How long to Black Belt?

[chinto]

the averidge seems to be about 7 years or a bit longer.. there are 22 kata and usually a few from goju you get taught as well.. and weapons kata.. at least 4 or more.. and you have to have all of them in full polish too.. so some take 8 years some take 5.8 or so.. but most take from almost 7 years to 7 years really. a lot to learn and make your own in the system.. i like it as its a great system.. I am a Shobayashi Shorin Ryu student

 

[AmericanTangSooDo]

In my style American Tang Soo Do (Chuck Norris system pre-Chun Kuk Do) it varies depending on the school/organization. At the school I trained at it took a minimum of 5 years. While at the schools of other former Norris black belts and their black belts it takes between 3 and 3 and a half years.

Unfortunately many of these schools have elementary school aged black belts.

 

[tko4u]

Taekwondo, 3 years to 1st dan

 

[terryl965]

Taekwondo, 3 years to 1st dan

Really must of mine take 4-5 years, maybe I am to picking.

 

[Cirdan]

Interesting results indeed.. breaking them down a bit we currently have

1 in 8 says it takes 3 yrs or less (12,5%)
1 in 3 says it takes more than 3 yrs but less than 5 yrs (35%)
1 in 2 says it takes 5 yrs or more (52,5%)

Seems belt factories are less common than I thought.. or perhaps we don`t get so many from that crowd here.

Btw we should make another poll with alternatives from 5 to 10 years as well.

 

[iwingchun]

I do the wing chun system and it takes 5 years to achieve a black belt!

 

[foggymorning162]

I answered for myself but it really varies I got mine in 3 1/2 my son has been training 5 and still doesn't have it. But on average an adult who trains regularly, learns the material, and gives back to the school is going to be about 3 1/2 to 4 kids might be a little longer.

 

[AMP-RYU]

I teach a varied style of tae kwon do. It roughly takes about 2 years to reach black belt. The reason being is their are some vary dedicated individuals out there and they shouldn't be held back. I let them develop their skills with as much knowledge as possible.

white to yellow 2 months
yellow to orange 2 months
orange to green 2 months
green to blue 2 months
blue to purple 2 months
purple to red 4 months
red to brown 4 months
brown to dan black 6 months
______________________
total 24 months

 

[seasoned]

In a commercial setting you need a gauge, at lease 4 years. On a personal note, that person must possess a well rounded package.

 

[Geeba12]

Inazuma Te Ryu Ju Jutsu Remmei: minimum 3 years. Maximum, a life time.
This question is like asking a person when they will "master" playing a guitar. Who could possibly gauge that?
All Martial Art ranks are based on performance, NOT time in grade.
Those who have pioneered the Arts into the 20th century (Funokoshi, Ueshiba Sensei etc), would be "turning over in their graves" with a question like this.
No disrespect intended with the person who posted this topic.

Regards,
SJG

 

[Tez3]

Inazuma Te Ryu Ju Jutsu Remmei: minimum 3 years. Maximum, a life time.
This question is like asking a person when they will "master" playing a guitar. Who could possibly gauge that?
All Martial Art ranks are based on performance, NOT time in grade.
Those who have pioneered the Arts into the 20th century (Funokoshi, Ueshiba Sensei etc), would be "turning over in their graves" with a question like this.
No disrespect intended with the person who posted this topic.

Regards,
SJG

We have no way of knowing that, our times are different from theirs, they were innovators in their times, they understood that time doesn't stand still so who knows how they'd feel about things?
I doubt that wanting to make money from martial arts and cutting corners in teaching is a new thing, I imagine human nature being what it is it was around in their time too. They may not have approved but they would have known this happens.

 

[terryl965]

Well here is another take on it, as long as it takes.

 

[AMP-RYU]

Well here is another take on it, as long as it takes.

I like your theory....Terry! I have students that have trained for 6 years and are still red belts while others 2 years and black belt!

 

[Grenadier]

We do have class hour requirements for someone to be eligible to take their rank tests. However, the class hour requirements are but a single prerequisite. Even if they have the appropriate number of hours, you still have to look at their proficiency, their attitude, etc., and see if they are truly ready to take the exam.

The way I see it, if someone can demonstrate the appropriate level of proficiency in the art, and if they can demonstrate that they also meet the physical requirements, then I have no problems with promoting someone to Shodan in a shorter time than the norm.

If there's nothing to be gained by keeping such folks at the ikkyu rank, then why keep them there? If someone has already demonstrated proficiency, has the required number of hours, and has a good attitude, then I'll be more than happy to test them, even if they've only had two years of experience.

On the other hand, if someone has a less than ideal attitude, a less than ideal work ethic, etc., then they won't be taking the exam, until things shape up. Sometimes, this means that it takes additional years.

Then, you have students who learn things more slowly than others. There's nothing wrong with their attitudes; it's just that things simply might not come to them as quickly as it does with your more talented students. They may take 5 or 6 years to get their black belt when others take 3.

I don't see that as a problem, since they're still learning the same matierial, and gaining the same proficiencies. In the end, the finished product is what counts, and if it looks good, then the length of time isn't much of an issue.

Now, all of statements that I have written in this post, are based on the system in which I train and teach. In our system, getting the black belt simply means that you have a solid command of the fundamentals, and have demonstrated such proficiency. In this case, you're ready to take on the more advanced training.

Having a yudansha ranking in our system does not confer any type of instructor status. That's something different...

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

A lot really depends upon the style and curriculum. I practice Kukkiwon Taekwondo, and the average is about two years to either first dan or first poom. To be fair, KKW curriculum isn't so comprehensive that two years would be unreasonable, assuming that the student is regular in class and practices regularly outside of class.

Daniel

 

[CDKJudoka]

Took me almost 6 years for my chodan in an ITF school. It took me another 4 years after that for my edan. Currently working on my edan in Chung Do Kwan.

 

[Aikikitty]

After almost 8 1/2 years of training, I tested and passed my black belt test just this morning!!! :bangahead:

Robyn

 

[Twin Fist]

GRATS

/bow

 

[lemon_meringue]

After almost 8 1/2 years of training, I tested and passed my black belt test just this morning!!! :bangahead:

Robyn

Congratulations!!! :highfive:

It takes around 8-10 years in my system of Ju-Jitsu to achieve a black belt, so I have a loooong way to go!

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

After almost 8 1/2 years of training, I tested and passed my black belt test just this morning!!! :bangahead:

Robyn

Fantastic!! You must be very proud of this excelent accomplishment!

Daniel