Black Belt achievements

[TracyLou]

Hi,

I have heard it is easier/quicker to gain a black belt in TKD than it is in Karate, apparantly TKD do not have as many belts to get through, they are less strict and things are more relaxed.

I have no idea if this is true but I knew a woman who gained her BB in TKD in just over a year whereas some Karate students I know are still purple/brown after 3 years.

I have been to both a karate class and a TKD class and the TKD class did seem more relaxed and there were lots of high grades, little kids with brown belts etc that didnt seem *that* impressive in their techniques whereas the karate class seemed stricter, a low number of black/brown belts and a much *tighter* sense of technique, anyone not doing the moves perfectly were pulled up about it whereas in the TKD class the students seemed free to more or less do what they could and thats it.

Looking foward to hearing your opinions on this, I apretiate I could've witnessed unique classes that isnt representative of the MA.

[daizyblackbelt]

the answers you are going to get will depend a bit on the person answering, but here's mine:

The time it takes to reach black belt varies substantially from school to school. In my karate dojo, it can take up to 7 years to reach black belt if you start at a young age, or as little as 4 if you start as an adult and show a certain amount of skill. I have no direct knowledge of the requirements for black belt in TKD, but have seen 9 year old girls from certain TKD schools (read: McDojo) wearing black belts that didn't deserve it.

As for the relaxed attitude, that depends more on the school and the teacher. Some karate schools are almost military in their behavior, while others are much more relaxed. The same goes for TKD.

Now, from my personal experience, karate technique tends to be a little tighter. That's most likely because many traditional karate schools place a lot of emphasis on kata and basics and the fact that the TKD schools that i interact with tend to be more into the sport side of the martial arts and place more emphasis on flash than on effective technique.

My two cents.

[Jiffy]

The time at which it takes to gain black belt is dependant on the school, not the style.

[Akaratechick]

Jiffy is right, it is the school or the instructor.

I have been doing TKD for six years and do it three times a week and practice on the side every chance I get. I am at 2nd brown and am about to test in Dec. for 1st Brown. I took off a year for back surgery but my timeline is about right at our school. five to six years, maybe longer depending on the effort put in by the student. I will be asst. teaching for six months prior to testing for Black. You learn so much in these years that you can't in a year or two. If you did it every night for a year maybe you would be equipped physically, but save some blood sweat and tears and go to your local health club and work out. Black Belt is a huge accomplishment and the start of a lifetime journey. I am not saying it has to be five or six years but a year just isn't adequate. There should be junior black belt based on age.

[Zorbasan]

as for the amount of belts , i have been to 3 TKD schools now and 1 has had less belts than my current karate (9 gup grades) school and the other 2 were the same (10 gup/kyu).

[koryu]

Typically in my style, an adult can achieve a black belt ranking in about 4-5 years. However, there are several modern day, commercially focused (nicknamed "McDojo") dojos out there just in it for the money, and the faster you advance students, the more students come to the school, and the more money you get. I would be very leery of any dojo advancing students to black belt ranking in less than 3 years, even with prior training.

[bushido_man96]

Most TKD schools that I know of take about 2 years to achieve black belt. However, most that I have been associated with are very strict on technique, and I have not been involved with one that is strictly sport oriented. Why the differences arise in how TKD and Karate go about their grading, I don't know. The schools I have attended run on two month testing cycles, and usually have 9 colored belts leading up to black. If I ever run my own school again, I have considered using 3 month cycles for testings.

[Brandon Fisher]

Good TKD schools takes 3 to 4 years but I have seen plenty of TKD schools that guarantee a black belt in a year. That does not mean there are not karate schools that do this but its a common practice with McDojos to use the TKD name and its just one of the many reasons it is so wrong.

[parkerlineage]

Frankly, a black belt isn't what it used to be anywhere, anymore. And it's comparing apples and oranges - no one style is better than any other, no matter how long it takes to get a black belt.

[Brandon Fisher]

Frankly, a black belt isn't what it used to be anywhere, anymore. And it's comparing apples and oranges - no one style is better than any other, no matter how long it takes to get a black belt.

Thats very true. TKD just has gotten a shaky name becuase of shaky people using the name.