About belts and time to obtain a BB

[ralphmcpherson]

Except that the average Joe probably wouldn't be inclined to ask. You are an exception, mainly in the fact that you actually shopped around and did research. For most, the deciding factors are location, schedule, and price.


If you don't mind my asking, what was it that made two years the line in the sand? And of the dojangs you contacted, what was the average time to ildan with no prior experience?

Daniel, the funny thing was that the clubs with the two year black belts actually told me the time in grade over the phone without me asking, almost as if it was a selling point, whereas the ones with longer time in grade I had to ask them. I made many calls at the time because there are heaps of tkd clubs in my area so accessability wasnt a problem with any of them. The majority of kkw clubs were about three years to first dan and the non kkw clubs ranged from three to five years. There were two or three clubs I phoned (kkw) that were two years. I come from a shotokan background (did it for two or three years in my teens) and shotokan was always a minimum five years so when I started looking around fr a tkd club my line in the sand was probably, under three years = alarm bells.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Daniel, the funny thing was that the clubs with the two year black belts actually told me the time in grade over the phone without me asking, almost as if it was a selling point, whereas the ones with longer time in grade I had to ask them.

It may be a selling point to parents with kids who are shifted from one activity to another every couple of years. To an adult, such as yourself or me, not so much, but it's probably something they say often enough that they don't differentiate.

I made many calls at the time because there are heaps of tkd clubs in my area so accessability wasnt a problem with any of them. The majority of kkw clubs were about three years to first dan and the non kkw clubs ranged from three to five years. There were two or three clubs I phoned (kkw) that were two years.

So on average, it sounds like three to four years of the clubs you sampled.

I come from a shotokan background (did it for two or three years in my teens) and shotokan was always a minimum five years so when I started looking around fr a tkd club my line in the sand was probably, under three years = alarm bells.

I could see that.

 

[tigycho]

The second TKD club I was involved in had an expected 5 year time-in-grade to black belt, for administrative reasons. It is populated primarily with children and teens (up to college age), with very few settled adults involved as students.

Thus, the class format is tied to the rhythms of the school calendar, with belt testing done at the end of each semester. With 10 Geups to get through (white->yellow->green->blue->red, with intermediate stripes), this will take 5 years, unless you also rigorously attend the reduced schedule classes during the summer, which few do, so there are often only a handful testing after the summer 'semester'.

I remember being 'bored' with the yellow belt curriculum over the course of the better part of a year, but that was mitigated in that the material being trained was generally applicable to all levels, rather than 'special techniques' for each belt level. That is, rather than working on memorized sets of pre-arranged stuff which are belt segregated, everyone would work on the same drills, or combinations, and the higher ranks were simply expected to perform at a higher level or to perform a more difficult/extended variant of the exact same combination.

 

[Gorilla]

Great Post!


QUOTE=Markku P;1500352]This was my latest Taekwondo blog..


How long should you train to become a black belt in Taekwondo?


This is one subject that many teachers argue. Some think that you should for train 10 years for you to be ready but some feel that you can do it in a much shorter amount of time. I feel that everything depends on the student. It really matters on how much the person has trained. More importantly, it is how much the person has learned and if he/she good enough according to teacher's standards.

I remember when one teacher had an argument with me about how long students should train until they are ready for their black belt test. His felt that student should train for a minimum of 5-6 years and perhaps then they may be ready. I felt that the amount of time could be shorter. Then he said something which I have never forgotten: "We should do like they do in Korea; very hard tests and it will take a long time to get a black belt".

Now, this is a common belief, but the reality is that in Korea (in general) it is easier to get a black belt. In many cases you can become a black belt in one year and I think the average time is about 2 years. Perhaps in Korea they know something that we don't?

In our county we think too highly about black belts. But the reality is that when you get your black belt (1st Dan) you have learned all the basics and this is when the real training will start. In my schools we don't have a minimum time for getting a black belt (we follow what World Taekwondo Headquarters Kukkiwon demands).

No one has ever got a black belt in my schools in one year. The average time has been 3 to 4 years. I try to push for 3 years but so far I haven't been successful with it. I think students should go up with the belts as fast they feel comfortable otherwise we wouldn’t use belt system anyway? I think the belt system is more like a "motivational tool" and we should use it for this purpose.

What should I know in order to achieve a black belt? I think this is easy to answer. The minimum is what Kukkiwon ask and then each teacher should decide themselves if they feel they have to add more material. One argument is of course, what about "mental or spiritual" growth? My answer is very simple; we are not professional in that area, we are not a priest’s or psychologists so we shouldn't concentrate too much in that area.


Yours,

Markku Parviainen[/QUOTE]