McDojos and TKD

[tufrthanu]

2 times a week for a total of 2 hours should get him in there in 3 years not 1.

[senna_trem]

I knew it! I knew that was freakishly quick! Thank you for your helpful information everyone!

[WILLIAM]

It took me five years . I have alway thalt that TKD student's test for cho dan to soon but thats just me .

[Ottman]

1 year is rediculously fast. I wonder if he was kukkiwon certified or not. Not that the kukkiwon is the greatest organization, but I do think that they hold reasonable standards. Of course everything is up to the instructor's discretion, but the current kukkiwon standards for dan testing state that if you are a certified 1st dan, you will have to wait 1 year before you can certify as a 2nd dan, and then 2 years as a certified 2nd dan before being able to be certified as a 3rd dan and so on in this fashion. An instructor can test his/her students at any pace he/she wants, but they will not be kukkiwon certified until these requirements are met. Not exactly sure what the kukkiwon requirements for obtaining a 1st dan are, but it took me 3.5 years and I was going for 1-2 hours a day every week day, and some saturdays as well, and that's pretty average for my school. No one from my dojang has done it in under three years (without previous TKD experience), and 4-5 is the norm.

[Nick_UKWC]

How many belts are there before black?

[Ottman]

depends on the school. When I went through the ranks there were 12 belt levels including pre-black belt at my dojang, now there are 21 belt levels, but we just test more frequently. It still takes the same amount of time to reach black. I think my instructor did this to keep her students more motivated and focused. I know it was tough for me when I'd go six months or longer without testing. I think I was a blue belt for almost an entire year without moving up. I saw a lot of people quit during the green and blue belt stages due to lack of interest and motivation, and I think this was due, in part, to not having enough opportunities to move forward and earn new belts. Everyone seems to love testing, and we take our performances at tests very seriously in my dojang. Now we have a test every 8 weeks and my instructor has added orange (between yellow and green) and purple (between green and blue) belts, as well as stripes between every colored belt, to give students more opportunities to test and recieve new belts. You'd probably test at every test until low green belt (8th belt) and then at every other test or so, as recommended by our instructor for the rest of the belt levels. She keeps a very close watch on all of her students though, and would not even allow someone to test if she didn't think that that student was ready for the next level. I think she uses this as a way to motivate those who are dedicated and to filter out those who just want the image of being a black belt martial artist. If you are denied the opportunity to test, while everyone else at your level is testing for the next belt, it will (IMHO) either motivate you to train harder if you're really dedicated to your martial arts, or it will tell you that martial arts aren't for you, if you're one of those who just wants to pay, put in your time, and get your black belt. This latter scenario isn't how things are done at my dojang. You either earn your belt, or you can spend a lot of time at the same belt level, and if you're really not dedicated to it, then it's time to find something else to do.

[tufrthanu]

I suppose it also gives her an opportunity to charge you for every test as well. 12 belts is too many. When my father took TKD in the early 70's there were only 5 belts. White, Yellow, Green, 5th Blue, 4th Blue, 3rd Brown, 2nd Brown and 1st Brown. At my current school there are 10 belts. I think any more than 10 is just too many...if you need that much of a reward process perhaps there is another field you can go into...or do tournaments.

[ramymensa]

5 years is too long IMHO. Unless you are going once a week every other week. If you have recieved a dan ranking in a similar art I would think the time would drop to months not years to learn the new material.

Check this out

 

In our Shotokan dojo it takes 7-8 YEARS to shodan. 4 classes a week. Not a minute less

 

 

It depends on many factors. IMO you should have some years under your belt to be ready for shodan. We are allowed to teach after that, I wouldn't like to be taught by a person who's spent 2 years in my style and got BB. I've been training for 3 years and I suck big time compared to peers who have studied more years. The differences between us, the sdvanced students and our BBs are HUGE. And it takes years to become good. many years

[tufrthanu]

Well ray we have a shotokan dojo here in MN that is somewhat famous and it takes along time to progress through the ranks there too. However I just dont see the justification for it. Although it could be your just not pushing hard enough. If I was told to do a side kick for 3 years before attempting a reverse side kick it would take me a long time too. If I was told to do the reverse side kick after the 2nd month I should have it down in fairly short order.

[Ottman]

I suppose it also gives her an opportunity to charge you for every test as well.

 

Perhaps, but she keeps testing fees relatively small (most of the money goes to pay for the belts.) Average testing fee is $25.00, depending on the level you're testing for, which compared to other dojangs in my area is very cheap. Most other masters charge around $50 per test. Also, the charge for stripe tests are only what it costs to purchase the belt, so it's pretty well managed from a financial perspective.

 

 

 

Strangely enough, not many people from my dojang compete in tournaments and the ones who do, do it very occasionally. I agree that 21 belt levels is a bit excessive, but my previous arguments still hold. There has been much less of quit rate amongst the middle belt levels after the new belts were introduced than before.