Just how long does it take.....?

[Krazy Carol]

Depends on the dojo, and the frequency and intensity level of training......a student who goes to 2 classes a day 6 days a week is gonna progress much faster than someone whos in class 2 nights a week.......It really is irrelevant though, considering that black belt is just the beginning.

 

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I have a very limited knowledge on Karate, this is the first Dojo I've ever trained at. I hear about McDojo's and Belt Factories. I just wanted a little feedback.

 

I'm at my dojo 4 days a week, training and teaching, I've been working there for the past year. I love it, I love the couple who run the School and the staff I work with. I love making a difference the the lives of the kids but when I look at how far I've come (in what I think of as a short amount of time) and think about my still limited knowledge, I worry about my rank and teaching title and wonder if I would have earned them at another dojo. Don't get me wrong I work hard, but is my Nikyu a Nikyu.

[Sandhoppa]

Depends on the dojo, and the frequency and intensity level of training......a student who goes to 2 classes a day 6 days a week is gonna progress much faster than someone whos in class 2 nights a week.......It really is irrelevant though, considering that black belt is just the beginning.

 

So I'm assuming you mean after you get your black belt that means you understand and have mastery of only the basics of the MA? I have a looong way to go! lol

[busling]

For the Wing Chun style in our school it takes between 6 and 10 years. Well at least that is the range that I have seen in my 2 years of attendance. 10 years was seen as a long time, he was a bit older and seemed to focus on attaining it only after a fare-time of crusing along. If I stay with it I could see 7 & 1/2 years for myself.

[traz]

about 4 years in my Hapkido dojang

[Master Jules]

Depends on the dojo, and the frequency and intensity level of training......a student who goes to 2 classes a day 6 days a week is gonna progress much faster than someone whos in class 2 nights a week.......It really is irrelevant though, considering that black belt is just the beginning.

 

So I'm assuming you mean after you get your black belt that means you understand and have mastery of only the basics of the MA? I have a looong way to go! lol

 

Thats what I mean.....but no matter who you are, no matter what Dan rank you are.....even a ninth degree.....we all have a long way to go....and always will. I say this because we strive to achieve a level of perfection we can never attain.

[Karate Kid]

My karate school (also Matsubayashi Ryu) has a heavy emphasis on technique and tenacity, and it takes an average of about seven years for one to reach black belt.

 

In my Hsing I class (kung fu), black belts are acquired in approximately four or five years.

[aefibird]

Thats what I mean.....but no matter who you are, no matter what Dan rank you are.....even a ninth degree.....we all have a long way to go....and always will. I say this because we strive to achieve a level of perfection we can never attain.

 

The striving to achieve it is an important part of personal development.

 

It also brings high level dan ranks down to a more 'human' level. Sometimes students can see great instructors and teachers as almost like martial arts 'gods' who know all there is to know, when really even the most knowledgeable master on earth can still learn and strive to improve.

[Shorin Ryuu]

The rank of shodan is extremely subjective (in a more or less sense, so are all the others, but ideally there should be a general trend of "getting better" the higher up you go, barring unfortunate cases that seem to be quite prevalent). I've been to very few places where those who recently achieved shodan were impressive (and in some of those places, they were incredibly impressive). There are quite a large number of those that do fail to impress me. The largest of these tend to not be as critically analytical or "learning" in their karate, and really just do what they're told without independent research.

 

In many cases, it's a lot easier to go get your shodan in Japan or karate, because to masters, even ranks up to yondan are still nothing. Recent times has seen more or less of this depending on the master, but the truth remains.

 

I could go on and on about the young nature of ranking and testing in karate, and indeed the misconceptions about what actually is traditional in karate, but I won't...(I had an article submission shot down on the topic, apparently).

 

Edit: Along the same lines as what some people have mentioned, it is simply a fine thing to be under an instructor who is still learning. I've been under some that were obviously not and in those cases, quickly parted ways with them.

 

Edit2: I may have been hasty about the whole article thing. I hear it takes a while for them to be posted.

Edited January 26, 2005 by Shorin Ryuu

[Krazy Carol]

I could go on and on about the young nature of ranking and testing in karate, and indeed the misconceptions about what actually is traditional in karate, but I won't...(I had an article submission shot down on the topic, apparently).

 

Edit: Along the same lines as what some people have mentioned, it is simply a fine thing to be under an instructor who is still learning. I've been under some that were obviously not and in those cases, quickly parted ways with them.

 

I'd like to read your article, is there a way to send it through this medium?

 

I do hear you, I see life as a chance to learn, I don't understand it when people for some reason feel there isn't anything more to learn.

[Shorin Ryuu]

Sure. I'll just pm it to you. I'll flatter myself by saying that if anyone else is interested, they can ask me for it. (It's a rework of an old post, so older members have seen it already)