Black belt martial art question! Multiple belt for creating your own style.?

You don't deserve to start your own style if you can't even spell sensei correctly

Why not train in an art that has a complete system instead of having to go from art to another. Part of the problem with training in multiple systems is that at some point their philosophies clash and tend to cause more confusion than good. That's not to say you can't pick up and idea here and there which is a good thing. But making black belt is not the end all of that system. Black belt means that you've mastered the basics of the first level. It's after black belt when your really suppose to pick up the advanced principles. A true system of martial arts is based on actual principles. Not as a collection of techniques that you think are cool. Technique comes from principles it's not the other way around. Principles are the foundation from which an art is built upon and then expanded from that point onward. A tree cannot have branches without first growing it's roots. So to answer your question "no" you don't have to train in multiple systems. But there is nothing wrong with keeping an open mind and learning something new from time to time. I'm a believer in "mastering" one system, and learning all there is to know about it. Best of luck to you.

If you are opening "your own style" then you don't need ranking in anything. This will hurt your credibility but that doesn't stop a lot of people from doing it anyway (like our buddy Rex mentioned up above:P).

I am guessing that you are lower ranked to be asking this kind of question in the first place, but stick with your style for a while. Earn your way up and cross train when you feel like it. Talk to your sensei then and see what he has to say about creating his own hybrid style (that's what you would be creating by blending aspects of different styles into one).

If you are asking whether a black belt in your hybrid style equals a black belt in all of it's constituent parts... the answer is most definitely no.

All martial art systems were derived from many years of study and then organized into a Ryuha, or system of teaching, by a single person. In Judo, Jigoro Kano devised his system by modernizing several Ryu he had studied into Judo at the age of 19 I might ad. However it was no recognized in Japan until he was in his mid-late 20's. Kano Sensei also had studied martial arts since he was 8 years old as well.

I have master rank in five different disciplines. My primary arts are Goju Ryu, American Kenpo and Iaijitsu. Over the years I developed my curriculum based on the many arts that I have studied and continue to train in to this very day. It has its own name but I did not "create" it. When I was being tested for rank I had to explain what it was I that I actually was teaching since the curriculum I had turned in was based on my knowledge of how the arts complimented each other. I answered I teach Goju Ryu, American Kenpo and so forth. Then they asked me for a name. I was not sure what to tell them so they named it for me based on the overall philosophy that was in my thesis. In short I did not and do not believe people create their own systems of martial arts but rather improve on what and how we do them.

Am I listed as a founder or Soke? Yes...but I did not ask nor did I want it. Do I still train the original systems? Yes, each day. Do I teach them separately in my dojo? No, they are combined in two different curriculum - one below black belt and one above black belt. Am I qualified to do this? Everyone I have ever met agreed it is a great system and I have trained non-stop for over 30 years and still train each day as well as travel and attend seminars...so I guess I am qualified. Do I call myself a Grandmaster? Never. Do I call myself the creator of a style? Never. My system chose me...I did not make it to seek fame nor glory or rank which is why most people do it.

If you have been studying a few primary systems and qualified as an authentic master of those systems for over 25+ years you may be able to merge them together but you will never create a new style...only make the old systems better. Based on what you state you are not qualified and I hope you respect the arts more than that to just become another "wannabe" and truly earn your right to merge them through many years of practice. Good luck.

Hi I'm the Master Chief Instructor of Martial Arts and yes you can mix up all different styles and yes you can have to get all different belt in different style. Yes, the style that I do is Karate, Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Tai Chi, Hipkido, Jujitsu, Brazilian Jujitsu, (JKD) - Jeet Kune Do, Kenpo, Wing Chun, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Boxing, and more!!!!..... and I have all different Black Belt in different style of Martial Arts that you see what style that I do.

Learning a martial art is like learning a language. Learning words from a bunch of different languages and you still cannot have a coherent discussion. It would only be infantile nonsense. It is best to find a martial art you like and stick with it. If someone has several black belts in different systems that still doesn't make him a master of any of them. In all reality a lot of the so called master's of their own systems may or may not be good fighter, they are just selling the public, and the naive public doesn't know the difference. In fact if attacked after years of training they would be absolutely unable to defend themselves. It would even be unlikely the sensi himself could defend himself in most vicious attacks. So it is not a good idea to hop from one martial art to another. Call something what it is instead of renaming it yours.

Trying to create your own style is like trying to re-invent the wheel. Putting together parts of other styles does not make a new style. If so there would be many more new styles. Better that you stick with a reputable style. When you have the time, training, and rank, you will then and only then be qualified to open your own dojo.

it takes decades to understand one style. and a life time to master it.

i have black belts in several styles. and i have never taught a mixture of them. and i don't see the need to mix them. everything i teach comes from traditional karate, all my locks, strikes and throws. and it all works in the streets.

to create your own style you need to first understand at least one style and to understand one style takes several decades.

i have been doing shotokan for over 30 years an i still have a long way to go with just this style.

i have only been doing shito ryu for 15 years and have only scratched the surface of it.

a black belt marks the begin of your martial arts training and not the end. shodan through sandan are the beginning levels yondan through rokudan are intermediate and shichidan to judan are the advanced levels

Creating your own style is kind of a false idea. There are two realities: whatever you teach is what you've learned, and what you teach is totally your own. The best is to learn as much as you can, and teach what you think is best. Don't think in terms of "Creating a new art." If you think forms are useful, teach forms. If not, don't.

Try getting a fifth degree or higher in different styles, then mix them. If your sensai is only a first or second degree blackbelt, and claims to have his "own" style, he is a fool.

Just as you need not be vegetarian to eat a vegetable, You do not need a belt in order to teach an art, Study the arts, you need not have a belt in all of them.

Besides, you are asking a silly internet chat site instead of your master? Why is this, perhaps you feel this is a silly question