"Bizzig mizark cizzomin!"  is what you might have heard walking down the midway of a traveling carnival back in the day.  That was Carnie for 'there's a guy with a lot of money heading your way.'  These 'pigeons' were also marked on the back of their coat with a piece of white chalk, thereby making them a 'mark' for the various carnival games.  To this day pro wrestling fans are still called 'marks' as an homage to it's Carnie roots.  

There are currently two martial arts schools I'm aware of in my state and another just west of us that are charging $350 a month.  I'm no mathlete but if you round up and throw in a few extra expenses let's say that you end up paying $5,000 a year for martial arts instruction.  Now with the current school of thought that 'it should take you 20 years to get a black belt' how much are you allocating for that belt?  

During that 20 years is he treating you with respect, courtesy and honesty, or is he treating you like a servant or subject?  What is it you want to be able to physically do?  If you're paying him 100k he should be trying to get you there asap.  Here's another important question, if you're a woman is he setting you up for a sexual assault?  I've gotten to talk people out of killing the martial arts teacher that raped their girlfriend.  It's not a great experience.  I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

And that brings up a fairly important question, what's the character of this individual you're getting your 'black belt' from?  Is he a good, decent, honorable man or woman, or is he a rapist, a conman and a thief?  Has his style helped people or do they frequently come away with life shortening injuries from practicing it? Have you seen video where police officers trying to use it looked foolish and ineffective?  If it was sold to the military have you seen videos of them describing what a disaster it was, and how its complete failure got soldiers shot, stabbed, and killed because they trusted it?  

If you're putting 20 years into getting some sort of affirmation from this guy that you're a 'black belt' and good person, hopefully he is too.  Because, on the other hand, if he treats his employers/students like garbage, assaults them, rapes women and is a complete loser and a bully, then all of a sudden your 'black belt' won't look all that great.  

And you're going to look like a mark, like somebody who bought what this conman was selling.  And then you'll have two options, to honestly admit that even though you got some good stuff out of the deal you were taken, conned, and sold a false bill of goods.  Or, you'll have to go around loudly proclaiming that you weren't stupid to give that guy your 100k, that his style, your style is the greatest thing ever.   

You may even have to constantly bring up how great it is, even after its effectiveness has been shown to be false over and over again, just like that guy does on his pod every day.  Because if you don't then you got Carnied.  You're a mark.  You were swindled.  And once you realize that it'll be natural to feel embarrassed about it.  

I've been in martial arts for a long time, 30 years, and when I used to play the belts and pajamas rank collecting game I got a few black belts.  Typically, and historically what that meant was that you had a good understanding of the basics, that was it.  It didn't mean you were a master or some sort of trained killer, you were someone who had a good foundation in what made your particular art work.  That's probably why last time I looked on the Kodokan Judo website it took about one year to become a black belt.

There are a lot of fine people in the martial arts and some of them wear belts and pajamas, and you can get some really good stuff from them too.  If you're in one of these schools, keep going.  This is a really good anchor and a very productive hobby.  When my life wasn't going well sometimes martial arts were the only good thing I had to look forward to.  

But looking back on it now, it was the journey, the process, the challenges, and the people I met on the way that were important, not the color of my belt.  Receiving your black belt can be a pretty cool achievement in your life, and one you can be proud of, but please don't be a mark for the belt.  Please don't jump through hoops, put up with assault, abuse, dishonesty and theft to get there.  Don't get Carnied in the martial arts.  Go into it with a clear goal and a timeline of what it takes to get there.  Have fun, take care of your body and be kind to yourself and those around you.  

If you do that, then your journey to black belt will be fun, productive, and worth your time.  I hope that advice gives you some clarity on your goals in the martial arts world.

Take care,  

Be kind, Be Capable & Be Carnie

Coach K

View The Carny Series Here!