blackbelt amount of time

[Danjo]

I think that you should go to an instructor and talk with him/her. Tell him of your prior experience. Be ready to demonstrate your techniques and kata, and accept the instructor's judgement as to where you should start. I have a 3rd kyu in Shotokan from many years ago. I still practice my kata at least three times per week (1-5 Heian and Tekki Shodan). I never want to lose what I learned. I also have a 3rd "degree" (3rd kyu) in Shaolin Kempo Karate,and I keep up practice in that too. The kicks, blocks, punches and stances are very close to each other. If an instructor looks at your skills and says, "You're a white belt", then there may be a problem. (either with the instructor, or your previous training). If you look around at the other white belts and you are clearly more skilled than they are, perhaps you should look elsewhere for an instructor that can more fairly assess your ability.

 

[Grenadier]

If an instructor looks at your skills and says, "You're a white belt", then there may be a problem. (either with the instructor, or your previous training).

True, but this is somewhat dependent on a number of factors.

Is the previous experience in other martial arts similar to what is being taught at the current school? How closely related are the styles in question? If they're pretty close, then I'd agree, that there might not be much to be gained by having someone start out as a white belt.

On the flip side of the coin starting out at white belt, regardless of experience may not be the wrong thing, especially since those with previous experience (regardless of the martial art) will tend to progress a lot faster than their fellow classmates with no previous experience. In the end, they'll attain their shodan in a rather fast timespan, often times similar to the guy who started out at a higher kyu rank.

Regardless of my statements above, though, I strongly agree with you, that it's important to speak with the instructor in an honest and open manner (from both parties).

 

[Danjo]

On the flip side of the coin starting out at white belt, regardless of experience may not be the wrong thing, especially since those with previous experience (regardless of the martial art) will tend to progress a lot faster than their fellow classmates with no previous experience. In the end, they'll attain their shodan in a rather fast timespan, often times similar to the guy who started out at a higher kyu rank.

If the school allows testing frequently, that's probably true. If they only test twice per year, then that could be a problem. If you're coming from the same art, and can demonstrate this in some fashion, then the instructor should let you start at that rank and , if you're rusty, not test you for the next one until they feel that you're ready. If it's a different art, then starting at the beginning, or near the beginning, may be the correct thing to do.