"mcdojo"

[monkeygirl]

I think that it shouldn't take more than 3 years to attain a black belt. After all, the most accepted definition of the skill level of a black belt is that they are a student who has mastered the basic concepts of their art. If it takes you longer than that to learn the basics of an art, then you are being swindled or not being properly taught.

 

For the most part, I agree with this statement, and I'll tell you why:

 

Far too many people look at Black Belt as "the end". I cannot tell you how many parents I have heard say they wanted their kid to "finish". Ideally, can we ever really "finish"? Without a doubt, a Black Belt is a high honor and esteemed achievement that shouldn't be given lightly, BUT, it does not mean the wearer must be perfect. That's why there are multiple degrees of black belts. 1st degree Black Belt is not the end: as many have said, it is indeed the true beginning. So if it takes you longer than three or four years to "begin", that seems a little long to me. That's also why I don't really have a huge problem with "young" black belts (black belt is just another color in the system...nobody complains about 8 year old brown belts). Of course, there are always extreme exceptions, so I'll try not to overgeneralize. For the most part though, I think 3-4 years is a good time period.

 

Anyway, I'll stop myself before I turn this into an off-topic tangent instead of a related example.

[SevenStar]

I complain about 8 year old brown belts...

 

Black belt is not the end, but a lot of people not surrounded by the ma world know that. They see black belt as mastery. However, even though it's not the end, it should be a sign of extreme proficiency, and that's not always the case. When I was an orange belt in karate, I was beating some tkd black belts I knew - that should never have happened. They shoulda wiped the floor with me. They did not deserve to be black belts, IMO. Although black belt is not the end, it's definitely not the beginning, and your skill should reflect such.

[SevenStar]

 

Care to expand on that?

 

See my above reply to monkeygirl.

 

As for Norris, I don't think that's true - I used to train at one of his schools. Even if it is, he trained 6 days a week, for about 5 hours a day, while he was in Korea. He trained in both judo and tang soo do. When he left Korea, he was a black belt in TSD and a brown in judo. So, however long he was in korea is how long he trained before getting his black belt.

 

Hey I'm just telling what I read in his autobiography, any problems with that should be taken up with Mr. Norris.

 

As I said, even if that is true, he was training 5 hours a day, six days a week. That's about equivalent to 3 day a week 1hr classes for two years, which is IME about what it takes for the avg person to get a black belt in tkd.