Are you tough enough to wear that black belt?

[Van Canna]

Brain Farts!! Stop laughing. This is real science, dammit.
by Tori Deaux on April 24, 2008

Don’t try to deny it, I know you’ve had them - everyone does - those embarrassing instants of mind-numbing stupidity. You’re faced with a task, question or action that you’ve done a thousand times, and yet, you flub it.

Even worse, you may even recognize the problem *as you make it*, you may know that you’re about to screw up colossally, and yet, you’re unable to stop it. Brain fart. <cue obnoxious sound file>

Turns out, it’s more than just a cutesy way of explaining away our embarrassment over mental glitches. Brain farts are real.

No, the brain doesn’t actually belch noxious fumes, but still — they are real, measurable events in the brain, and even more interesting, they’re predictable. Here’s the deal:

Researchers were looking in the brain for cues that a mistake was being made - hoping to spot some sort of activity blip that signaled an error, perhaps an instantaneous loss of concentration.


So participants in the study were given a simple, monotonous game to play, while the activity in their brain was measured (via fMRI, for those of you who know about such things.)

But there was no single blip or hiccup at the instant of the error. Instead, there was a complicated pattern of abnormal brain behavior. Even more surprisingly? The pattern showed up as much as 30 seconds before the mistake was made.

30 seconds: That’s a *really* long time, in speed-of-thought terms.

So what happened in those 30 seconds?

Even though the participants were alert and focused on their task, parts of the brain usually associated with relaxation began to light up.

At the same time, parts of the brain associated with cognitive control and sustained attention began to turn off. So even though they intended to stay alert, their brain was shutting down, forcing them into a less focused state.

So even though the person was paying attention, their brain stopped paying attention.

Tada. Brain fart.

The researchers think the brain may be shutting down to conserve energy. Since repetative, familar tasks don’t require much processing power, the brain tries to go into a sort of autopilot mode.

Sometimes it goes too far, and the result is a mental glitch.

Once the participants made and recognized their mistakes, the abnormal patterns vanished - apparently the error woke the brain back up, letting it know it had gone a step too far in its efforts at energy conservation.

With that all important 30 second factor, it might be possible to predict and prevent critical brain fart errors in high risk situations. ( like behind the wheel of a car or at the controls of an airplane.)

If the brain activity involved can be detected by lightweight, portable monitors, a warning could be sounded that would “wake up” the brain, hopefully before the mistake was made.

[jjpein]

Well it seems I am jumping in here on a older post but here goes. I have had the opporunity in many martial arts to test for black belt and have turned them down for two reasons; First, I look at some of the kids that have black belts strapped around their waists and think, "That is very good dedication at that age....BUT can that person really, really defend him/herself in this day and age." It is then that I watch the student and in my mind the answer is NO. This pretains to some adults as well. Maybe I take the idea of earning a 'Black belt" to highly but I am from the old school of martial arts and you work, sweat, bleed, etc to earn something at that level.

Second, technique wise, kata wise, etc. I know I have and am more than ready, but something in my head just said are you ready to wear that belt, do you deserve it. Then about a month ago my former Goju ryu instructor said something to me that I guess I missed 30 years ago. he said that being a black belt doesn't mean you are 'perfect'....it means that you have just met the cirteria.

While I understand this way of thinking, it sure wipes out my way of thinking and alot of missed opporunities for all of those years.

Anyway, as I start to move into my early 50's and still train in several styles I wonder was I wrong all these years or is my definition of being and wearing a black belt skewed way to much.

I appreciate any thoughts and feedback and thank you for both in advance.

Jeb

[mhosea]

I appreciate any thoughts and feedback and thank you for both in advance.

OK, sure. Stop thinking so much. Next time you're invited to test for black belt, don't stop to think about reasons to do it or not do it. Just go ahead and test. Let your sensei and his organization do their job. You just do yours.

[Glenn]

Anyway, as I start to move into my early 50's and still train in several styles I wonder was I wrong all these years or is my definition of being and wearing a black belt skewed way to much.

Hi Jeb, welcome! Interesting post and questions. You are not alone in questioning training decisions made in the past, and I certainly don't think you have been "wrong" in the paths you've chose. To me it basically depends on what your goals are, what training is important to you, and what importance you put on having the rank. Ask yourself these: Would getting one or more black belts have changed the training you have accomplished over the years; does not having the black belt lessen what you have already accomplished; have you missed out on anything important to you by not having a black belt?

For what it's worth, I was in a similar situation with a long time from when I started in the martial arts to when I made Shodan (about 20 years, although admittedly not all of that time actively training under an instructor). For me however, not testing was more because I have tended to not place a lot of value in rank, which I see as only necessary if you plan to make some sort of career out of the martial arts, and because my learning goals don't always match the specifics required to pass a given test in a given style. There has been a lot of discussion about the importance of rank on here before, with very good arguments made on all sides, but ultimately it comes down to individual choice.

I actually hadn't planned on ever testing for Shodan, until Bill visited out here a few years ago and we found out he was planning to test some of us for dan ranks. My first thought was "well, I think I know the Uechi Shodan test material well enough to pass, I guess we're about to find out"...my second thought was "huh, I wonder where my gi is and if it still fits...?" Maybe in another 20 years, well 15 now, I'll test for Nidan.

Maybe not the thoughts you're looking for, since we have different views on the value of a black belt, but I hope it helps in some way. At any rate, I doubt it is too late for you to make black belt if you do have that goal.

[MikeK]

Then about a month ago my former Goju ryu instructor said something to me that I guess I missed 30 years ago. he said that being a black belt doesn't mean you are 'perfect'....it means that you have just met the cirteria.

Hi Jeb,
Your Goju instructor is right on the money. Now what was the criteria and what are your feelings on just meeting that criteria?

If you agree with it then go for it, if not then you have to ask yourself why you're still there.