Testing

[koryu]

4-5 years, but shodan is never guaranteed. I got mine after training for about 4 1/2 years, but for 2 years of that, I was training at the dojo 5 days a week and also teaching classes. I've known for someone to take up to 8-10 years to reach the shodan level. It depends on the individual.

[cathal]

Eligibility is 4-5 years, no guarantees however.

[Buddhas Belly]

In the dojo where I got my BB ... an average of 9.5 years. The quickest was 5 years ... the longest was 14 ......... in reality, most took 8 years or so to reach BB.

[cathal]

Was that for Matsubayashi Shorin-ryu?

[Buddhas Belly]

Yes

[JimmyNewton]

i beleive it varies from dojo to dojo, sensei to sensei.

 

If you have someone extremely dedicated, practicing hard every day, never skipping class, training on his own compared to a student who only works out on class days, skips class, etc...you could see how the time frame to reach shodan should not be the same. on average though..i would say approx 5 yrs.