Requiring Patience For The Black Belt And For Rank Advancement In General

[HighKick]

So if a sensei is going to require patience for rank advancement he could do it by simply having minimum time requirements for rank advancement. Before you can advance in rank you have to be at your current rank for a minimal length of time, within reason. Before you can be a black belt you have to be a brown belt for a reasonable minimal length of time, once you've been a brown belt for that minimum length of time you should then be eligible to test for the black belt.

Most schools do exactly that.

 

[isshinryuronin]

So if a sensei is going to require patience for rank advancement he could do it by simply having minimum time requirements for rank advancement. Before you can advance in rank you have to be at your current rank for a minimal length of time, within reason.

From white to black belt the emphasis is on technical execution (90% with 10% effort, attitude, etc.). I see no reason to keep a student from progressing as fast as his ability allows. A large school may find it necessary to have set times for testing, every three months for example. In this case I would recognize the quicker students by skipping them a grade (or two) during their journey to black belt. No reason they should be held back.

After black belt a new phase arises where the emphasis starts on the more non-technical aspects of the art. These aspects often require depth of understanding, self-exploration, internalization, maturation and "enlightenment" that cannot be accelerated simply by physical ability or even experience. Like a good wine or Scotch, aging is required. (Drinkers of Coors or Budweiser may not appreciate this fact.) At the black belt level increasing lengths of time between degrees I think are needed for this to happen.

Time in grade requirements after black belt also helps the student take his mind off the next promotion, the goal, and allows him to concentrate on the process. If the student does not have the discipline and patience for this, he will not be able to develop the attributes of a higher-grade black belt anyway, and so his quitting will do no one any harm.