little black belts

[Aodhan]

Mike Chat was tested into the ATA as a 4th degree when he was 27. He was the blue power ranger, and is also the creator of the XMA system.

I don't have a problem with black belts at 9 or 10. Some people say that "Well, an adult could still kick their butt". True. But that is true of any 9 or 10 year old.

I'd rather have a 9 or 10 year old that has already shown the dedication to make it to black belt keep training, so that by the time they are 21, they can be an amazing 4th degree.

I think 4th degree is about the highest rank you should be able to achieve without starting to give something back, by teaching, owning a school, or doing something else along those lines.

Aodhan

[bushido_man96]

One of the major downfalls of a young black belt is that they tend to burn out. I hate to see potentially great young carreers peter out due to boredom.

[Sohan]

One of the major downfalls of a young black belt is that they tend to burn out. I hate to see potentially great young carreers peter out due to boredom.

Very true. Unfortunately that's the way it is with any youth sport where the child succeeds at a high level so young. Swimming, baseball, etc, the kids get bored and move on to something else.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[zerosl]

i see myself as one of those little black belts, i obtained the first dan level at quite a young age, of 12 and obtained the second dan before i was 14. i know my age may fool you, but i was very talented starting form age 7, although i did see others at my age or younger obtaining the belt before i obtained it, such as my little brother who obtained the black belt at around age 9! i never considered him a true black belt. i even doubted my own rank eventually, seeing the promotions just as something you can obtain through paying for the test. seeing this made me quit TKD and decided to study on my own through thoery

[ShoreiSmurf]

I agree with the fact that the youth can burn out. However, I do not think it is just an age thing. I have even seen adults achive high ranks and do awesome things in their martial arts training (and work) and just give it all up for something new

[Whitefeather]

The way it is set up in Shudokan (at least at the school I go to) is you have to be at least 15 or 16 to get shodan (via a tricky belt/half-belt system) and, once you are shodan-ho (ho meaning on probation), no matter your age, you have to go through a one year probation period, during which you basically have to behave yourself and be a good karateka and good person, and then you get your certificate and become an actual shodan. It works pretty well, and I think that is how it should work. When a kid is 10 or whatever and has a shodan (or worse, nidan) in any style, it puts a pit in my stomach. It is that type of thing that gives martial artists in general a bad name. There is simply no way (except in some crazy extraneous situation that I am sure some person will come up with) that a 10-year-old kid is going to be up to the level that a blackbelt (blackbelt being defined as having a firm grasp of all of the basic concepts of one's style and being fully comfortable with the use of those concepts in a defense situation) should be at.

David