Learn Karate in "Three Or Four" Years?

[Fuhrer Drumpf]

I was reading Anko Itosu's "Ten Precepts of Karate" (1908) and found this peculiar passage:

3. Karate cannot be quickly learned. Like a slow moving bull, it eventually travels a thousand leagues. If one trains diligently for one or two hours every day, then in three or four years one will understand karate. Those who train in this fashion will discover the deeper principles of karate.

 

[MA_Student]

That's nice

 

[Tez3]

Always good when someone can read.

 

[DaveB]

I was reading Anko Itosu's "Ten Precepts of Karate" (1908) and found this peculiar passage:

3. Karate cannot be quickly learned. Like a slow moving bull, it eventually travels a thousand leagues. If one trains diligently for one or two hours every day, then in three or four years one will understand karate. Those who train in this fashion will discover the deeper principles of karate.

2 hrs a day for 4 years is 2924hrs.
So for the average hobbyist 2hrs twice a week is 104 hrs per year, which means you would achieve understanding in 28.1 years.

 

[frank raud]

I was reading Anko Itosu's "Ten Precepts of Karate" (1908) and found this peculiar passage:

3. Karate cannot be quickly learned. Like a slow moving bull, it eventually travels a thousand leagues. If one trains diligently for one or two hours every day, then in three or four years one will understand karate. Those who train in this fashion will discover the deeper principles of karate.

And yet martial arts shouldn't take years to learn. Maybe the masters know something after all.

 

[Fuhrer Drumpf]

2 hrs a day for 4 years is 2924hrs.
So for the average hobbyist 2hrs twice a week is 104 hrs per year, which means you would achieve understanding in 28.1 years.

That's quite a convoluted reading.

 

[hoshin1600]

That's quite a convoluted reading.

Actually it's not. Skills are learned by the neural growth in the brain for both muscle memory and comprehension. The time it takes for synaptic growth is kinda set by biology and evolution. There are no short cuts. Hours in, skills out.

 

[Encho]

I was reading Anko Itosu's "Ten Precepts of Karate" (1908) and found this peculiar passage:

3. Karate cannot be quickly learned. Like a slow moving bull, it eventually travels a thousand leagues. If one trains diligently for one or two hours every day, then in three or four years one will understand karate. Those who train in this fashion will discover the deeper principles of karate.

Hi Fuhrer drumpf,
I believe "understand" is subtle and means arriving at principles of understanding the first steps(shodan level). I don't think in the context that it is implied to learn(master) karate.

 

[DaveB]

That's quite a convoluted reading.

Because it doesn't fit your narrative?

 

[JR 137]

“One becomes a beginner after 1,000 days of training, and an expert after 10,000 days of practice.”
~ Masutatsu Oyama

So 2.7 years to become a beginner, and a little over 27 years to become an expert.

 

[JR 137]

 

[ks - learning to fly]

And yet martial arts shouldn't take years to learn. Maybe the masters know something after all.

Respectfully< I disagree - if it takes 10,000 hours
to master a technique, then 3 or 4 years doesn't even
scratch the surface..

 

[Gerry Seymour]

That's quite a convoluted reading.

Not convoluted, at all. It matches the time commitment in the quote you posted. If we cut the time in half, it still gives us 14 years. Going/practicing more often can change the calendar time required.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Respectfully< I disagree - if it takes 10,000 hours
to master a technique, then 3 or 4 years doesn't even
scratch the surface..

10,000 hours is for someone excelling in a competitive field (world-class violinist, for instance). Skill can be developed much faster.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

2 hrs a day for 4 years is 2924hrs.
So for the average hobbyist 2hrs twice a week is 104 hrs per year, which means you would achieve understanding in 28.1 years.

Actually 2 hours twice a week would be 208 hours per year, so a little over 14 years.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Actually 2 hours twice a week would be 208 hours per year, so a little over 14 years.

EDIT: I missed a key word in your post. Most classes don't last two hours.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Check your math again. 2 hrs * 52 wks = 104 hrs/year.

2 hours twice a week. That would be 4 hours a week.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

2 hours twice a week. That would be 4 hours a week.

Yep, I corrected myself already. Most classes aren't 2 hours.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Yep, I corrected myself already. Most classes aren't 2 hours.

I'm used to places that have either 1.5 or 2 hour classes, or back to back classes you can attend. If that's not the norm, good chance it was just a typo in the original post.=, then the 28 years would be right.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I'm used to places that have either 1.5 or 2 hour classes, or back to back classes you can attend. If that's not the norm, good chance it was just a typo in the original post.=, then the 28 years would be right.

I teach 90-minute classes. Most folks I know teach 60 or 75 minute classes. I prefer the longer format (even 2 hrs), but it's harder for hobbyists to fit into their schedules.

I suspect the quote in the OP was more about how much time is spent practicing than just class time, though I also suspect classes may have been longer on average then.