I opened my dojo and took on my first students
3 1/2 years ago. My highest ranking students who came to me as white belts at
that time are now purple belts. I find it very interesting when I see pictures
of people from other dojo who had not even began to study martial arts at that
time who are now sporting high brown or black belts. Am I in the wrong? Am I
putting to much value on Shodan? I know for many moving people along is a
method of student retention. I just cant see handing someone who has never studied
martial arts in any capacity a black belt after two years. What do I know? To
each their own I suppose.
The
standard is about 7 to 9 yrs for youth, around 4 to5 yrs for adults. The same
curriculum. Youth take longer as I restrict how much they can train as many
things are more important for their lives. But Shodan is just the beginning,
preparation for real study. I have students 40 years into their own studies, The
average black belt stays 17 years before they move on as their life requires.
The standard on Okinawa is two years for Shodan and one must be at least 16.
I
couldn't say as every dojo is different, but that is the agreed standard for
the sensei of the Rengokai, at least. Uechi Sensei, though, has only had 2
adults make black belt in the 9-year span of time I've been in this part of the
world. Those students would typically come about 2 times a week with obvious
practice outside the dojo. One of the 2 guys made Shodan in 23 months,
actually, but he definitely deserved it. He's a Nidan now. The other guy took
many years to make it because he was in the Marine Corps and his training was
interrupted when he was stationed back in the States from 2009-2014. But he
started back after he came back to Okinawa and eventually made black belt in
March 2016. He was training with Uechi Sensei before I got to Okinawa in June
2008. The adult class at Camp Foster is 90 minutes, twice a week. Uechi Sensei
has a dojo in town but most Americans don't go there regularly.
I teach absolutely nothing but technique. It
really is not about belts. Everyone finds their own reason to train or do
something else. That is how being a successful human being must act. Only those
who find their on reason to train remain. And the youth all of them who reach
Dan level training the past 40 years leave to live their lives, which is good,
I want them to do that finding fulfillment.
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