Question 111: Fraudulent degree

I watched So You Think You Can Dance on television this summer. The winner was a street dancer with no formal dance training who did astonishing acrobatic tricks and normally danced in the Popping style. Each week, along with all the publicity appearances, he had to learn new two new dance styles he had never done before that included long, highly choreographed sequences, as well as a long group dance routine where everyone had to be synchronized in their movements. With his abilities, in a couple of weeks of training, he could perfectly perform all the techniques and forms required in any martial art. Does this mean he should be awarded a black belt in these arts? That is what happens in many cases of multiple ranks; the assumption being that if you a “master” in one art you deserve to be a master in another art, without going through the decades of dedicated training and service to the art. Steve Lopez is a multiple Olympic gold medal winner in Taekwondo, and yet he not considered a master, while some ordinary person in a strip mall has master certifications in multiple arts. Humility is certainly not a character trait practiced by many martial artists.
Some people do what they do and are very good at doing it, but they do it without fanfare; whereas, others constantly feel the need to be “recognized” by some new group or organization. I am a retired Navy master chief so I have talked with many military warriors. Most of the greatest warriors are unknown to the public; they just did their duty as a warrior because it was the right thing to do, not for any fanfare; they don't think they deserve any special notice. However, there are others, such as Senator McCain, who milk “doing their duty” for every drop of recognition they can get. If you do not know what they have done, they will tell you—over and over and over.