How long do you think you need to keep training?

[still learning]

Hello, For those who just started training in the martial arts....How long do you think you will need to keep training to be proficient? and did you feel when you first started..the training will never end.

Many schools advertise get a Black Belt in 2 years, some 3 years.....So many are to believe that is all they got to train for?

In our system it takes at least 5 years..............Aloha

 

[evenflow1121]

To learn how to fight I given you go to a good school, you wont need a black belt, but to be proficient that is a life dedication. It takes a life time to be an expert, many claim to be experts, but very few really are. You said it yourself there are a lot of schools that advertise you get a bb in a year or so--which goes back to the whole you get what you paid for, that just means you achieved a bb has nothing to do with proficiency.

 

[TigerWoman]

As a white belt, the horizon dot you are aiming for seems a long way away. For us four years to black belt 1st. By the time you get to your "dot" you realize that "it" whether it is self-defense capability, perfection, whatever is just a series of dots extending into infinity or rather until you can't move any more. Training is life. Is there wheelchair TKD? TW

 

[Cirdan]

The black belt is not a goal but merely another tile on the path. Training never ends.. in any field.

BB after two years? I wouldn`t take one even if it was suger coated and dipped in honey! :barf:

As for being proficent in the art I`m not quite sure what that means since competing and self defence are not what I train for. However a lot of people stops training after achieving 1.dan so this seems to be a goal for many.

 

[Kacey]

I suppose it depends on how you define "proficient". There is always something that can be improved upon, and I will probably never be as proficient as I think I should be.

Also, how long does proficiency last? If you reach black belt and then stop training, how long do the skills stay with you? For self-defense as for other skills needed infrequently but when the user is under stress, such as CPR, regular refresher courses are necessary - once someone reaches a level determined to be "proficient" and then stops, how long does the person remain "proficient"? How often does the person need to return for a refresher? What skills should the refresher cover?

I'm not sure there is a simple answer to this deceptively simple-seeming question.

 

[Adept]

Completely ignoring the issue of belts, I think an average person who is dedicated, but not fanatical, who is if not fit, is at least not terribly unfit when they commence training, and without any special aptitude for martial arts of any stripe should be competent within four years.

This time can be drastically reduced for people with previous experience, people who are fanatical about their training, people who are athletically gifted and fit prior to training, and so on.

By competent I mean, oh, lets say second dan. The only thing he needs to be really good is experience. IMO, if a student is unable to become competent in that time, it is due more to the training methods in place than the difficulty of techniques.

 

[SAVAGE]

I hope the rest of my life.....to learn how to fight doesnt require alot of skill...to be a martial artist...that takes a LOOOOOONG time!

 

[Makalakumu]

I don't typically think of MA as training. I see it more along the lines of practice. This is in the sense that someone would learn to play an instrument. With that being said, one can become proficient in playing an instrument in a couple of years. One can also practice that instrument for the rest of ones life. In MA, our bodies are our instruments.

 

[Drac]

Until I sign up at that big Dojo in the sky...

 

[Martial Tucker]

When the day comes that my life is "perfect", when everything comes easy, I have no problems or stresses, when I am in perfect physical condition, when I no longer struggle with life's challenges, when I don't feel like learning any more about myself, when I don't feel the need to grow any further as a person, when I don't enjoy being around friends, I guess then I might consider
quitting....


Until then, though.........

 

[jfarnsworth]

I will train until I can no longer move.

 

[still learning]

Hello, I like what "Upnorthkyoso" mention about how martial art is a "music instrument" You can teach someone to play...but it will take a life time to master. (for some it comes more natural).

That is a simple way to look at it....that was good example. .......Aloha

How long? ......is it never ending?.............Aloha

 

[Carol]

For me, it is never ending!

My belts are my journey, but my training is my destination.

 

[karatekid1975]

I agree with most here. To become somewhat competent in an art (BB level), maybe 4 to 6 years. To truely KNOW the art ... That will take a life time.

 

[AceHBK]

To me MA is a lifestyle. It is a life long commitment that I have signed up for. There is always something to be learned and what it teaches is something that I believe in and try to lead my life in such a way that reflects the values and ideas that MA teaches.

 

[MJS]

Hello, For those who just started training in the martial arts....How long do you think you will need to keep training to be proficient? and did you feel when you first started..the training will never end.

Many schools advertise get a Black Belt in 2 years, some 3 years.....So many are to believe that is all they got to train for?

In our system it takes at least 5 years..............Aloha

I dont think that one should have to train for 20yrs before they're capable of defending themselves. Alot of it is going to come down to how much effort the person puts into their training.

Many people look at a Black Belt as the end, but in reality, it is just the beginning of the journey. For me, I plan on continuing to train until I no longer can.

Mike

 

[hongkongfooey]

I think that you should continue to train as long as you still have an intrest.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Completely ignoring the issue of belts, I think an average person who is dedicated, but not fanatical, who is if not fit, is at least not terribly unfit when they commence training, and without any special aptitude for martial arts of any stripe should be competent within four years.

This time can be drastically reduced for people with previous experience, people who are fanatical about their training, people who are athletically gifted and fit prior to training, and so on.

By competent I mean, oh, lets say second dan. The only thing he needs to be really good is experience. IMO, if a student is unable to become competent in that time, it is due more to the training methods in place than the difficulty of techniques.

While some level of proficiancy can occur at four years, you ability to do what you used to do, once you have declaired yourself a weapon, dimishes rapidly to the point of causing yourself a great deal of self inflicted damage in actual combat. Laying there clutching a pulled muscle is no place to be during a confrontation; so, my answer is you may never quit.... ever! I will conceed that an increased awareness achieved in that four years will help you avoid the fight, but thats about it. People that attack are attacking because they have sized you up and think they can win.
Sean