How Long Will It Take To Get Your Bkacbelt?

buck65

just spotted the typo sorry guys /\

Doing ITF Taekwondo and estimate that I should have my black belt after 4 to 5 years of training (classes twice a week with 2 more home sessions-running weights etc) this seems the norm in my school (one guy did it in 3 , seriously talented , i'd say had a few years of karate training)
Just wondering about other arts such as karate, judo, BJJ or whatever.

I don't want to turn this into a slagging match between the superiority of an art over mine or whatever , that has been done before just genuinely interested.

3-4 years is possible in judo. I'd reckon 5-8 years is the average in Ireland for someone who starts as an adult. It can take as little as one year in Japan, but its not entirely comparable. I think 10 years is average in BJJ, but there can be a lot of deviation.

Obviously it's dependent on the ability of the individual and the consistency, volume and quality of thier training. BJJ and Judo don't have a conveyor belt grading system. Blackbelts, of course, don't mean the same thing in every art.

thefizz

In our system of Karate it takes on average 10 years to get 1st Dan.

buck65

what type of karate is that?

thefizz

buck65 wrote:

what type of karate is that?

Hi, its Kantanni Karate-Do

TKD SC

buck65 wrote:

just spotted the typo sorry guys /\

Doing ITF Taekwondo and estimate that I should have my black belt after 4 to 5 years of training (classes twice a week with 2 more home sessions-running weights etc) this seems the norm in my school (one guy did it in 3 , seriously talented , i'd say had a few years of karate training)
Just wondering about other arts such as karate, judo, BJJ or whatever.

I don't want to turn this into a slagging match between the superiority of an art over mine or whatever , that has been done before just genuinely interested.

Hi Buck,

In ITF, 3 years is about the quickest possible time to do it in as there are min waiting requirement between belts and tags. I've never met anyone to do it in 3yrs incl a world champ!, but is tecnically possible. Personally I took 11 years!!! A nice scenic route! Didn't do gradings for 4 of those years though so could say 7!

It depends on so many things though. I could begin a rant but I won't bore people with that!
As said, BB's don't mean the same in every art - probably, although I'm only a BB in one art so can't really comment! But even within one art BB's can mean different things!! I've seen a 4th dan lose to a red belt in a sparring comp before. But he was great at doing 4th dan patterns!!

Anyway, from guys I know I'd say somewhere between 5 - 8 years depending. Best advise is probably to enjoy it, train hard, improve and don't worry too much about the timing of gradings.

Simon

Black Swan

For Kukkiwon (WTF) registered 1-dan at our dojang about 4 years or so, provided you are committed and train 3-4 days per week (plus compete in tournaments and assistant instruct while temporary/deputy black). Most dropout before reaching BB.

RedRaven

buck65 wrote:

just spotted the typo sorry guys /\

Doing ITF Taekwondo and estimate that I should have my black belt after 4 to 5 years of training (classes twice a week with 2 more home sessions-running weights etc) this seems the norm in my school (one guy did it in 3 , seriously talented , i'd say had a few years of karate training)
Just wondering about other arts such as karate, judo, BJJ or whatever.

I don't want to turn this into a slagging match between the superiority of an art over mine or whatever , that has been done before just genuinely interested.

Id say it depends on how long the Q is in Dunne Stores...Id imagine they have a wide variety of Black Belts!!!;) Sorry only kidding mate I couldnt resist!!:)

RealJohn

In tkd, it very much depends on how often your instructors decide to let you grade. I know lots of people who got their blackbelts in under four years, none of whom I'd class as exceptionally good and I've heard of people in other associations who have done it in less than three (though one case that springs to mind stank of nepotism).
I imagine it's the same in most non-performance based martial arts.

Cake Fiend

I wonder why noone ever asks how long it takes to get a green belt?

buck65

a green belt took me about a year (TKD)

Roper

Cake Fiend wrote:

I wonder why noone ever asks how long it takes to get a green belt?

Just as random a target as any other colour. Good point Cake Fiend.

Baggio...

think it took me 5 years to get my B.B.

Cake Fiend

Cake Fiend wrote:

I wonder why noone ever asks how long it takes to get a green belt?

Three years to green for me (kenpo)
I just want to get to brown ASAP just so I can get the black suit. The white ones get so manky so quickly!

Clive

On current trends, I'll get my next black belt in about 25 years.

Then hopefully I'll finally be enlightened.

JSK 252

I got my Black belt in Shotokan Karate after 5 years training.

ColinJennings

I got my black belt after 7 years training, although I took time off for the leaving and junior certs, so six years of constant training.

I know one person who got thier black belt after 2 and a half years and another who got thiers after 25 years. The person who got it after 2.5 (the minimum time needed) has since quit and was not seen as a good black belt. The other black belt is a well respected black belt and has since gone on to get thier second and third degrees.

It should not be a race to the finish, as a black belt is not the finish.

Nothingcompares

i'm a brown belt in judo and a white belt or no belt in bjj. I'm currently in a anti-grading mood (have been for last year) so don't expect a promotion any time soon.

Spyral

dude just remember that a belt is for keeping your pants up.. I've seen a yellow belt clobber a blackbelt simply because blackie squad trained 5 times a week = grad every few months = blackbelt in about 2 years.

Quality over quantity every time..

buck65

Spyral , yes I know all the cliches about belts, if you read my original post it's more to do with finding out how long different arts or styles take to achieve a black belt.
Thanks for all contributions guys.

TinTIN247

Aparently a year to a year and a half. http://www.blackbeltprogram.com/

There was a thread on this but it was removed- why?

dlofnep

Nothingcompares wrote:

i'm a brown belt in judo and a white belt or no belt in bjj. I'm currently in a anti-grading mood (have been for last year) so don't expect a promotion any time soon.

stop that blagarding and go get your black!

DeVore

I spent 2 and a half years learning Kung Fu under Mal Kellett (great sensei btw) and I made it to green belt with blue tips. At that point I was thinking "right, I have the basic fitness and reflexes down reasonably well enough to start to actually learn this thing". That was training 2-4 hours a session, 2 sessions a week.

I knew other styles where guys who had been training as long as I had who had their blackbelts and even they didnt feel they deserved it. I actually felt sorry for them because it cheapened their achievement. They were one of maybe 15 blackbelts in their classes, they might as well have been handing them out.

Personally, I think at the rate I was training it would have been 6 years at the earliest before I would have gotten my blackbelt and felt it was deserved.

DeV.

dudara

I got to black tag in ITF TKD after 4.5 years, and that was including a hiatus of a few months due to a bad knee injury. I since took a year off, so once I go back to training, it will be another 9 months minimum to black belt. So in total I'd be looking at 5.25 years min.

pma-ire

in tkd here about 3.5 to 4 years is the minimum.

though in the east it does not take as long?

this is because there is a different view taken on what black belt means between here and there.