black belt testing

[redranger]

i am testing for my 1st degree black belt on july 18

[Jason]

Originally Posted by redranger

i am testing for my 1st degree black belt on july 18

Goooooooooooooooooooooood luck.

[complete]

Congratulations and good luck. Let us know when you find out the results.

[Gambatte Karate]

Good skill to you.

[Torre]

How often do you test? A thread like this seems to pop up every two months or so...

[redranger]

i test every 7-8 weeks

[Zaraki Kenpachi]

Lucky dog. We test 4 times a year and thats only if youre invited. You'll have to be a red belt for 2 years before you can test for your black. Its so annoying but hey I dont make the rules and I'm nowhere near red anyway.

Hell I dont think I've tested in either art since last year (all my fault though).


Good luck, I hope they dont throw any surprises at you.

[Torre]

Originally Posted by redranger

i test every 7-8 weeks

And how much do you train a week, if I may ask?

[Chapel]

Originally Posted by redranger

i test every 7-8 weeks

Expect that to slow down considerably after 1st Dan. Or, I should say, hope for that to slow down considerably, otherwise it puts your school in a bad light.

[Zaraki Kenpachi]

Arent the first 2 dans just about physical excellence? I dont see why those 2 would start to slow down. Of course this isnt from a dan at all so its just a question.

[complete]

In HRD, the minimum requirement for each blackbelt testing is number of years for that level. So, to go from 4th to 5th, you have to train like 5 years, to go from 6 to 7th, you have to train like 7 years.

[Zaraki Kenpachi]

I think a year requirement is stupid. If I'm whipping the dans ahead of me then obviously I'm better (of course this is completely hypothetical). All I'm saying is that it should be about skill aka merit, not hours logged. Hell anyone can just show up.

[Chapel]

Originally Posted by drallig9399

I think a year requirement is stupid. If I'm whipping the dans ahead of me then obviously I'm better (of course this is completely hypothetical). All I'm saying is that it should be about skill aka merit, not hours logged. Hell anyone can just show up.

Well, it isn't just about showing up, but showing up is important. Part of the whole Dan rank thing is showing a dedication to the art. However, the big reason they have these time requirements is to prevent people from selling black belts. There are ways to reduce the required time which revolve around winning competitions. For instance, if you win the Olympics in Tae Kwon Do, you are pretty much automatically promoted to the next Dan rank (it would be interesting for someone not involved with TKD to try out for the Olympics, especially if they end up winning... hey, you MMA guys out there want to get a gold medal?)

Beyond that, Dan ranks should be much slower because theoretically you have to go through all the colored ranks again to get 2nd Dan (and then again for 3rd Dan and so on...) The way I have thought about it, is that the skill of a brand new 2nd Dan in comparison to the skill of a brand new 1st Dan should be about the same as the skill of a 1st Dan compared to the skill of a white belt.

And really, I would wipe the floor with me 2 and change years ago.

[Gambatte Karate]

Our system has the same requirements as HRD I think. If it were just about skill or merit, then we would have 10or 11 y/o 10th dan masters all over the place. LOL The balckbelt is as much a maturity thing as it is a physical thing. If you are not mature enough to hold it, then you don't get it. If you continue to show respect for your art as well as others, then you may get it. If you continue to learn new things, and keep your mental cup only half full, then you will get further. Does this mean to dump the useless stuff you don't need anymore? Not even close. It means to keep it and add to it. The brain is similar to a muscle. If you continue to learn, then it will allow you to learn more. Also, I can teach you a kata in a day. Will you remember it in 2 weeks? Not without practice. How about a week? Again, not likely without practice. How about tomorrow? Maybe....but you should practice it tomorrow so you can remember it in two days from now. Now, just knowing the moves in the kata are not enough....You must know what each move is doing. For a simple kata, it could take less time....For a more complex kata such as Unsu or Supraempi, it would take much longer. Now, add to that factor, the fact that you must learn more than one kata...you must learn (in my system anyway) TEN kata from one dan to the next. These kata get progressivly more and more difficult. You must also learn the bunkai or applications to those kata. There are also reports which are required for each dan. Some of these things a person would not be able to do in a years time.....or even TWO years time....I have been working on my requirements for 3rd dan for the last 3 years and I'm still not really ready.... *blush* A year requirement keeps people from selling rank (to an extent. It still happens...Do an ebay search for rank certificates sometime) It also makes it so you have learned what the martial arts is about. (Which isn't just fighting) This is my .02


*edit* Fixed complete. Thanks and sorry.

[complete]

It's HRD (Hwa Rang Do). What both of you said makes a lot of sense. It's not about adding arbitrary number of years for just showing up. It does take those kind of time to really make the quantum leap between the ranks, and it does reduce the inflated belts.