Blackbelt at 16?

[yojimbo]

I have heard many people argue that one should not be a blackbelt until the age of 16. However I feel that the deciding factor should not be age but skill. I am not under 16 nor do I have any children so this does not apply directly to me. Sure some young people don't have the maturity and/or strength that an adult may have but there are some under the age of 16 that do show a lot of maturity. That is why many dojos have employed the use of the junior blackbelt. If someone recieves the junior blackbelt at the age of 12 and continues his/her training until the age of 14 that person would most likley be more than ready for the blackbelt. If this person passes the test how can we deny them the blackbelt. Should instructors base their decision on maturity and skill and not have anything to do with age. What does everyone think?

[paolung]

i guess that depends on how you look at it...

 

for me, a black belt level requires maturity in addition to skill level, and most places allow or even expect a BB to assist in teaching. i don't know how well a 12 year old would be able to relate to teaching a skill to a 50 year old woman... i imagine it would be pretty difficult for both involved.

 

this doesn't mean it can't be done, i'm sure there are exceptions to the rule out there... but i personally have a difficult time seeing that working.

[ZeRo]

a black belt is just as black no matter who it is for, everyone should have to pass the same test no matter who they are.

[Treebranch]

I personally think if the kid is exceptional in his or her skills, why not? It can't hurt to give this person a black belt if they deserve it. Also I think if the Instructor thought it was right to give the belt to the student, who are we to question the decision that was made? It's not the fault of the student if the teacher is deceiving the student, if it is a deception to inspire younger students to stay in the class. Hopefully the student will live up to the BB and excel. I am skeptical about young Black Belts, but usually Black Belts signify the student is a level of proficiency to learn more advanced technique, it doesn't measure the lethality of the practitioner.

[SaiFightsMS]

This is a topic that comes up from time to time. Here are some other threads that pertain.

 

http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=7742&start=10

 

http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=880&start=70

 

http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=6960&start=40

[ninjanurse]

Treebranch makes a good point here. And while I have strong feelings about this topic in general I agree that there are times when it is appropriate and times when it is not. Instructors can be self-serving and promote students prematurely thereby giving martial arts a bad rap. Truely having the physical skill level of Black Belt is a whole lot different than having the character and maturity of one, and I am all for Junior Black Belt ranking until the student is truely ready. I also see no reason why a Jr. 1st Degree can't test for a Jr. 2nd Degree, etc.

 

[karate_woman]

I don't think anything magical happens at 16, but the student should have the character and maturity (as ninjanurse put it) to go along with the rank and not just pass the physical test.

 

 

 

I'm starting to long for the days when martial artists were just students, instructors, and various types of masters; it would save a whole lot of argument. Of course, in those days, I likely wouldn't have been allowed to train - even if I could have found a dojo - as I'm a woman. All we can do is try to be the best black belts we can, try to hold ourselves and our students to high standards and not worry about anyone else.

[SevenStar]

nothing magical...physical. When I was 17, I used to take full power kicks from 13 and 14 year old black belts just to show them that they weren't strong enough to hurt me. At the time, I was an orange belt in shotokan. They had better technique in forms, but I had way more strength and knew enough to kill them in sparring.

 

Now, think of them on the street. At BB, they have the confidence that they can defend themselves if need be - at such a young age, you will have trouble regardless of your training just because your body isn't mature.

 

Aside from that, there are other things, like teaching - how well can a 6th grader teach someone?

[three60roundhouse]

Aside from that, there are other things, like teaching - how well can a 6th grader teach someone?

 

I started my apprenticeship as a junior instructor in eigth grade....some of the higher rank kids have grown up with me; I'm going to be sixteen in a month and test for my BB in perhaps 4 or 5, and I'm teaching quite a bit now.

[IAMA_chick]

if someone under the age of 16 earns their blackbelt and can handle being one then they should get it. it is rightfully theirs.