The thing one should know, in this question of how long does it take to get a black belt in Karate (or in any martial art), is that the answer is coming from someone who wants to take your money. Thus, the dojo sensei, without pausing, says four or five years. This is not a good answer, it is an inflated answer, and the real answer is quite different.
There are two prime factors you should take into account when it comes to black belt certification. First, the longer an art is, the harder it is to learn. Second, the more complex an art is, the more difficult it is to apply.
Obviously, if you have to commit large numbers of forms and techniques and such to memory, it will take time. But what happens when somebody is jumped on the street? A well placed kick to the apples is the solution, or a punch in the throat saves your life, or something equally simple.
And, if you memorize hundreds of tricks, you have to choose what to do from all those tricks, and who has the time for that? After all, most fights are simple affairs...a grab or a punch. And most defenses have to be equally simple if they are going to have a chance of working.
One should immerse themselves in basics, for basics are the key to it all. And one should have a good understanding of the body, for it is the body you are using, and it a body that you are applying your martial arts to. Thus, while I recommend reducing systems to the core workable techniques, I don't recommend giving up Karate (or Taekwondo or Aikido or whatever); I do recommend finding a system that is condensed and efficient and has simplicity as its motto.
Really, to get the best out of karate training or Wing Chun training, or any fighting method, one should look to the original concepts of the system before it started growing larger. Pan Gai Noon, an early form of Karate, had three kata, and Tai Chi Chuan has one (yes, it is long) form. Thus, find the basic moves that work on the street, find a few tricks to handle any 'what if' possibilities, and practice those until you are blue in the face.
The point is that if you wish to get black belt certification, in Karate or any martial art, go back through the history of your style and find out what the original forms were. Isolate the techniques that worked before the system began to grow larger. See if there is a core concept on which the system is based, and work on that.
How long does it take to get a Black Belt in Karate? Honestly, if you dedicate yourself to focusing on the basic concepts of an art, it should only take a few months. There may be a few who object to this, but they are arguing only because they wish to make money off you, or because they bought into the four or five year program and don't want to admit the truth of my words here.
There are two prime factors you should take into account when it comes to black belt certification. First, the longer an art is, the harder it is to learn. Second, the more complex an art is, the more difficult it is to apply.
Obviously, if you have to commit large numbers of forms and techniques and such to memory, it will take time. But what happens when somebody is jumped on the street? A well placed kick to the apples is the solution, or a punch in the throat saves your life, or something equally simple.
And, if you memorize hundreds of tricks, you have to choose what to do from all those tricks, and who has the time for that? After all, most fights are simple affairs...a grab or a punch. And most defenses have to be equally simple if they are going to have a chance of working.
One should immerse themselves in basics, for basics are the key to it all. And one should have a good understanding of the body, for it is the body you are using, and it a body that you are applying your martial arts to. Thus, while I recommend reducing systems to the core workable techniques, I don't recommend giving up Karate (or Taekwondo or Aikido or whatever); I do recommend finding a system that is condensed and efficient and has simplicity as its motto.
Really, to get the best out of karate training or Wing Chun training, or any fighting method, one should look to the original concepts of the system before it started growing larger. Pan Gai Noon, an early form of Karate, had three kata, and Tai Chi Chuan has one (yes, it is long) form. Thus, find the basic moves that work on the street, find a few tricks to handle any 'what if' possibilities, and practice those until you are blue in the face.
The point is that if you wish to get black belt certification, in Karate or any martial art, go back through the history of your style and find out what the original forms were. Isolate the techniques that worked before the system began to grow larger. See if there is a core concept on which the system is based, and work on that.
How long does it take to get a Black Belt in Karate? Honestly, if you dedicate yourself to focusing on the basic concepts of an art, it should only take a few months. There may be a few who object to this, but they are arguing only because they wish to make money off you, or because they bought into the four or five year program and don't want to admit the truth of my words here.
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