Many of you reading this article may already be well on your way to becoming a black belt in your chosen martial art. Some of you may just be starting out on your journey and others may have reached the coveted black belt and are now working towards higher degrees of the black belt.
How long were you told it should take you to get the black belt? Two years? Three years? Five? Ten? Why does it take so long to get a black belt? This article will help to answer your questions.
In general, it takes about 3 to 5 years to get your black belt in most legitimate martial arts. This timeframe can be shortened or lengthened based on several factors such as your commitment to your training, your overall technical ability, your ability to learn and digest new material, and other factors.
Is three to five years a long time? It depends on how you look at it. If you practice martial arts twice a week for one hour each session then in three years you will have only done 312 hours of martial arts practice. That does not sound like a lot of time spent on becoming a black belt over a three-year time span.
Looking at it differently if you practice martial arts twice a week for 1 hour each session then after four years you will have done 624 hours of martial arts practice ñ twice as much as the first example but only one more year of training. This kind of schedule seems to be more acceptable.
The next thing to consider is the curriculum specific to your style of martial arts. If we look at the art of Shotokan Karate as an example, by the time you are black belt you should have a high level of knowledge of about 20 to 25 major techniques that account for your basic punches, blocks, kicks and strikes, about 10 different forms (kata) and 5 major types of sparring drills. These include multiple set defenses that should be memorized and practiced until they become second nature.
These are just the main requirements for the black belt and this does not include some of the additional content that is practiced on the way to black belt. When you put this information into the context of the suggested timeframe above you can probably now see why getting a black belt takes a considerable commitment of time and effort.
Getting a black belt is not intended to be easy. The black belt is an esteemed symbol of a person's technical skill and martial arts knowledge and is something to be proud of achieving. Ultimately, the time it takes to get your black belt should not be your primary concern. Your focus should center on improving your martial arts skills and on improving yourself as a person. By doing this it will only be a matter of time before you reach your desired black belt goal and it will not matter to you whether it takes 3 years or 6 years. All that will matter is that you accomplished your goal!
Keep training and good luck on your quest for the black belt.
Good luck and best wishes on your journey in martial arts.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Why Does It Take So Long To Earn A Martial Arts Black Belt ?
Friday, May 9, 2014
Why Are Basics So Important In Martial Arts
Do I have to practice this again? I know how to do it already. Why can I not learn the next punch and the next form? Do I still have to do the things that WHITE BELTS do?!?
Have you ever felt annoyed with your instructor for having you drill basics when you already know them? You are not alone. Basics again? is a common question asked by martial arts students. In fact, you could probably handle some of the more advanced techniques but slow down grasshopper; your sensei has good reasons for drilling on basics.
After all, who doesn't remember the classic scene in the movie The Karate Kid where Mr. Miyagi has Daniel-san wax on and wax off for hours on end to the point of frustration? Daniel-san is made to polish cars and paint fences until he cannot take it any more. At this point Mr. Miyagi steps in to enlighten Daniel-san as to the value of what the young apprentice has just been practicing. Suddenly Daniel-san understands the value of basic training and fundamentals!
Think about building a house. If we had all four walls already measured out and put together and we rested one wall against the other securing each in place we could make other people think that our house was secure. Until the first strong wind came! Suddenly the house is blown down and nothing is left. What do we do? We leave and move somewhere else and try to rebuild.
This whole scenario is much like the Karate student who neglects basics and thinks they know it all. They stay with one club for a while and then they move on to another club, looking for the latest "silver bullet" technique.
So what should we do with our house? First, it is essential to lay the foundations; then build the walls, add the roof, paint it, furnish it, make the outside look good and then live in it. Sometimes we live in our house before any of the inside and outside necessities are done!
In the same way martial arts practice must begin with basics. With basics, we lay the foundations of our practice. Through consistent practice and hard work, we add the roof so that we have a more sturdy structure for our house (our martial arts). Then we paint the house and furnish it (we make our martial arts look good). Then we make the outside of the house look good (we further polish our martial arts and iron out the inevitable kinks).
Finally, we live in our house and begin to appreciate its beauty and its value in our lives (now we are able to enjoy and apply our knowledge that we have gained through our training).
Hopefully we live in our house for a long time and we gradually feel more and more at home and more and more comfortable with our surroundings (now we are beginning to have a deeper understanding of martial arts and its application to our lives).
I hope that you live in your house for many years to come, or if you move, I hope that you appreciate the time and effort it takes to build a house. Building your martial arts practice is the same! It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of practice of basics to make it strong!
Good luck and best wishes on your journey in martial arts.
