What's the deal with "instant" black belts ?

I'm new into martial arts and I've recently found out about whole USA Mc'Dojo concept. Unfortunately as it is, there is a lot of people out there that doesn't take everything in consideration and when they hear "whoa. he is a bb guy/girl" they assume they are fighting gods. No disrespect to anyone but how is it possible that kids from 13-16 can have their first dan bb's ?? Or how is it possible that someone, child or a grown up, can obtain their bb under 5 years of training? It wolud mean quitting your day job and working your butt off with constant practise for that kind of fast advancment as I understand. My senpai (karate) has been training since he was 9 and now i 31 and has second dan. The realistic advancment time for any martial art with belt rankings to first bb sholud be from 6,7 years minimum, if your work very hard .

What's the deal with "instant" black belts ?
McDojos are about McMoney and fancy class room %26amp; tournament stuff.
Reply:Sounds like a recipe for "instant over-confidence" to me.
Reply:Your right. It took me nine years to get my black belt and I worked out continuously. Ive moved several times and with each move I try every school within driving distance to see where Id fit in the best. I don't really care to much about style, I just look at the students and if I leave thinking "man I wouldn't want to mess with those guys" I sign up. Its amazing to me how different even schools in the same style can be and the skill level of students in different schools with the same ranks. A black belt in one school wouldn't stand a chance with lower ranking students in other schools. Don't ever be impressed with someones rank until you actually see how they train, even if they tell you there a "master" with a 10th Dan.(in fact especially if they tell you they are a master with a 10th Dan).
Reply:it doenst take forever to get to black belt rank,my freind is 13 and he is a first degree black belt,he`s being doing it for like 4 years............it depends on how hard u work and how good you are at the style
Reply:Yes. Such schools are also often known as belt factories. What they are teaching is not necessarily 100 percent crap, but at the very least, they show very little respect for the art they are teaching. That should tell you much about these schools from the get go.


Save yourself some money. Buy a can of black die and just die your belt black. It'll be just about as good.
Reply:A person under 16 in my style is not a" certified " if you will BB you are known as a apprentice BB





It takes 7 years to complete the low belts


White Yellow Green Purple etc in the style that i study now





I seriously think that the 10 year old's walking around with a bb on .


Is just not right


At that age you don't have the self discipline to even think about being a bb


i think it is wrong for teachers to just hand out bb's


You need at least train 5 yrs


It is crazy but the world is full of it
Reply:This type of similar question comes up quite a bit. It mirrors what seems to be a general attitude in the minds of many which evokes a kind of a "That's not quite right" sort of thinking. My first McDojo experience happened after moving back to my home town and being pleased to discover they, at least, had a TKD club. I checked them out and it was then that I was introduced to the concept of folks earning black-belt status in a very short period of time. I soon realized that the reason for this was that the requirements for doing so were very minimal and that even minimal requirements done poorly were still rewarded with advancement. I really liked TKD at the time(I still do, but for different reasons) and I remember feeling maybe a little disappointed in finding that someone had taken what I thought was a wonderful thing and turned it into something retarded.
Reply:black belts only ever refer to a persons understanding and ability WITHIN the system they have the belt from. if it is a sh!t McDojo system, then that belt isnt worth the cotton it is made from. but even then, if it is from a reliable instruction, it is still only a representation of intra school ability.





like everything in life, we advance at different paces, some slow, some fast, but never so fast that your previous belt is still new.
Reply:well im a dai sensei in karate and it sounds like youve been fed a load of bs.a black belt is a beginers rank its also just a piece of cotton.no person under 18 should be wearing a real black belt and in my opinion it takes even longer than that.a black belt signifies that you know the grading requirements,thats all.it doesnt mean you can fight or defend yourself.and it definately doesnt mean you have any real experience.experience is the key not belts or ranks or styles.ive been doing ma for 39 years and no doubt theres still more for me to learn.
Reply:I know folks that have gotten their first degree bb within 6 years and it was legit. But when folks get them in under 5 years it's pretty much fake. That's one reason I don't like TKD so much, I know most of the TKD schools I've been to have said you could get a bb within 2 to 4 years. That's just not a real martial arts education. Also, no one under the age of 10 should be given a bb no matter what they learn. Kids just can't give the dedication a bb requires. My daughter is very good at Kempo and has been going almost 2 years now, she's not even a middle rank yet. I wouldn't progress her beyond green belt, let alone brown or black.





Belt factories or belt mills are diluting the martial arts community. I used to see these kids at school when I was little who had brown belts or even black belts in this art or that. I used to beat the snot out of them for being fake black belts. I don't condone that kind of thing now, but I was a kid and it was a major plus in my popularity that I'd beaten up every black belt at school. That's just sick though, a bb should be able to defend him or herself from any single attacker.
Reply:A black belt just means you are a high ranking student. It has nothing to do with how well you fight or defend yourself. It took me 8 years of training to recieve my first black belt, although that may seem like a big accomplishment to some people, I think of that as the " real " beginners belt.
Reply:instructers are trying to get money by charging students for upper belt promotions. they're not real black belts.
Reply:13 is not too young to be a BB. Minimum time to 1st degree BB is 3-5 years depending on the style. In Tae Kwon Do, 1st degree BB is called Cho Dan which means starting level, so a 1st degree BB is a beginner.
Reply:It depends on the system your studying. Iaido can take 2 years to get your BB. In shotokan it should take 5 to 6 years. It really depends on the karateka and the Sensei. As far as Jr. BB's i've seen my share of them but have seen a few that should actually have them. In my system i do promote to first dan if you've been studying for 6 years if your under 18, however, they also understand that they have to take a second test when they turn 18 to get there "adult" BB.





But regardless, BB's aren't "fighting gods". A BB only means you've mastered the basics of a fighting system, IE. punching, kicking and blocking. At that point the karateka is ready to starting learning the system.

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