Age requirements to reach Black Belt?

[KarateKen]

Do you believe that there should be an age requirement for a student to reach black belt, and if so, what age would it be? 

 

[sensei8]

I was a JBB for 5 years; those students that were not 18 years old for earning a Shodan but were very capable of passing the Testing Cycle for Shodan were awarded a JBB.

I’m not bitter…now…but I was for several years because I wasn’t mature enough to deal with my feelings.

Rank is not about one’s feelings, rank is about being effective on and off the floor!! 

It’s the way of Shindokan and the SKKA to NOT permit any student to apply for the Shodan Testing Cycle because minors aren’t mature enough to deal with the awesome responsibilities that come with Shodan.

At one time, as the Kaicho of the SKKA, I could’ve campaigned and partitioned the SKKA’s Higher Hierarchy to adopt the change in the SKKA’s By-Laws but that would’ve taken an unanimous vote. Seeing that we of the Higher Hierarchy were deeply dedicated/loyal to Soke and Dai-Soke, and those two wrote the SKKA By-Laws, we weren’t going to go against their wishes even if we wanted to, and we did want to, in this particular instance, no matter how close minded we were towards this issue, change wasn’t inevitable…not going to happen because as their students, we eventually learned that in this regard that their mindset was the correct decision. 

One could say we became brainwashed in this situation by obeying a By-Law that seemed to be stuck in the past…they could. BUT we didn’t see it that way.

You see, while one can bring a horse to water, but one cannot make the horse drink the water.

[Wastelander]

Black belt ranks are a strange thing. On the one hand, in Japan/Okinawa, the Shodan rank isn't a big deal, since it just means you have learned the basics in your system, and it isn't uncommon to achieve it in 2-4 years. On the other hand, because of the way karate was introduced to the West, the importance of the Shodan rank was inflated, and the length of time to earn it was extended, so it was more common to have to train very hard, learn more material, and spend 5-8 years training to earn it. On the other-other hand, we have McDojos and belt mills cheapening the accomplishment of earning the Shodan rank to something you just pay for in advance, and we have Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu establishing the belief that a black belt means you have mastered the art and takes 10+ years to earn. That's a lot of very different perspectives on what a black belt rank means, and what it takes to earn. There is no universal standard across all arts, of course, but there also is no universal standard WITHIN any given art. Judo and BJJ usually use competition success as a fairly objective benchmark for their ranks, but outside of that, you're generally going to be seeing very different standards in every school, even among schools that do the same style, or which are part of the same organization. Any rank only has value within the school it is issued, and to a degree within the organization it is issued, but that's about it.

Now, all that said, I personally do not like the idea of giving minors black belt ranks. Regardless of how Shodan is perceived in Japan/Okinawa, I am in the US, and the way we look at Shodan tends to be more akin to the way Sandan is seen in Japan/Okinawa. Plus, my late Sensei had the same requirements for his Shodans that the organization we were in had for GODAN, minus the minimum age and time-in-grade requirements, and it generally took an average of 8 strong years of training to earn a Shodan under him. He did issue junior black belt ranks a couple of times, but the youngest person my Sensei ever tested for a proper Shodan rank was 17, and that kid tested right alongside me, having to do the exact same test as a full-grown man in his mid-20s. I would say that it's pretty rare for a 17 year old to be able to do that, but it's possible, and I'm willing to make the exception here and there, but as a general rule, I prefer not to promote anyone under the age of 18 to Shodan. I want my students to have an adult level of understanding, skill, and maturity to go along with the rank.

[sensei8]

Minors seem to think that having Shodan by itself protects them from a very determined adult heck bent on destroying said minor. 

The lack of maturity in both techniques and mindset aren’t an imaginary problem. 

Not that I’d ever want to intentionally harm a minor, but if I ever did, that minor’s Shodan would not stand any chance against me. Their actions would only anger me at their blatant audacity.

My only advice to any minor that has ever  earned Shodan, and I do commend them for training hard to achieve Shodan, is…stay in your lane.

[Nidan Melbourne]

I can understand some reluctance to award a Black Belt to Minors. Something that needs to be reinforced in class, is that it isn't a "Force Field" that is going to protect them in different situations. 

Every respectable club should have standards for each rank, including each BB Rank. 

Now as anyone here would know; we all start our journey at different ages and stages of life. 

IMHO we are also quick to forget and compare where we were in our training at Shodan against our own students at the same time. 

Now as an Instructor, I look at students attempting their Shodan and compare to myself. And I look at how they can progress and be better than I was at the same time. 

When I sit down at gradings I look at: 

• Technical Ability 
  • Knowledge of Kihon, Kata and Kumite 
  • Bunkai
  • Self-Defence Routines
• Physical Ability 
  • How you do the above 
  • Strength, Endurance etc
• Knowledge 
  • Does the Candidate demonstrate their knowledge of how and when to exploit attackers
• Verbal 
  • How you communicate with Instructors and Candidates
  • Verbal Skills for De-Escalation 
  • Inter-Personal Skills 
• Values Presentation 
  • How does the Candidates values Shine during intense situations? 
  • How does the Candidates resolve their values where potentially violent situations arise.

 

24 minutes ago, sensei8 said:

Minors seem to think that having Shodan by itself protects them from a very determined adult heck bent on destroying said minor. 

The lack of maturity in both techniques and mindset aren’t an imaginary problem. 

Not that I’d ever want to intentionally harm a minor, but if I ever did, that minor’s Shodan would not stand any chance against me. Their actions would only anger me at their blatant audacity.

My only advice to any minor that has ever  earned Shodan, and I do commend them for training hard to achieve Shodan, is…stay in your lane.

I've commented on most of your points above. 

There is one thing that I do disagree with it your post; is "Stay in your lane".  It may be because I am closer to a Shodan in Rank than your decades of experience and current grade. 

Something that I was encouraged to do well after being awarded my BB was to question and ask the difficult questions. Question why 

 

[sensei8]

My “Stay in your Lane” is directed to minors that earn a Shodan and believe that they can be effective against an adult who’s only desire is to destroy said minor at any cost. It might happen, being effective against an adult; stranger things have.

I earned my JBB at 13. As a 13 year old JBB, I wasn’t effective against an adult. I was a scrawny little kid, and my brother, who was 20 years old when I earned my JBB, was still smashing me at will.

I learned real quick that even if I was a JBB, I needed to stay in my lane because my techniques and mindset was immature. Shodan’s in the dojo were destroying me at will even though I was able to get a technique or two in but it was very rare. 

5 years later, this JBB earned a Shodan and my brother wasn’t smashing me at will anymore.

Stay in your lane is NOT meant to be an insult whatsoever, it’s just some advice. 

 

Edited yesterday at 03:34 AM by sensei8