followed channel on the Tube.

Topics: the most disparate, including live sessions and advice on maintenance of karategi. Basically, an interesting and funny popularizer, who doesn’t take himself too seriously despite his unquestionable popularity. For example, one of the main characteristics with which he describes himself, Jesse indicates that he is a great lover of carrot cakes…And it’s because of him that the dojos are still full of small athletes on probation. Many of them are eager to imitate or know him.

We interviewed after the Open Paris of the Karate1 circuit, in which he participated, starting with the ritual question.

How did Jesse Enkamp come to karate and if someone supported him in his choice. If he has a myth, a hero, a model to steal something from…I was born in a family of martial artists and I started practicing karate in 1991, at the same time as Kobudo (set of martial arts performed with traditional weapons – Nda). When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time in my parents’ gym playing with my little brother. At first, martial arts was just a hobby. Over time I realized that they could become something more meaningful, my way. So I decided to study Japanese language and culture at the University, first in Stockholm and then in Okinawa, the homeland of karate.In fact, karate as well as my job is my whole life. Sure, I like to relax with a good movie or or listening to music, or enjoying a good meal, like everyone else. But it’s karate that I think about every day, constantly. When I was a boy I tried other disciplines like hockey and football, but team sports are not for me. I love karate, because it allows an individual and very personal path.As for my hero, who is my role model instructor and also my teacher, she is my mother. She reminds me of what is worth committing to and how to become a better human being, evolving through karate. And although she’s the oldest person in the gym, she’s the hardest worker of all.

You mentioned Okinawa, tell us something about the experience in Japan…In 2009 I was in Okinawa for several months, I had already visited it with my family, but this time I was alone. It was hard, almost no one spoke English, and I had to progress quickly with my Japanese to survive. Luckily there is nonverbal language that helps , and I managed to make several friends in the gym. This is one of the benefits of karate, friendship! The most important lesson of that period was to see how different the Eastern mentality is from ours. Once you understand that, the perspective on karate changes forever.

Where does the preference for the kata come from, compared to the kumite (I usually saw him competing in this specialty Nda)?If you do not practice both, you can not be a complete karateka. They are two sides of the same medal. Anyway, when I compete, I choose the specialty where I’m better at it. Sometimes I participate in MMA tournaments, to test my technique against physical endurance.

Your favorite kata or the best?In truth I do not believe in this concept: the best kata is what I am performing! Without practice, there is no karate!

We often talk about the conflict between traditional karate and sports karate, what do you think about this?In light of the basics of karate, kihon, there is no conflict. Of course there’s at least one different philosophical aspect, like: Do you learn to fight to defend yourself or to win a trophy? In the end it doesn’t matter, you can’t beat an opponent or discourage an aggressor in the street if you don’t defeat your fears, insecurities and weaknesses first. The real fight is with yourself.

Let’s move on to your work as a teacher and especially as a communicator via web and video. Did you expect such a resounding success? How do you handle it?I like to learn karate and, by teaching, I learn twice. Using new technologies I can reach many more people. I’m not the best instructor in the world, I still have a lot to learn, but I figured out how to bring younger practitioners – who know neither the history nor the cultural roots of karate – to traditional art. I made it my own mission: to connect the generations of karateka, to connect the old to the new so that all people understand better the essence of karate.

Speaking of teaching, a personal curiosity: how do you set with your students the correct rhythm of a kata – which to me, beeing not an expert of technique, seems rather difficult?I teach the rhythm of kata through bunkai, which is the practical application of kata techniques in self-defense. If you do not understand the meaning of the bunkai, you cannot assimilate the rhythm of the kata.

What does it mean to be a Karate-Nerd’? ( It is his trademark , and another name with which Jesse is known )Karate-Nerd means to be involved 360 degrees from everything that revolves around karate; not only from a style, not from a single way. A Karate-Nerd never gets bored, has an open mind to any news and is ready to learn from anyone who can teach him something about karate and life.

I know you are specialized in a different style, but for Shotokan lovers, who would you choose as an example for this type of karate?In Italy and beyond, the name that comes spontaneous to me is that of Lucio Maurino. I was so impressed with him, his culture, his mental attitude, that I invited him as a guest at my first Karate-Nerd event, a seminar in Germany attended by participants from 25 countries. He is an experimenter, explored Shito, studied Aikido, is the pioneer of sound-kata. He has a specific degree in Physical Education, as well as a specialization in Biomechanics. After an extraordinary sporting career, he continued his research on traditional karate. Someone else would have retired, instead the Maestro Maurino is constantly reinvented, in spite of everything, continuing his journey. I admire him, he’s a real karate nerd.

Do you have any propitiatory rites, before a competition or a seminar? Maybe a slice of carrot cake...No special rites or mantras, before a special occasion. I’m not superstitious. Although I have taken part in WKF European or World Championships, even when I hold a seminar with 100 people in a foreign country, I believe in being as natural as possible. Be yourself, do your best and everything will fall into place. You cannot cheat with the Universe. And I think you have to respect yourself after a performance, even if it was a failure. The real problem is not failure, it’s giving up. And I never give up.

What do you think karate lacks to become really popular, given that despite the huge mass of practitioners, it is quite overlooked by the media? Is there any particular communication policy that the WKF could adopt, even in view of the Tokyo Olympics?The key is not in competitions. Only 10% of practitioners participate in tournaments, so why do the media focus solely on the competitive side? We should rather talk about those who go regularly to the dojo every week and fight against their limits to get a new belt, or lose weight, or improve their health. All this is really much more important than those few belonging to the elite of the winners, or not, of medals. We all have a duty to raise awareness of the holistic values of karate, how it can increase people’s health, social life and happiness. That, not the medals.

Q: From the long journey of making Karate part of your life, what significant changes have you encountered? A: Let me answer that with a

That's because, in general, a first-degree black belt isn't regarded anything more than a beginner. Jesse Enkamp (Karate by Jesse):.