Question for ya'll please

[Shotokan-kez]

I agree with a lot of points here. If your instructor says your ready then maybe you really are. Two years is quite a long time, so maybe you can re-assess the situation then and see how your feeling. I'm similar to you as far as confidence goes, im hoping to grade for my black belt in april and my confidence isn't so good. But i know that i have to just get up there and get on with it.

Your school and instructor sound really genuine and thats great!

[savedbygrace]

One 2 1/2 hour class a week is about the same training time as 45 minutes 3 times a week. And people who go to class 3 times a week might practice at home less often as those who train once a week. So I don't think lack of training time should be a factor. nstructors, especially in large school set up rigid testing cycles. In those schools, really good students might be promoted slower than they should and weak students might be promoted faster than they should. You are in a very small school and so testing is probably based on the progress of each individual student. Are there any senior students in your school? If there are, do they show skill level appropriate for their rank, if they do, don't worry about being promoted too quickly.

Shotokan is known for having lots of part-time instructors who believe in doing things in a very traditional and high quality way - it sounds like your instructor is one of those, so again, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Is your school in an association? Many shotokan organizations have black belt promotions supervised by higher ranked black belts, which again, ensures high quality.

And lastly, if you enjoy your school, get along well with your instructor and feel that you are getting high quality training, don't worry about how fast or slow you get promoted - it's only a piece of cloth.

Thank you all for your comments. I'll try to answer some of the questions. There are 2 other black belts in our class that sometimes teach and help. They are both very proficient, perform excellent katas, and are very good fighters, so that makes me feel good. I know of 3 other people that received their black belt while under my instructor, but they have all moved off. The 3 I know are very good....katas, fighting, ect. The only organization that we are under is the Mississippi karate association. When we have tests, my instructor invites other black belts (usually 3rd degrees and up) from around our area to help judge. He told me that there will probably be 4-5 different instructors there (including himself) as judges whenever the time comes to test for brown and black. Anyway, I guess my confidence is just not up to par but I hope it will grow with time. I dont want to get "cocky" just confident.

[ps1]

Someone before me here already mentioned that you actually train more than you think. I've seen alot of people say you need x many years to earn black and so forth. But look at it this way. 2.5 hr/wk = 130 hr/yr. Now the average class is 45 min to an hour most places. If I'm not being to assumptive let's just average 4.5 yrs to the normal black belt with 2 days of training per week. That's 45min (.75hrs)x2 days/wk x 52 wks/yr= 78hr/yr.

130 hr/yr x 3 yrs=390 hrs of training by the time you earn black

78 hr/yr x 4.5 yrs= 351 hrs of training on average.

Looks like you're right on track as far as time in the instructors presence. Of course what really matters is the amount of time you practice on your own. The isntructor is only there to teach new things and tweak your trouble areas. It's up to you to practice them and get skilled.

Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll be fine when the time comes. Best wishes.

[savedbygrace]

Again, thank you all for your responses. I wish some of ya'll lived in Alabama, I think alot of you guys and gals would be great training partners...

[ps1]

You're welcome. Keep on trainin hard!

[jaymac]

I would also like to mention that not only are you training for longer periods in one night, you said that there were few people training at once, which means more one on one instruction. That is awesome. My advice is don't worry about it right now. It is 2 years down the road. Think only of today and continue to do what you have already done.