Over the Rainbow

Reflections on kyu-grade representation in aikido.

Before joining the British Aikido Federation, I practised ‘Tomiki-style’ aikido for five and a half years in a moderately-sized local aikido club.  I was not unaware of other styles of aikido and in time I attended a number of courses featuring both Yoshinkan and traditional schools.  The differences in styles were palpable, but all had one feature in common; and that was the use of coloured belts to indicate kyu grade.  I had no reason to consider that this might not be ubiquitous and never gave it much thought.  Hence, on joining the BAF, I was rather intrigued to discover the white-belt system.

My experiences before and since then have led me to recognize certain idiosyncratic behaviours that I believe are symptomatic of the coloured-belt system.  This has led me to theorize that the difference between the white-belt system and coloured-belt system is far from trivial, and can have a very deep, but perhaps unattributed, effect on the culture of the dojo.

The difference between the two systems is analogous to the difference between the concepts of grade and rank.  Although the coloured-belt system is intended to indicate grade, it is closer in reality to a ranking system.  And this is the crux of the matter; grade is associated with skill and achievement, whereas rank is associated with status and seniority.  Psychologically, a grade represents the attainment of a particular standard at a point in time and is not, generally, revoked.  A rank, on the other hand, is current and requires regular validation.

Human beings are innately sensitive to social hierarchy and indicators of rank.  There have been studies into behavioural responses to perceived ‘figures of authority’; someone wearing a uniform; carrying a clipboard; even just a name tag can be sufficient.  The display of an indicator alone is enough to produce these phenomena.  And so it is with the coloured-belt system; the simple fact that a coloured belt is an established indicator is enough to change its perception from one of grade to one of rank.  Furthermore, as the belt is always visible (on the mat at least), the notion of rank is perpetually reinforced and it is impossible to forget a person’s rank, or indeed to not know it from the moment they step onto the mat.  This fact and the distinction between grade and rank can bring about the following in aikido practice:

Students may feel a greater sense of competition due to a desire to ascend the ranks, which in turn makes the dojo a more competitive environment.  Naturally competitive students will see the next coloured belt as an incentive to grade as quickly as possible.  However, naturally non-competitive students may see it as a disincentive to grade at all; preferring to avoid the pressure of living up to a perceived expectation of wearing a particular belt.

A student of ‘higher rank’ may feel an inclination to coach a student of ‘lower rank’, even though the higher-ranked student may himself have limited experience.  This can be particularly disruptive in aikido practice, which is almost entirely done in pairs.  In the white-belt system, this happens much less often as students training together may not even be aware of which is the higher grade.  Furthermore, it is difficult to differentiate two students of similar skill and experience as having different grades.  This means students approach one-another without expectations and base their judgement on the other’s performance of ukemi and technique.

Because of its ranking and status association, the coloured-belt system may be misused as an incentive/reward mechanism, with grades being awarded for reasons other than (or perhaps in lieu of) skill in aikido.  This can have a disastrous effect on the standard of an association’s aikido.  If a grade is awarded too early, then by the same token so may be the next, and so on.  This compound effect, when applied across successive generations, will erode the standard.  In the white-belt system there is less of a temptation to award unnecessary kyu-grade ‘promotions’ outside of a formal grading; and therefore the formal grading structure acts as a natural timeline constraint.

I have found a subtle, though nevertheless palpable difference in atmosphere whenever I have trained with clubs that use a coloured-belt system compared with those that do not.  One might assert that this is because rank-motivated people tend towards the types of club that use coloured belts or vice versa; however, I believe the belts themselves contribute to the difference.  Having trained extensively in both types of club, I can testify that I myself felt very differently about the notion of grade in each case.

That is not to say that rank is not important.  Certainly, from shodan onwards, grade and rank begin to coalesce, but by this time students should have matured beyond competition for and motivation by grade.  However, at kyu-grade level, rank is obstructive.

There is an exception.  When grading children, coloured belts can be an excellent mechanism for encouragement and reward.  Here though, they are perhaps better employed to specifically indicate status and seniority; connected as much with age and/or length of membership as with technical skill.

I do not imply that all schools that employ the coloured-belt system will follow all of these patterns; nor that such schools will consequently have inferior aikido.  Nevertheless, I do believe that a latent potential will exist.