black belt requirements

kevin kilroe

Orange Belt
Joined
Feb 25, 2003
Messages
96
Reaction score
1
Location
lawrenceville, georgia
What are the requirements for black belt at different schools? I know different schools require different numbers of techniques, forms, etc.
Thanks for the input.

kevin kilroe
 

Blindside

Grandmaster
Founding Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2001
Messages
5,175
Reaction score
849
Location
Kennewick, WA
We're a Tracy's offshoot and our requirements are 165 techniques, 9 forms, and 4 sets.

Lamont
 
T

TheBattousai

Guest
Well, you need to do a pretest and a mondo first. A pretest showing all the previous techniques you should know so you could show those lower ranks a technique if needed to. The mondo, is a list of questions that you take home write your response and then comeback and sit with the headmaster and discuse the answers with him. This is to see how your developing mentally and spiritually. The questions for first black are always the same:1.What is your relationship with God? 2.What can you do to improve that relationship? 3. What can God do to improve that relationship? After you do this, you can take your test. First black consists of 3 throws, 2 blocks, 3 hand techniques, 3 kicks, 2 chokes, 2 counterjoint techniques, a weapon kata (tonfa being the weapon for first), a weapon embu, a hard fist kata, five animal kata, a kicking kata, a sanchin (hard ki) kata, a tai chi kata, and an empty hand embu. The Katas last for one minute long each with a one minute break in between them. The katas change gradually threw the black belt ranks though and when testing for fifth black, your pretest changes to where you have to show the headmaster or soke, 300 different techniques before you can test, and if he disallows a technique and you only have 299, you fail and will have to try again later.
 

jdinca

Master Black Belt
Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
1,297
Reaction score
11
Location
SF Bay Area
TheBattousai said:
Well, you need to do a pretest and a mondo first. A pretest showing all the previous techniques you should know so you could show those lower ranks a technique if needed to. The mondo, is a list of questions that you take home write your response and then comeback and sit with the headmaster and discuse the answers with him. This is to see how your developing mentally and spiritually. The questions for first black are always the same:1.What is your relationship with God? 2.What can you do to improve that relationship? 3. What can God do to improve that relationship? After you do this, you can take your test. First black consists of 3 throws, 2 blocks, 3 hand techniques, 3 kicks, 2 chokes, 2 counterjoint techniques, a weapon kata (tonfa being the weapon for first), a weapon embu, a hard fist kata, five animal kata, a kicking kata, a sanchin (hard ki) kata, a tai chi kata, and an empty hand embu. The Katas last for one minute long each with a one minute break in between them. The katas change gradually threw the black belt ranks though and when testing for fifth black, your pretest changes to where you have to show the headmaster or soke, 300 different techniques before you can test, and if he disallows a technique and you only have 299, you fail and will have to try again later.

Interesting. Am I getting from your post that your school considers your relationship to God to be the spiritual aspect of MA?
 

eyebeams

Purple Belt
Joined
Apr 18, 2005
Messages
381
Reaction score
16
We have no belts, but we have a shift from a petitioner (seigansha) to a real student (gakusei) which is about equivalent.

The requirements:
* Have the prerequisite fitness. The test begins with a cross-country run and about 100-200 reps of a number of exercises.

* Know the theoretical underpinnings of the art, including the five sets of five (animal styles, technical roots, directions of technique, elemental body movements, energies of technique).

* Learn one kata and apply randomly three selected movements from the set. There are not lots and lots of Ryukai kata -- just five. You don't learn them until you appraoch this level.

* Defend yourself from three siegansha attacking simultaneously (full contact) for a full minute. This is not choreographed. It's sparring with takedowns and submissions permitted. This was originally more classical-style randori with a much larger group, ramping up to more resistant work with 10, 5 and 3 partners, but the size of your group didn't permit this.

* Demonstrate a basic knowledge of Chinese medicine, including rescuscitation and massage.

* Demonstrate ability in a classical ancillary skill (in my case, it was the ability to escape from rope tie-ups).

* Various assessments of skill, depending on the person.
 

KenpoTex

Senior Master
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Messages
3,001
Reaction score
144
Location
Springfield, Missouri
We're a Parker/Tracy hybrid (mostly Parker) so our requirements are [I'm sure] different from most EPAK schools.
143 techniques (not counting variations), 10 forms (one of which is created by student), 20 sets (including a club set created by the student). Written Thesis (20-page minimum). note: since the test for first-degree black is comprehensive, the above numbers are the total for the entire system, yellow-black.

We also have do be able to demonstrate a satisfactory level of competence in spontaneous response to an attack, sparring, grappling, and physical-fitness.
 

still learning

Senior Master
Joined
Nov 8, 2004
Messages
3,749
Reaction score
48
Hello, We have a list of things that is require for everyone to do, physcial,techniques,kata's,breaking boards, list of questions that is written and sent in to the Professor. This is the easy part -testing

Remember this is the easy part....? It is like learning to be a professional basket ball player. You need to learn how to handle the ball, play the game, pass, shoot, learn the basic, practice and practice, most important to develop at each point of your training. In the end - Are you ready to play as a professional

So you got your black belt? do you feel like a professional at his game? or are you just getting by? How many of us will keeping training so hard that we can consider our selves as professional black belts?

Isn't this what a black belt should be? why? how come? who? when? ....Just my thoughts....Aloha
 

teej

Blue Belt
Joined
Dec 29, 2003
Messages
209
Reaction score
4
Keeping in mind that in American Kenpo the rank of 3rd degree blk blt is our "full instructor rank" this is what I am experimenting with.

I have cut the number of techniques required for blk blt down. Now I do teach all of the techniques. The way I am currently teaching for 1st blk, all of the forms up to form 4 are required. I have cut the number of techniqes in half. The reason being, I would rather have a greater number of students proficient in fewer techniques. In other words, more students that can do what they need to do. Keep in mind it is not the number of techniqes knows that makes someone a blk blt.

From 1st to 2nd blk I require the rest of the techniques and form 5, then for 3rd blk I require the extensions and form 6. So by the time my students reach 3rd blk, full instructor, he or she will have the full commercial system.

I may change my approach, but this is what I am doing at the moment. I was taught and promoted the old way where I had to know all of the techniqes for 1st blk. There is nothing wrong with this approach. I am experimenting with trying to get more students, specifically working moms and dads that want to learn to defend themselves while juggling everyday life, to black belt level.

Yours in Kenpo,
Teej
 

Flying Crane

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Sep 21, 2005
Messages
15,230
Reaction score
4,920
Location
San Francisco
teej said:
Keeping in mind that in American Kenpo the rank of 3rd degree blk blt is our "full instructor rank" this is what I am experimenting with.

I have cut the number of techniques required for blk blt down. Now I do teach all of the techniques. The way I am currently teaching for 1st blk, all of the forms up to form 4 are required. I have cut the number of techniqes in half. The reason being, I would rather have a greater number of students proficient in fewer techniques. In other words, more students that can do what they need to do. Keep in mind it is not the number of techniqes knows that makes someone a blk blt.

From 1st to 2nd blk I require the rest of the techniques and form 5, then for 3rd blk I require the extensions and form 6. So by the time my students reach 3rd blk, full instructor, he or she will have the full commercial system.

I may change my approach, but this is what I am doing at the moment. I was taught and promoted the old way where I had to know all of the techniqes for 1st blk. There is nothing wrong with this approach. I am experimenting with trying to get more students, specifically working moms and dads that want to learn to defend themselves while juggling everyday life, to black belt level.

Yours in Kenpo,
Teej

I came from the Tracy's lineage, and have also made extensive changes to the curriculum. I think it is good to do this, if the system isn't quite working for you.
 

Latest Discussions

Top