a Barack Belt is a Ranking that is Redistributed, Never Earned

Photo: President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Credit: EPA

Wow….a Barack belt. That’s just so many ways of awesome, right there.

Is there anything that this man can’t accomplish without ever having earned it, first?

A book deal, the presidency, a Nobel Peace Prize….now a black belt (hat tip to Patvann):

Anyway, there he was in Seoul, the last stop of his journey.

And out of the Seoul sky, President Lee Myung-bak hands over to the American leader a tae kwon do outfit. And then Lee, who practices tae kwon do himself, presents Obama with a coveted black belt.

After zero long years of study.

Apparently, President Obama does have some martial arts experience:

President Obama practiced Taekwondo for about four years with an American master in Chicago from 2001 while he was serving in the Illinois state senate. He obtained a green belt.

Well, he’s green alright. And it shows.

On a side note, my personal experience with martial arts doesn't make me put much stock in most belt ranking systems. In some schools, especially in the U.S. but I doubt exclusive to the U.S., running a martial arts school is about running a business; and belt promotions are handed out as easily as personal fitness certifications.

A black belt really doesn't signify much of anything beyond achieving a certain level of proficiency at the basics, a level of understanding and commitment; a black belt symbolizes a student who is now ready to engage in serious training. Really, it's another level of being a beginner.

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