How Young for Shotokan Black Belt

[homelearnin]

Hi,

My son is 12 and has been in Shotokan Karate for almost a year. How long does it usually take to earn a Black Belt? Does the child's age affect his being able to earn a BB?

He loves it and I think he will stick with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WySWDlUWDNY

[Toptomcat]

Times for achieving black belt vary widely, because there is no one, universal standard for black belt- each school and style sets its own guidelines. It is by no means a universal standard of quality like a professional certification or college degree, though many people have that impression.

Age affects focus, muscular strength, speed, and coordination, among other things. Your son's age will affect his ability to earn a black belt to the degree that your karate dojo views these qualities as requisite for a black belt.

Try not to focus overmuch on the gaining of belts, which are essentially arbitrary and inexact indicators of how much progress has been made: focus instead on motivating your son to achieve excellence in karate regardless of the color of the belt on his waist.

[homelearnin]

Thank You. I really don't know anything about Karate or Martial Arts. But since my boy has decided to take classes, I'm trying to learn a little about it, and what to expect from him.

[skullsplitter]

Where my son trains it is a minimum of 4 years for black belt

[Dr. Frank]

As noted standards will vary wildly.

My 1st instructor expected at least 6 years of study for shodan. Took me 6.5 years. I now realize he was slow in making promotions.

My current instructor thinks 3 years is good. This seems a bit fast for me, but it's his dojo and he makes the rules.

Be aware that rules may vary for kids. There may be a junior rank for under 16 or 18. Even though my current sensei is fast for making black belts he refuses to promote anyone under 18 to black belt. Even his own son was a brown belt for 9 years until he turned 18.

[Ti]

Times for achieving black belt vary widely, because there is no one, universal standard for black belt- each school and style sets its own guidelines. It is by no means a universal standard of quality like a professional certification or college degree, though many people have that impression.

Age affects focus, muscular strength, speed, and coordination, among other things. Your son's age will affect his ability to earn a black belt to the degree that your karate dojo views these qualities as requisite for a black belt.

Try not to focus overmuch on the gaining of belts, which are essentially arbitrary and inexact indicators of how much progress has been made: focus instead on motivating your son to achieve excellence in karate regardless of the color of the belt on his waist.

ditto.

Ina nutshell, it takes as long as it takes.

[pers]

Hi,

My son is 12 and has been in Shotokan Karate for almost a year. How long does it usually take to earn a Black Belt? Does the child's age affect his being able to earn a BB?

He loves it and I think he will stick with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WySWDlUWDNY

Take great care which school of karate he goes to regradless of style ,they may call it shotokan karate but quality of instruction is very important .... I saw the video .....don't worry about how long it takes for a black belt ,learning in a good club something of quality is far more important .

[mudansha]

At our school, the minimum time for a black belt is around 6 years. if a recipient is under 16 years of age, he is given a "Shodan Sho" which is a black belt with a white stripe through the center of the belt. At the age of 16, he is allowed to test for a full black belt.

[homelearnin]

Hi,

My son is 12 and has been in Shotokan Karate for almost a year. How long does it usually take to earn a Black Belt? Does the child's age affect his being able to earn a BB?

He loves it and I think he will stick with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WySWDlUWDNY

Take great care which school of karate he goes to regradless of style ,they may call it shotokan karate but quality of instruction is very important .... I saw the video .....don't worry about how long it takes for a black belt ,learning in a good club something of quality is far more important .

Are you saying it doesn't look correct in the video? I have heard that some schools pretty much just hand out belts. I was concerned, but actually, this is the only school within 50 miles of us.

She has had students win medals with the USA Karate Team , which makes me more confident about the school. I know a few of the older students have won tournaments here and in other countries. Like I said, I know next to nothing about Karate so I'd like to hear people's opinions.

[Lupin1]

Are you saying it doesn't look correct in the video? I have heard that some schools pretty much just hand out belts. I was concerned, but actually, this is the only school within 50 miles of us.

She has had students win medals with the USA Karate Team , which makes me more confident about the school. I know a few of the older students have won tournaments here and in other countries. Like I said, I know next to nothing about Karate so I'd like to hear people's opinions.

I'm guessing the kid on the end is your son since the camera's focusing on him. I know different schools have different standards, but considering he's a pretty low belt in that video and the school seems to have a lot of belts, I don't know how much people can judge the school based on how a beginner performs. But are those kids next to him wearing black belts? That's what's concerning me, not just because they're very young to be wearing black belts, but because they look very off-balance and uncoordinated the vast majority of the time. That's fine for the lower belts even if a lot of schools do have different standards (some schools move them through the lower belts quickly and then tightens up at the end), but if those other kids are wearing black belts, it makes me take pause.