training @ black belt level

[KNOCKuOUT]

Do you mean schools that would rather "hand out" belts and make money rather than honor the true value of martial arts?...

[DWx]

Politics concerning blackbelts can be quite expansive. I am assuming you've heard the term "McDojo"? So there's handing out belts to quite frankly very poor MAists who have just paid the right amount of money. Then you get the "junior" blackbelt issue where people disagree over the minimum age a person (child) can be awarded a blackbelt or if they should be awarded an alternative, ie. "junior blackbelt" and then make them test again when thy reach "adult age". Politics over blackbelts can also get into the realms of over "who certified your blackbelt? what org are you from?" etc.

The list just goes on....

[KNOCKuOUT]

I definitely know what you mean about the whole "who did you receive your belt from?" issue as well as your lineage. What is all of your opinions on junior black belts though?

[DWx]

My opinion is it depends on case to case.

My instructor's daughter for example is 8 or 9-ish, I think. Still in junior school. Anyway, she is a blackbelt but fully deserves it in my opinion. She can land hits on me when sparring and her head is about my elbow height. I don't go easy on her at all and I compete and place in sparring nationally. She has total control over her techniques and is IMO one of the best young martial artists I have come across. She also is mature enough in her approach to MA to know when and why she should or should not use her skills.

On the other hand, we have a young teenager who passed his blackbelt but wasn't really that exceptional and has been on the decline ever since. No matter how many times he is told to do something, he doesn't go away and practice it. He now struggles with new content and lacks any improvement his peers have made. It seems as though he is content with his belt and does not strive to become better. If I was in charge I would have demoted him or at least put him on some sort of warning.

[KNOCKuOUT]

So do you think there should be an age limit on getting your black belt?

[DWx]

So do you think there should be an age limit on getting your black belt?

I don't know to be honest. Normally I would expect a blackbelt's age to be into at least double figures but as with the young girl I described above, it varies from case to case. If I saw a 5 year old with a blackbelt alarm bells would start ringing. However for all I know the kid may be the reincarnation of Bruce Lee (with all his skills kept) and have the philosophical understanding akin to that of the Dalai Lama...

FYI, I was a blackbelt at the age of 14... technically I still am a junior even though I now hold my 2nd dan. Its kinda stupid really, I can drive a car, get married, have kids but technically at 17 I am still a junior blackbelt holder.

[Zanshin]

So do you think there should be an age limit on getting your black belt?

I don't know to be honest. Normally I would expect a blackbelt's age to be into at least double figures but as with the young girl I described above, it varies from case to case. If I saw a 5 year old with a blackbelt alarm bells would start ringing. However for all I know the kid may be the reincarnation of Bruce Lee (with all his skills kept) and have the philosophical understanding akin to that of the Dalai Lama...

FYI, I was a blackbelt at the age of 14... technically I still am a junior even though I now hold my 2nd dan. Its kinda stupid really, I can drive a car, get married, have kids but technically at 17 I am still a junior blackbelt holder.

Varies from school to school. In my association you can achieve junior shodan at around 14 years old but the dan grade status is not confirmed until you are 18. Furthermore, you are not permitted to grade to nidan until you are 21.

[G95champ]

Yes I don't think anyone under 15 should ever wear a black belt. By 15 one is able to do most the physical and start on the mental things you need.

[bushido_man96]

When you are on your path to black belt, you train several times a week, working your way to your goal of black belt. But my question is, when you become a black belt, how often do you train? More? Less? The same? And I know this usually is the preference of the black belt, but I am asking this to those who have reached black belt and are speaking from experience.

Throughout my Martial Arts career, I have spent different amounts of time training depending on what time was available to me. At one point, I did 2 days a week, 2 hour long classes a day, while I was a colored belt. When our club became a school, I would train 5 days a week, unless I had something come up. Once I got my black belt, I kept at it as often as I could, with the 5 days a week option. When I taught, I would try to train before teaching my classes.

Now that I have a family, my training is more sporadic than it has been in the past. I can usually make at least two classes a week at the school, and usually another hour session with a friend of mine, where we work on stuff like Defensive Tactics or Combat Hapkido. I do get some solo workout time, as well, but it is not ever guaranteed.

Having said all of that, I think that the training up to black belt level is just as important as training beyond the black belt level. After all, it is just another step up on the ladder.

[bushido_man96]

Why does there have to be a before and after blackbelt? Why should my training change just because one day I get handed a new belt and someone says "congratulations, you are now a blackbelt"?

I agree with you here. When the question of rank, black belts, and the like come up, I think of the various styles that don't use rank at all; Wrestling, Boxing, Muay Thai, JKD, and I am sure that there may be others. I am almost envious of these practitioners, because they are not bound by the limitations that rank can put on someone. I don't think that politics would have near as much affect on their training, either. When asked if they practice any MA, they just say "yes, I Box;" or "yeah, I Wrestle." No worries about time spent in rank, no queries about whether they came from a McDojo, or any of the like. When you train with others in such styles, there is a sense that everyone in the gym knows where everyone else is, as far as knowledge and skill level is concerned, and it is all done without the control of rank.