Black Belt Duration

[Gyakuto]

I was just curious, how long have you been a black belt?

I was awarded mine in 1986 after five years of obsessive training (and the physicality that comes with youth) in Wado Ryu Karate, by a grading panel headed by Tatsuo Suzuki 8th Dan Hanshi, but ceased that art a couple of years later in favour of Kendo and eventually Iaido, so I wouldn’t say I’ve been a practising Dan grade in Karate for 37 years! Had I continued training in Karate, I’d either be a wizened, grey-bearded old master or in a wheel chair by now!

 

[_Simon_]

5 days

 

[Gyakuto]

5 days

Yay!

 

[HighKick]

I was just curious, how long have you been a black belt?

I was awarded mine in 1986 after five years of obsessive training (and the physicality that comes with youth) in Wado Ryu Karate, by a grading panel headed by Tatsuo Suzuki 8th Dan Hanshi, but ceased that art a couple of years later in favour of Kendo and eventually Iaido, so I wouldn’t say I’ve been a practising Dan grade in Karate for 37 years! Had I continued training in Karate, I’d either be a wizened, grey-bearded old master or in a wheel chair by now!

Me too!
I received my TKD (WT & MDK) 1st Dan in '86. Since then, I have also belted in Shotokan and Kali, both in the '90's. 7th, 5th, 1st, 1st respectively.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I dunno. If I had to guess 14ish years for my first, 9ish years for my second (different art). But those could be off - I don't practice either of those arts anymore, and stopped paying attention to rank/when it was acquired a while ago. In the art I train now, I was awarded the equivalent of a 2nd degree black belt (per my instructor) sometime before covid, but it doesn't go by belts/dan rankings, and I've also only been self-training it for the last year, supplementing with muay thai which I've got no ranking in.

So I guess the answer is I'm not a practicing dan grade?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I dunno. If I had to guess 14ish years for my first, 9ish years for my second (different art). But those could be off - I don't practice either of those arts anymore, and stopped paying attention to rank/when it was acquired a while ago. In the art I train now, I was awarded the equivalent of a 2nd degree black belt (per my instructor) sometime before covid, but it doesn't go by belts/dan rankings, and I've also only been self-training it for the last year, supplementing with muay thai which I've got no ranking in.

So I guess the answer is I'm not a practicing dan grade?

It gets confusing and is one more reason I don't pay attention to rank anymore.

 

[Gyakuto]

It gets confusing and is one more reason I don't pay attention to rank anymore.

Yes, I can see that.

I used the term ‘black belt’ which I generally despise so that people with sashes, belts, and hakama etc could contribute.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I got my black belt in the Bujinkan sometime around 1989 or so, but I only stayed active in the Bujinkan for a few years after that.

I got my black belt in an American eclectic style of kickboxing in 2000. (Awarded by my Muay Thai instructor who was also a karate black belt and was briefly experimenting with awarding belt ranks. He never got around to formally naming his personal style and only awarded a handful of belts before abandoning the experiment.)

I got my black belt in BJJ in 2015. I'd estimate that the effort and technical ability required for the first two black belts combined equals about 10% of what went into earning my BJJ BB.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I was just curious, how long have you been a black belt?

I was awarded mine in 1986 after five years of obsessive training (and the physicality that comes with youth) in Wado Ryu Karate, by a grading panel headed by Tatsuo Suzuki 8th Dan Hanshi, but ceased that art a couple of years later in favour of Kendo and eventually Iaido, so I wouldn’t say I’ve been a practising Dan grade in Karate for 37 years! Had I continued training in Karate, I’d either be a wizened, grey-bearded old master or in a wheel chair by now!

Started training in Isshinryu in 2008 as a white belt at age 46.
Earned my Shodan in 2013.
Earned my Nidan in 2015.
Earned my Sandan in 2018.
I am 63. I kind of doubt I'll earn my Yondan; my physical condition is deteriorating and my kata are worse, not better. But I'm fine with it.

 

[EJC]

34 years

• Started in 1980
• Shodan in 1988
• Nidan in 1989

 

[Gyakuto]

Do we have any really high ranking practitioners on here? 6th Dan plus (or equivalent)?

 

[Gyakuto]

I got my black belt in the Bujinkan sometime around 1989 or so, but I only stayed active in the Bujinkan for a few years after that.

I got my black belt in an American eclectic style of kickboxing in 2000. (Awarded by my Muay Thai instructor who was also a karate black belt and was briefly experimenting with awarding belt ranks. He never got around to formally naming his personal style and only awarded a handful of belts before abandoning the experiment.)

I got my black belt in BJJ in 2015. I'd estimate that the effort and technical ability required for the first two black belts combined equals about 10% of what went into earning my BJJ BB.

It’s interesting you should point out the disparity in BJJ ranking and say Bujinkan. I often wonder if this is a common trait amongst the ’newer arts/associations’.

 

[EJC]

Do we have any really high ranking practitioners on here? 6th Dan plus (or equivalent)?

Ranking doesn't mean much. I know all of the "high ranking" black belts in my original dojo — where I still practice occasionally. Not a single one knows anything about the application of the techniques in the kata or kumite beyond the scripted yakusoku kumite (fixed sequences). They're very good at imitation but that's all. I have been a Nidan for 34 years, but will never rank any higher because I won't play the political games: I won't belong to an association or alter my kata because someone with a higher rank does some moves slightly differently.

 

[Gyakuto]

Ranking doesn't mean much.

To some, that’s true but that wasn’t my question. I was just curious.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Do we have any really high ranking practitioners on here? 6th Dan plus (or equivalent)?

Yes. I am not one of them, but yes. There are a couple, though the ones I'm thinking of don't come on too often. The highest I can think of off the top of my head is an 8th dan in tkd. I just checked that individuals profile, and he last posted about a month ago. I think though in general, the people who are focused on becoming that high in their relative organization, aren't going to be posting on forums like this and risk messing up whatever internal politics they've got going on.

For that reason as well, I'm not going to list which members are 6th dan plus, in case they need to keep their rank/identity private.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

26 years in my current martial art and I hold no rank whatsoever. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Maybe I should protect my secret better…

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Do we have any really high ranking practitioners on here? 6th Dan plus (or equivalent)?

It’s hard to say what “equivalent” means when different organizations have very different standards for what a rank means.

I recently received the 3rd degree on my BJJ black belt. Unlike most dan/kyu systems where a newly promoted black belt is referred to as a “1st degree black belt”, BJJ starts out zero-based and the 1st degree is typically awarded 3 years after the original black belt. So I’m technically on my 4th level of black belt ranking. In any case, my rank represents roughly 24 years of consistent hard work, study, and sparring.

It’s interesting you should point out the disparity in BJJ ranking and say Bujinkan. I often wonder if this is a common trait amongst the ’newer arts/associations’.

I don’t know if it has anything to do with older or newer arts. The Bujinkan just happens to be on the low end of the typical range of what is required for black belt rank, while BJJ is generally regarded to be on the higher end.

 

[Gyakuto]

Yes. I am not one of them, but yes. There are a couple, though the ones I'm thinking of don't come on too often. The highest I can think of off the top of my head is an 8th dan in tkd. I just checked that individuals profile, and he last posted about a month ago. I think though in general, the people who are focused on becoming that high in their relative organization, aren't going to be posting on forums like this and risk messing up whatever internal politics they've got going on.

Yes indeed. There were a couple of high rankers on an old forum I was on and one, at least, was very open and honest and would answer any question….it was so refreshing. He eventually and by sheer circumstance became my teacher! But he knew that at 7th Dan and a Westerner in a very conservative art, he was never going to grade again.

For that reason as well, I'm not going to list which members are 6th dan plus, in case they need to keep their rank/identity private.

I think that’d be breaching the data protection act or whatever equivalent you have in the USA.

 

[Gyakuto]

It’s hard to say what “equivalent” means when different organizations have very different standards for what a rank means.

I recently received the 3rd degree on my BJJ black belt. Unlike most dan/kyu systems where a newly promoted black belt is referred to as a “1st degree black belt”, BJJ starts out zero-based and the 1st degree is typically awarded 3 years after the original black belt. So I’m technically on my 4th level of black belt ranking. In any case, my rank represents roughly 24 years of consistent hard work, study, and sparring.

I don’t know if it has anything to do with older or newer arts. The Bujinkan just happens to be on the low end of the typical range of what is required for black belt rank, while BJJ is generally regarded to be on the higher end.

Most importantly, can you levitate? 😐