The martial arts Alliance and USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame have been working on a PH.D. Program for tenured martial art instructors for almost a decade. The only way to be part of this program is to be an Inducted member of the U.S.A. Martial Arts ‘Hall of Fame’! Once you are part of the USA Martial Arts ‘Hall of Fame’ you’ve proven a standard of excellence. After the ‘Hall of Famer’ has been inducted he/she may choose to participate in the Ph.D. Program. Those interested must provide a Dissertation/Thesis that will be read and approved or disapproved by a Board of Directors. If approved, honorees are recognized as one of the best the industry of the Martial Arts offer! The Ph.D. program is not a traditional scholastic accredited degree that authorizes anyone to claim to be a medical doctor! This program defines you as one of the best in the martial arts industry! The Board of Directors consists of Martial Arts Masters and Grand Masters who are also Lawyers, Physicians, Science Doctors, Education Ph.D.’s etc….who volunteer their time as Board members.

Every city has unqualified martial art schools and teachers in them! Some should not be allowed to operate, but do! This feels like a ‘black eye’ to those qualified instructors who operate honorably! A master plumber with 10-15 years experience will make $50.00 to $100.00 per hour or more. Get an air-conditioning/heating person out to repair at $50.00/ $100.00 per hour or more! Hire an attorney…WOW!!!…Look, often times we are valued by our titles, proof of authentication etc….we might not be able to say we’re a medical doctor but we are as valid in what we do than some who are traditionally blessed with degrees and education! We have many, 20-30 plus years active teachers who have designed, dedicated, spent their world being who they are as teachers, leaders, instructors and more! We are equally as qualified in teaching martial arts, science and history as an educator. Thanks to organizations like EFC, NAPMA and MAIA we can continue our education of the martial arts by attending seminars on tuition, learning theory, fitness, sales, management and marketing.  Not many understand the difference in what we have done in the martial arts world…the sacrifices, aches, injuries, developments and ideas it took to train and develop our students to be a more efficient and disciplined member of society with integrity and character.

Being a black belt in it self does not mean you are an instructor. Black belts from 2^nd to 5^th dans are referred to as sempei (senior grade). It is the sempei that set the example for the kohai (junior grade) to follow. More than simple seniority, sempai implies a relationship similar to mentoring. They are expected to assist the Chief Instructor with less experienced students. A kohai is expected to respect and follow the sempai, and the sempai in turn must guide, protect, and teach the kohai as best they can the rules and etiquette of the dojo. Black belts can achieve tested rank up to 5^th dan and honored rank up to 8^th with 9th and 10th reserved for the founder of an art or system or promotions to said rank by a board of review. It is at 5^th dan and above that you hear the term “master” and “grand master”.  Thanks to the Alliance and a few other organizations, those that have spent twenty plus years of their life teaching the martial arts can be honored with professorships and doctorates of the martial arts and sciences.

Thomas L. Williams, Ph. D.

American Karate & Martial Science