To Stripe or not to Stripe🤔

Stripes have a love/hate relationship in the martial arts industry.

Some dojangs and dojo’s swear by them.

Others baulk at the mere mention of them.

So what is it about the stripes that polarizes our industry??

Let me explain

The negative

• You have 10 or more stripes
• Each stripe has writing on it
• The stripes are purchased
• The stripes are given based on time training, not achievement
• The stripes are

Some martial arts training halls are pay-to-play, like those free apps that require in-app purchases to get anywhere; or actually make the app useful.

You pay through the nose to train, and then you pay for each stripe by attending seminars, or doing private lessons. (Which are absurdly expensive!)

You get stripes based on a time schedule, instead of actually earning them in a test or by showing a certain technique or pattern.

These styles of stripe systems are what give stripes a bad name. The stripes are not inherently bad, and here is why.

Let me show you the positive side of stripes on belts.

• Instructors can quickly determine how far along students are in their belt journey. If you make each stripe mean a certain achievement. For example, the white stripe could mean they have mastered their poomsae, or the yellow stripe could be the kicking technique for their level has met the required standards.
• Motivation! The reason we have different belts for the steps along the journey is to keep students motivated with little victories along the way. The stripes become micro victories within the different belt levels.

Now this doesn’t work when instructors attempt to give multiple stripes in one day, say if a belt promotion ceremony was coming up..

Doing a test each month to get a stripe works, if there is also a chance that the student may NOT get the stripe!

Stripes themselves are neither good, nor bad. The only thing that determines if the stripe system is useful or harmful, is your martial art school’s culture and what you expect from practitioners!

If the instructor holds the practitioner accountable, the stripe system can be a powerful tool.

If the instructor hands out stripes according to payment or time; they are confirming their status as a McDojo!

Make your stripe systems according to merit, and not time.

Train hard, EARN YOUR STRIPES, and see you on the mats!👊