How long does it take to become a black belt in shokotan karate?

Question

I do karate and am currently a yellow belt and want to become a black belt. soon i'll start going to university and i want to become a black belt before then because then i wont have time to do karate please let me know

Answer 1

Have you considered finding a uni that has shotokan classes?  Lots of unis have different martial arts available nowadays.

The average student that attends sessions diligently, at least three times a week, can potentially become a black belt in about 3 1/2 to 5 years. This window of time is based on individual skill and natural ability. I have never met a black belt, no matter how naturally skilled he or she is, that actually has the skills of a true black belt, without at least 3 1/2 to 5 years of consistent training. Try as you may, there is no substitute for time to balance the skills you acquire.

The Black Belt rank, however, should not be the ultimate goal in martial arts.  However, on the other hand, the attainment of this rank actually means that the recipient is now ready to start their journey; receiving a Black Belt is really only the beginning.

Answer 2

American Martial arts are mostly a joke.  You pay for each belt you get and depending on how much money you have you can progress.

Answer 3

About five years on average depending on the instructor.  Shotokan is one of those traditional styles that for the most part has stuck to the same promotion cycle over the years.  You might be able to do it in a little less but that usually takes some pretty hard and serious work and I have seen some older people take as long as six or seven years to get their black belt in Shotokan.

Answer 4

do 100 push ups

http://pushup.com/

Answer 5

about 3 to 4 years

Answer 6

Im blue belt. Its taken me 2 years.

So black belt will be done by next year for me

But for some its hard, depends on how hard you try!

Keep trying.

Answer 7

about 4 years.

Answer 8

Depends on how talented you are!!

Answer 9

You will need about 4 years.Depends on how hard you try.

But no less than 3 and no more than 7 in general.

Answer 10

actually, it's shotokan karate.

it depends on how good are u......

people usually gets in in about 4-7 years.....

Answer 11

once you buy it from the shop....you are the black belt

Answer 12

I am a black belt in Shotokan martial arts, and I will tell you the true way of how long it takes to get a black belt in a traditional Shotokan school.

My instructors are the 4th generation of instructors after Funakoshi invented Shotokan. In my school, test's for increase in ranking are given every 3-6 month's.

It takes a minimum of 4 years to get a black belt in a traditional Shotokan school, and this is if you are a dedicated student. If you go to all classes, stay after for side classes in your dojo, and help out, your instructor may allow you to skip notches in the lower belts. But don't forget that there are nearly 6 to 7 notches (tests) for brown belt and then a pre-test for black belt. And in case you were wondering, there has only been one person in the history of my karate school that has skipped a belt, so do not think this is an option in quickly getting a black belt.

In my opinion, it sounds to me like you want to get a black belt without dedicating yourself to martial arts. I have been in Shotokan martial arts for 8 years and I too, when I was a beginner, wanted to have a black belt more than anything. However, you have to realize that in a legitimate school, black belts are not handed out to people. It takes years of practice and interest in Shotokan martial arts before you will have the ability to take a black belt test.

Lastly, just in case you were wondering, a black belt test itself requires the following:

- you must know all the Heidan kata's, Tekki Shodon, Bassai Dai, and Jion advanced kata's

- you must know at least 2 weapon kata's

- you must know the bunkai to all your kata's performed on the test, including bonus kata's

- you must know all the history of Shotokan martial arts including everything about the life of Gichin Funakoshi

- you must know all the moves to keehon

- you need to have a brief understanding of all other Japanese style martial arts and chinese martial arts, and you need to know the basic history of how martial arts came to America

There are many more requirements than this, and in conclusion, the black belt test is a rigorous 3+ hour test that pushes you to your physical boundaries and requires 50 knuckle push ups on a cement block at the end of the test. If there is a Shotokan school that does not have these physical and mental requirements, it is not a real Shotokan school.