Our karate school puts on a very (, very) nice Black Belt promotion ceremony. I’d seen it a couple of times. I was promoted through it Thursday night.
It involves the lighting of candles, each pair the color of the belts earned along the path to Black Belt. At each color the meaning of that rank is read as the candles are being lit. The reading means more to the audience; I wasn’t paying attention to that, I was trying to keep the wax off the carpet!
As a 10+ year karate-ka, and a Black Belt in another style, I found the experience satisfying. Partly because of my history with a past school – you can read about that here. It’s a little verbose, you’ve been warned!
After the ceremony we eat, and the other students make a big deal out of sitting you down and waiting on you. Big fun! Actually, it was humbling and even a little humiliating. Yes, humiliating, and I mean that in a good way! Part of that ‘living up to the rank’ commitment.
If you don’t award your Black Belt promotions in a significantly different way than your lower ranks, change your Black Belt ceremony now!