How many years to black?

jaypo · Purple Belt

It took me about 2.5 years total to receive my black belt. I trained in Shotokan as a teen, and the school I trained at was strict about basics, so I got a really good foundation underneath me. When I picked back up a few years ago, I tested as a white belt to get to my previous rank, and I did so pretty easily. From there, I trained about double the amount of time other schools offer classes. I moved up at a normal pace from there.

At one point, I was kind of questioning whether or not I moved up too fast, but from everything I've watched and read, and from training with black belts from other organizations, I feel very confident with my rank. In my case, it is the amount of time spent training that has determined my rank, and not the time frame.
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SteyrAUG · Orange Belt

Depends upon the style, school, instructor and student as well as variables such as previous experience, natural ability and training schedule.

A general rule of thumb is 4-5 years for a legitimate shodan grade with serious dedication and training.
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Luther unleashed · Brown Belt

We'll all the answers here are good. The main thing that I think matters most has already been stated. How much work you put in is how fast you can move. If 4 years is average then I must be training the way I do for nothing lol. Most schools on the west coast seem to be around two. Most schools are 2 days a week for 45 min each. That's next to nothing. It's completely up to the students to practice. At least an hour a day can improve grading speeds but only in a school that doesn't have time required rank. My school has no time required in each rank, grading is each month and most students will test every two months. Some students who train hard, and the master can see it, will skip a belt on occasion.

There are too many politics in martial arts, and everybody moves at a different pace, certainly not all people train as much as would be required to advance quickly. But a handful train enough to advance quickly and I'd hate to think we are so wrapped up in a standard, that we lose sight of the individual who may excel, only to hold him back because of a standard that we base off of the general work ethic!
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Harkon72 · Black Belt

With our school of Karate, it usually takes 4 to 7 years to attain shodan. We tend to spend longer between 3rd kyu and shodan than most, 3 to 4 years at times.
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jaypo · Purple Belt

In our club, it's all based on the student. Our Sensei will offer a student the chance to test if thinks he/she is ready, but if he doesn't, he'll inform them of his concerns and try to convince them to wait. Our youngest black belt is 13 yrs old, but he's 6'0 tall, can do a full split, and has better technique than most of the people I have trained with. And he's like a sponge. He learns and applies faster than anyone I've ever trained with. And in our club, we have set times, but Shands Sensei is there every day for hours, and we can train any time he's available. So most of us train 3-5 times a week for an hour or more. Most schools here offer 2 classes a week at 45 minutes. So I'd expect our belt progression to be a little faster for those that train almost double the time the other schools do.

It took me about 2.5 years (total) to achieve Shodan rank. I had the benefit of a strong Shotokan technique teacher in my early years, and it translated over perfectly to my current system. I had to polish up my technique and learn a lot of Shorin Ryu, but it was a lot easier of a transition than if I switched to, say, TKD or jiu jutsu. I spent a few months getting back into shape, "remembering" what I had learned years before, and adding a few things. I then tested to get back to where I left off. I stopped training when I was about a month out from testing for 3rd kyu. So when I picked back up, I tested to 3rd kyu, and I actually achieved 2nd kyu in my new system. From there, I spent the next year learning. And I finally tested for Shodan, and I did better in that test than any other one that I had taken before.
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Do-gi · White Belt

2 years?! Wow. That seems very quick. I've been told that I could be a black belt in about five years time. I've been training for just over one. And my Sensei's very strict, so maybe not even then.

Nidan Melbourne · KF Sempai

jaypo · Purple Belt

Do-gi-

I had some reservations about testing for black at the time I did because I thought about the time of training. However, since then, I've trained with a lot of black belts from other clubs (some Nidan ranks and above), and I can tell you that I now have no reservations!

I've also watched hours upon hours of footage of other Shodan level practitioners and above, and I can say with full confidence that my skill/knowledge does back up my rank (compared to others with similar rank).

I believe that there should be no set time constraints on testing requirements. That's essentially pigeonholing students. I've seen a lot of people that pick up very very quickly, and I've seen people that take 6 months to learn how to do a block correctly. If I set a time requirement of 6 months to test, why should the student that picks up a tecnhique in 2 weeks be judged the same as the one that took 6 months? I believe a student should be tested when the sensei feels he/she is ready to test. The quality of the student compared to their rank is a function of the sensei's experience and knowledge at that point. If the sensei is a bad judge, then the rank probably will be unjustified. However, if the sensei knows what he's doing, then the skill level of his students should coincide with the ranks of those students.
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