Becoming a Black Belt, what does it mean to you?

[UselessDave]

Doesn't matter in the end, or is impossible to say exactly. But I find it funny for anyone to go ranking before even a year after the last ranking. We have there after second brown it's at least a year.. it's very little, but I suppose it's because it is a black belt so .. whenever you're ready? However It is not so good idea to stick too long in one belt if you shoud have moved on for a long time ago.

[quinteros1963]

It means that I reached a goal I set for myself years ago. A goal that back then meant everything, but now does not. Why? Its just a belt. I have been a brown belt for nearly two years. Mentally I am already a black belt so when I get the certification it will not mean as much as I thought. Karate is becoming more mental to me than anything else.

Where I train it takes about 18 months from 3rd kyu to 1st Dan.

[bushido_man96]

Its that whole learning process that takes place; the belt means something early on, and keeps us motivated. Eventually, the belt fades, and all that's left is the training.

[Dobbersky]

Its that whole learning process that takes place; the belt means something early on, and keeps us motivated. Eventually, the belt fades, and all that's left is the training.

I like this ethos, excellent, thank you my friend

[bushido_man96]

Its that whole learning process that takes place; the belt means something early on, and keeps us motivated. Eventually, the belt fades, and all that's left is the training.

I like this ethos, excellent, thank you my friend

Thank you, Dobbersky!

[ChristianeHigashi]

there is no real answer to this IMO.

It's taken me almost 5 years to get 3rd kyu brown belt which i got a few days back..im 18 now & i've worked pretty darn hard for that, trained hard, not missed a grading, passed all of my gradings with a 1st class pass & i do Higashi (wado)

I went to a shotokan club for a few weeks and i was shocked to see kids under 12 with 2nd and 3rd brown belts that had little to no solid technique,, i asked them out of curiosity how long they have been training and they said a year-2 years..

People seem to be handing out black belts like theres no tomorrow which 100% takes the meaning from the BB.

It's probably going to take me another 2-4 years until i get mine if i keep the training up & then i'll be proud to have it because i will know ive earned that from a good few years of dedication and hard work. i wouldnt have it any other way.

[pathgen]

My opinion is that it doesn't even matter very much.

When i was younger i trained and received my brown belt in a shotokan type karate. I then took a 5 year break and now have been training for 9 months in traditional shotokan.

I will cherish the black belt that i hope to earn one day, but its more of a symbol of the time i put in my training from day 1. It will mean something to me because i have earned it. I don't want it to mean anything else.

However, its not like this belt will protect me in the street or even prove valuable in fight. Simply having a blackbelt will not ward off enemies if I don't learn how to use my punches and kicks in the first place.

So if you train for 1 year or 12 to get that piece of cloth around your waste doesn't matter. What matters is the truth of your karate or martial art and that you really are skilled. Otherwise you can just buy the damn belt for $50 and save yourself the trouble.

[sensei8]

My opinion is that it doesn't even matter very much.

When i was younger i trained and received my brown belt in a shotokan type karate. I then took a 5 year break and now have been training for 9 months in traditional shotokan.

I will cherish the black belt that i hope to earn one day, but its more of a symbol of the time i put in my training from day 1. It will mean something to me because i have earned it. I don't want it to mean anything else.

However, its not like this belt will protect me in the street or even prove valuable in fight. Simply having a blackbelt will not ward off enemies if I don't learn how to use my punches and kicks in the first place.

So if you train for 1 year or 12 to get that piece of cloth around your waste doesn't matter. What matters is the truth of your karate or martial art and that you really are skilled. Otherwise you can just buy the damn belt for $50 and save yourself the trouble.

A very solid post!!

[etali]

I'm 3rd Kyu at the moment (I have been for a few months now). I expect it to take between 1 year and 18 months from when I got my 3rd Kyu to get to test for my black belt.

The style that I train in has a slightly unusual system of grading, in that the gradings all the way up to 1st Kyu are quite hard to fail. There are 1st, 2nd and 3rd class passes, whereas for the black belt, you either perform at first class level or you fail.

Some of the younger students are so obsessed with belt chasing that they soar up the Kyu grades getting second and third class passes, then end up failing their black belt tests and getting a nasty shock.

I'm not sure I like the class system, as it means there's quite a range of qualities at each belt level (and I do wonder what a student visiting from another school would think!), but our black belts are all awesome - and I guess that's what really matters.

[bushido_man96]

I'm not sure I like the class system, as it means there's quite a range of qualities at each belt level (and I do wonder what a student visiting from another school would think!), but our black belts are all awesome - and I guess that's what really matters.

Our colored belt system has a "recommended" and "decided" grading subsystem. Basically, the "decided" is like getting a + on your grade, like the difference between an A and an A+. I don't mind it at all. Everyone has different abilities, and everyone can't be judged the same.

There are also varying degrees of being good. Some people are very sound technicians, and their bodies are built so that every kick and technique they do looks so tight and awesome. My instructor is tall and lean, and he has very tightly chambered kicks, and has good power all around. I'm rather hefty, and am quite a bit shorter. Being stockier, I don't develop the same tightness to the chambers of my kicks, so I can't compare my technique to his very well; to me, his will always look better. But, then there are some people who might be more powerful with their hand techniques, or better at sparring, or have had multiple chances to defend themselves, and have excelled in those areas. So, I think there are varying things that MAists can be good at, and still be different enough that you can't pick out at first sight why one is a certain rank and another is higher or lower.