How much should a "yellow belt" know about an art?

[donald1]

That all depends on a couple factors
How long has he/she trained in martial arts?
How long has he/she been a yellow belt?
Who's is teaching them?

The average yellow belt is usually limited due to the fact that most people earn their yellow belt in less than a year. However there are exceptions

 

[skribs]

Donald, my post specifically said 2-4 months if you weren't sure of the time frame.

 

[JR 137]

I’m not an MA teacher; I’m an academic (science) and physical education teacher, so keep that in mind...

There’s going to be differences at where kids and adults should be at this stage. And there’s a good variation within each group (5 year old vs 10, etc.). Physical abilities and hinderances/disabilities also play an obvious and realistic role.

Kids - they pick up gross movements quicker, but generally take significantly longer to get the finer details right. Details like hands up and/or not too close or far out from their body, looking at the target, keeping the strikes at the appropriate target instead of off somewhere else, making a proper fist, etc. Take a roundhouse kick - kids will throw that kick better in a lot of ways than an adult initially, from just watching the kicking leg standpoint. But everything else will take quite some time. Look at basics - they need reminders to use two hands, rechamber, and end the block in the proper place way more than adults do. That’s what I mean by the details vs the gross movement.

Adults typically take longer to figure out the gross movement. I think they’re thinking about all those details and trying to get them all right at the same time. They’re far more cerebral about it. But once they’ve relatively got it, they need far less reminders and prompts about those details than kids do. The teacher typically sounds like a broken record with the kids’ prompts and corrections vs with the adults.

At the 2-4 month range, both groups students should be out of that exponential learning curve and tapering off, but they’re still improving at a decent rate. The techniques should look fine, but still needs obvious polishing. The student is conscientious of what mistakes he/she’s personally making and you should see them genuinely trying to correct them. You see the frustration of knowing exactly what it’s supposed to look like but still can’t do it 100%. Basically at this point, they know more than they can actually do. And the technique is far more performance than functional.

Just what I’ve seen.

 

[skribs]

I’m not an MA teacher; I’m an academic (science) and physical education teacher, so keep that in mind...

There’s going to be differences at where kids and adults should be at this stage. And there’s a good variation within each group (5 year old vs 10, etc.). Physical abilities and hinderances/disabilities also play an obvious and realistic role.
Just what I’ve seen.

You bring up multiple points I was thinking about creating new threads about. Maybe I should get on that.

 

[shihansmurf]

I have performance benchmarks for my students at each belt level which trumps time, however most of my students hit what I am looking for at yellow within the time frame specified by the OP. My expectations are as follows.

1. Solidifying the base. By this I mean that the student must consistently be able to transition from a natural standing position to a neutral bow/boxing style stance as they land a punch or block.

2. Show basic proficiency with the following movements:

Inward Block
Outward block
Upward block
Downward Block

Jab
Cross
Hook
Back Fist
Inward Elbow

Front kick
Side Kick
Round Kick

Escape movements for wrist grabs, front choke/grab and push, and side headlock

Perform and fall safely from ogoshi

3. Not be overly frightened or timid during sparring

4. Perform Taikyokyu Shodan without forgetting the steps and with decent body alignment, power, speed...

Once they have this I promote them to yellow and then start teaching them the material for the next rank with the expectation that their skill with this material will steadily improve.

Mark

 

[Azulx]

Yellow Belt takes about 6 months at our school.

What they'll need to know

2 Forms
Sunsu
Chon-Ji

Low Block
Inner Forearm Block

Front Punch

Front Stance
Back Stance

One step Sparring
One , one minute round of continuous sparring.

VERY BASIC KNOWLEDGE

 

[skribs]

Once they have this I promote them to yellow and then start teaching them the material for the next rank with the expectation that their skill with this material will steadily improve.

Mark

Is there no test in your system? Once the student displays these traits in class, you promote them?

(Since I can't convey tone in text, I mean this purely out of curiosity)

 

[shihansmurf]

Is there no test in your system? Once the student displays these traits in class, you promote them?

(Since I can't convey tone in text, I mean this purely out of curiosity)

That is correct. I have stepped away from formal rank testing in favor of a less formal procedure. As I teach and interact with the students I am continually assessing them. I have found that this has been better for my teaching style.

Mark

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Yellow Belt takes about 6 months at our school.

What they'll need to know

2 Forms
Sunsu
Chon-Ji

Low Block
Inner Forearm Block

Front Punch

Front Stance
Back Stance

One step Sparring
One , one minute round of continuous sparring.

VERY BASIC KNOWLEDGE

I'm picturing two yellow belts spar right now, only knowing one punch and one (applicable) block. Finding it very amusing.

 

[skribs]

That is correct. I have stepped away from formal rank testing in favor of a less formal procedure. As I teach and interact with the students I am continually assessing them. I have found that this has been better for my teaching style.

Mark

Our school has formal testing, but the students are all pre-screened in class. So it's kinda like yours in that regard.

 

[Dirty Dog]

We have semi-formal testing. There is a "test", but it's more just a chance to show off. When students are ready to test, they test. If they're not ready, they don't.
Our requirements for yellow belt are knowing and demonstrating minimal competency in Kicho 1 and Kicho 2, basic punching (jab and reverse punch) and basic kicks (front, roundhouse, side, inside and outside crescents, hook), and breaking a standard board with a stepping side kick.

 

[Azulx]

I'm picturing two yellow belts spar right now, only knowing one punch and one (applicable) block. Finding it very amusing.

So we teach all the basic curriculum to white and yellow belts

Front/Reverse Punch
Front/Turning/Side Kick
Front/Back/Sitting Stance
Spear-hand/Back-fist/Knife-hand Strike
Inner/Outer/Low/Rising/Knife-hand Guarding/ Inner Wedging

So they are exposed to a bit of material, only are responsible for a small portion of that material for testing.

 

[Hanshi]

If I understand your point, that would be the level just a bit of skill would start to take root. When I had my school, 3 months was still white belt. I think they should be learning & know more ABOUT the art rather than just technique.

 

[Headhunter]

A yellow belt should know everything that yellow belts instructor says they should know