What age do you think is to young to have a blackbelt?

[Balrog]

A student that wears a black colored belt represents his Instructor and school. I think that 10 is a reasonable age for a talented, dedicated and tenured student to represent his/her school and Instructor.

Being a Black Belt is entirely different. To be a Black Belt, one must have humility, honor and respect. In order to get to the rank of black belt, one must have drive, determination, perseverance and dedication. To become a Black Belt, one must not worry about how he ranks compared to his fellow students.

Well stated. I have a phrase that I use (and probably overuse): You don't earn the rank, the rank earns you.

Being a Black Belt is a lot more than punching or kicking. It's internalizing the life skills that come with training and making them so much a part of you that you don't think about them any more, you just do them. And it's learning that there is so much more to learn. And it's a committment to others to be a leader by example in a very positive manner.

ILoveTKD, congratulations on making First Degree. But if you haven't found it out yet, you will quickly discover that making First Degree is like graduating from high school. You've spent all this time learning the basics of Taekwondo. Now you're gonna go to college, amigo, and start learning the art of Taekwondo, and it will take you the rest of your life. Have fun on the journey!

[MasterH]

Hi WW!

-Adam

[SubGrappler]

I think giving black belts to kids is what led to the watering down of martial arts in the first place.

Im of the opinion that one must be an adult (at least 18) before being eligible for a black belt. In my eyes, martial arts are supposed to be viewed as self defense (as many people try to turn it into some sort of religion) and promoting someone to what should be a coveted rank gives that person grave misconceptions about being able to defend himself. In other words, a kid will not be able to defend himself against a grown man, but he may have been persuaded otherwise because of his black belt.

A black belt should have the required tools to teach and understand his martial art and should also possess the physical skills to an exceptional degree of what it is hes becoming a black belt in.

In other words, he'd better be pretty good at sparring, fighting, or teaching.

[White Warlock]

Hi WW!

-Adam

lol

(( inside joke ))

[IloveTKD]

well now im having to learn the Koryo poomse and its really LONG!!!

[IcemanSK]

well now im having to learn the Koryo poomse and its really LONG!!!

I you grow to love Koryo poomse as much as I do. Its a neat form. Congratulation.

[karatekid1975]

I think Koryo is cool. I already know bits and peices of it .... ssshhhhh. Only because I'm a technique geek, and my boyfriend was asking me how to improve different combos in Koryo. I had to learn it first to answer his questions.

But, I think it will be my fav form when I do learn the whole thing.

[sk0t]

Koryo isnt long.

[karatekid1975]

I agree, sk0t. It's not long. I just have to learn a few more moves and I have it down. It's a pretty quick form to learn, but getting it RIGHT is what is tricky. Just like any form.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

I think giving black belts to kids is what led to the watering down of martial arts in the first place.

Im of the opinion that one must be an adult (at least 18) before being eligible for a black belt. In my eyes, martial arts are supposed to be viewed as self defense (as many people try to turn it into some sort of religion) and promoting someone to what should be a coveted rank gives that person grave misconceptions about being able to defend himself. In other words, a kid will not be able to defend himself against a grown man, but he may have been persuaded otherwise because of his black belt.

A black belt should have the required tools to teach and understand his martial art and should also possess the physical skills to an exceptional degree of what it is hes becoming a black belt in.

In other words, he'd better be pretty good at sparring, fighting, or teaching.

My position exactly! Being able to do the movmeents...heck, any monkey can do that (and have been trained to do so I might add), but being able to actually use tyhose skills when you need them is another story. Being able to pass on that information to others is also important, and a young person under the age of at least 16 (IMO) isn't capable of understanding the concepts needed to teach an art.