Time to make rank?

[JDZNate]

I've been training for about 12 years total and I just started MMA about a year ago. The school is very big with about 300 students and it offers many different styles. Mainly kick boxing and traditional karate. The school is a franchise and they go through belts about every three months. I train about 8-15 hours a week but some student only about 1-2 hours a week. I enrolled my stepdaughter in classes who has very low selfesteem and is very shy, thinking that it would help her with dealing with obsticals in the real world.

When I was in TKD, it took years to earn a belt not three months. The instructors say that it keeps the students focused on a goal.

Edited January 8, 2006 by JDZNate

[dragons_wrath99]

Hmmmm... I disagree. I'm not an expert or anything, but it seems to me that the higher up in rank you get, the longer the intervals between belt testings. In my dojo also they hold testing every three months, so for us three months of training is the absolute minimum to go from white belt (our lowest rank) to yellow belt (the next rank up, I'm not positive on the kyus). To test for full black belt it takes an immensly long amount of time... years of training... you could never get black belt three months after obtaining your brown belt! Yikes, what a scary thought!

But then again, I suppose it varies from dojo to dojo.

[JDZNate]

Good point. It takes a while to go from Brown to Black. Thanks for straightening me out.

[karatekid1975]

For us, we go every three months till red. Then we test every six months for high red, prob BB, 1st dan. Between 1st and 2nd dan, there are three maintenence tests (again every six months). Then you test for 2nd dan, I believe (I haven't gotten that far yet LOL). It takes two years to get 2nd dan, anyways.

[Jiffy]

Generally in our school, the lower grades will tend to grade every 3 months. As they move along, the grades get further and further apart.

It will be 4 years by the time I go for my next grade. (since my last grading)

[patusai]

Depends on how many belts there are too. Today some have 10 or more belts. When there is just Green, Brown and Black the time between each is significantly longer then when there are 10. Besides, it aint like the old days anymore. Sometimes that's good too but sometimes it is not.

[SigungWhite]

In the Molum Pai Kung Fu System. A student may advance every three months. Once they hit the instructor level, then they may advance every two years. Once they are at the Instructor Level 5 then every five years they may advance.

Sigung White

[strangepair03]

We only have white, green, brown and black belts...I tested for my brown belk 15 months ago and am still training 4x a week. I figure I will test for shodan before or just after Thanksgiving.....maybe....

[Holland]

Isshirnyu is not formalized in testing patterns but this is what I do at my school. I set a minimum time in rank that you must serve at each belt. The minimum time is what I set for absolute top of the line students who rarely miss class. As the rank increases, so does the time it takes to get the next one.

For my school

White to Yellow (minimum 2 months, but most take 3-4)

Yellow to Orange (minimum 2 months, but most take 3ish)

Orange to Blue (minimum 2 months, most take 3ish)

Blue to Green (min. 4 months, most take 5-6)

Green to Purple (min 6 months, most take a good while longer)

Purple to Brown (min. 6 months, most take longer)

Brown to Black (1 year minimum...some take as long as two or more.)

In theory someone could ride the minimums to black belt in 2 years and 9 months...but I have run a school for 5 years and only 2 have beaten 3 years to black belt and both of those were fantastic students who barely did it. Most students, even the good ones, take 3.5 to 4 years to get sho-dan)

Edited April 17, 2006 by Holland

[Sohan]

We only have white, green, brown and black belts...I tested for my brown belk 15 months ago and am still training 4x a week. I figure I will test for shodan before or just after Thanksgiving.....maybe....

We are the same in our Shorin-ryu. White, Green, Brown, and Black. Takes 5-9 years to get to black, but we also study Shudokan so we are awarded belts in both styles.

The kids have yellow, orange, blue, purple and green belts for kukyu, hachikyu, shichikyu, rhokokyu, and gokyu. Takes about 6 months to a year or more for each belt level depending on skill and maturity. Once they get to gokyu they can join adult class, though some join earlier.

Respectfully,

Sohan