Comments on: How Long Should It Take To Get A Black Belt?

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:36:35 +0000

Thats a Mcdojo tactic. Run find a good school for your son

By: Gia

Gia — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 07:57:28 +0000

I got my black belt in 5 years, and had a three-day black belt test for my 1st dan. Between day 1 and day 2, we were not even allowed to go home. We slept at the dojang after having to clean it top to bottom. There were three of us.

I am now shopping for a better dojang for my daughter, and cannot find one that I feel good about. The last one I looked at even their Black belts were in t-shirts cause it might get hot. What?

By: Randi

Randi — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:10:01 +0000

I have been training for almost nine years, now, and I am beginning the first “step” in a three-part test for first dan. Our school has an age requirement of 16. We must turn in a six page paper, written on a topic we are given (which I am currently writing now), we must go through a two to three hour endurance test (which many red belts [brown] have quit just before/during because they couldn’t handle it), THEN we must put together a ten minute demonstration, envolving other students (lower ranking…not that I care to refer to them as that…but it is for reason of respect that no higher ranking students can be in the demonstration). Hours upon hours are put into this, which must include forms, breaking, defending an attacker, and may/may not have a short skit. AFTER you have gone through all of this year-long test, you may or may not be honored with your first dan. While it is very stressful at times (or all the time, lol), I have nothing but appretiation and respect for the program (for lack of a better word). Not to mention, all who know of the process of promotion, and the years behind training, have nothing but complete respect for the black belts, and all the dedicated dans.

It is a pet peeve of mine, as well, when I see eight year old “black belts.”
As my Grandmaster has said you us, “I don’t want you to get a black belt. I want you to BE a black belt.”

By: TKDmom

TKDmom — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 04:56:16 +0000

Thank you so much for writing this; it’s cleared up a lot of things for me.

I have a 7 year old who loves taekwondo, and he is also blessed with a natural talent for the sport. We love his school and caring instructors who are genuinely good at teaching children. My one big issue with them, though, is that it’s way too easy to move up. I see kids who can’t remember their forms and not only rise to the next belt but win trophies! It cheapens the efforts of my son, I feel, especially when less competent children get awarded and sometimes over our son who clearly performed better. I had always been puzzled by this until I read your post. Now I know that the school wanted to keep the less competent kids around, by praising and giving out trophies.

I probably should shop around for a higher quality school but by now my son is so attached to his school and instructors.

By: hailey

hailey — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:07:35 +0000

My daughter, who just turned 6, has been in taekwondo since the age of 2. She started off as a Tiny Tiger, and is now a blue belt. Initially, in her school,graduations are “given” every 2-3 months based on specific requirements being met. After your first year(purple belt), you are tested, and have a pass/fail system! My daughter lost the honor of being allowed to test on a recent test because her feet weren’t facing forward in one of her forms, and she hesitated a few seconds too long between moves on one of the harder forms! On top of that, she must have permission from parents and teachers to test….and there are requirements such as keeping room clean and being respectful, as well as completing homework on time and getting good grades!

By: scott

scott — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 05:51:34 +0000

To my understanding earning the black belt is just the beginning of martial arts not the end. its like wanting to be a tradesman first you have to aquire all the tools of the trade in order to learn it.I recently earned my permanent or 1st dan black belt after three years but i understand that it doesnt qualify me to open my own branch. I now have a toolbox full of tools to start to learn the trade.
The true problem starts when we in the martial arts society claim or atribute certian expertice to a rank or level. we all know of students who are lower levels but have a skill set that can surpase higher ranking people, and what of those people who are less able whether physically or mentally should they not achieve higher ranking or respect according to thier ability? No matter the rank, we are all students. Once a teachers stops learning from the student they should stop teaching.

By: Asmo

Asmo — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:34:58 +0000

I’ve been training for about a year and a half now, my son and I both take around 5 hours (4.75 to be exact) per week and practice easily another 5 hours outside of class if not more, and have been doing so every week since day one. We are both now Red belts, but my son and I agree that while we are eligible to test next week, we will better serve ourselves by waiting another month; we’ve done it with every belt thus far. We have more work to be done, more effort to be made, to get closer to perfect. Both of our goals is not to be the first to achieve a rank, but to be the best. That is the way it should be in any school I believe, but the student is the one driving that bus, we all should expect excellence. Some people do not agree and they or their kids move up faster than they should, only to come to a screeching halt at some later date.

At our school I’ve been told to expect 6th months to move from 1st brown to second, and 6 months from second brown to be eligible to test for black and that is taking around 9 classes per week or about 7 hours of class each week. To the comments earlier regarding the hours to be able to test, 400 hours is really nothing and a school suggesting that is not helping their students master themselves and this art at least not at a school where it is expected you take over 350 hours as a brown belt before you can test for black. I imagine to be close to 1000 hours in class at the time I have earned the privilige to test for 1st gup and that is probably a conservative estimate on class time.

By: Lim Dong Cheol

Lim Dong Cheol — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:11:11 +0000

Here in Korea you can get a WTF black belt in 10 months and that is by training a few times a week for an hour at a time. I took my WTF 3 gup in 6 months and was really unfit at the time. Meanwhile, my ITF black belt which I took in Germany in 1982, took 5 years to the day and involved some intensive training. And if there is one great advert for the McDojo school of martial artists it’s when kids like Jayden Smith are promoted as ”karate experts.’

By: Mike Massie

Mike Massie — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:53:06 +0000

Marko, I remember reading how much Bruce Lee respected judo because it was practiced with full contact. Good point. However, please refrain from dogging schools by name here. Editing your comment to remove the school’s name – we want to keep it civil here.

By: Marko

Marko — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:44:14 +0000

A good martial art would be JUDO. this is becuz u CANNOT be a mcdojo because for your shodan you need to do 2 things. 1) a a brown belt you must beat blackbelts in tournaments for a certain amount of points. So if they just give u ur brown belt in 2 years you will stay there for like 8 years cuz u jar can beat the “proper black belts” once u have enuf points **** ******** grades u on ur katas. NOT ur dojo so if u suck even though u have all the points no shodan