Discrepancies

[marie curie]

Hehe, well that makes a little more sense

[Dobbersky]

Sensei's, Sempai's and Kohai's

The average time to reach shodan in Karate is 3 1/2 years. It took me 7 years (although I changed styles a few times). Although there are a few Okinawan styles that take 8 years to get to Shodan.

I must add that Grading is NOT what karate is about. I have students myself and I grade them as and when they are ready (although there is around a 3-4 month gap). Some take longer but I never put someone in for grading who will not pass. Hence some have trained for 2 years and are 5th Kyu's and some are 7th Kyu's etc.

If you wish to practice Karate for the rest of you life then it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get to blackbelt. For example, who would you rather fix your car, a mechanic with 2 years experience or a mechanic with 5 years experience?

With regards to your friend, I suppose she may have picked up the techniques Kata's very quickly and may have possibly double-graded which although I have done this once as I was already an experienced Karateka, I still think it is quite rare.

I do think Grading every 2 months is not long enough to learn the actual concept of what the kihons, kata etc are about.

I would say that your 2nd Kyu Grade will be worthy of you when you get there.

I will leave you with this

Karate is but a journey through life, do not rush to the end as you will miss all what awaits you to assist you on your way.

Find peace and your journey will be a good one

Osu

[gichinfunakoshi]

yes i would agree that 5 years is an awful long time to spend only to get to second kyu, and it is this sort of teaching which bores people and pushes them away from karate in the first place.

[shogeri]

In what I teach:

18 months to provisional black belt, and three years to certified instructor...A guideline which is laid out for the over-achiever...The Focus is on combative fighting, and the basics, over and over...weight is given to that more than to the kata and or drills, which are secondary...

If someone was just learning kata, why not give em one in 3 to 6 months if they learned all the moves properly and could explain them, and demonstrate. The person and their personal experience and what they get out of it, regardless of time, is all that matters...which in turn, what they can give from that point on is just as important...

later!

[nago]

I would also agree that 5 years is a long time to get to 2 kyu, if indeed the individual is training on a regular schedule. What matters the most is whether or not you are getting what you want out of your training. Although belt color and/or rank can become a topic of conversation it really has no bearing on individual abilities.