Question:

How long does it take to become a grandmaster in tae kwon do?

by  |  earlier

0 LIKES UnLike

How long does it take to become a grandmaster in tae kwon do?

 Tags:

   Report

4 ANSWERS


  1. What many people don't understand is that no matter how many years someone trains they may never be a grandmaster.  You do not become a master or a grandmaster simply be attaining a certain rank. Titles and ranks are separate things. The head of an organization decides who they will award the titles to.

    Edit:

    Jpenergy.....  and your point is?   Your answer does not seem to answer the question.

    Jamesf24 ......  I understand your comments, I have heard and seen the same thing over and over.  That is exactly why i said what I did.  The Korean arts borrowed the belt rank system from the Japanese.  However it seems that they take a very loose approach to titles. As far back as the 1960's and 70's I remember many korean martial artists using the term master for anyone 4th dan and up. That is just plain crazy. While many are mature, knowledgeable and good enough to be considered a master. The term itself has been abused because of lowering of standards. I'm not picking on Korean arts. I've seen this many places. Having been around this for a long time, I for one am tired of children being called instructors, 20 years olds being called master, and 25 -30 year olds being called grand master is silly.  Half of the so called masters meet can't even tie their belts correctly.  What is it going to take before the martial arts population begins to get a clue that they have been duped. Ranks, and titles are handed out like they are nothing.    Originally no one was even allowed to be a black belt before age 16. Then 2nd dan was at least 2 years.  3rd dan took at least 3 more years. 4th dan was at least another 4 years.  Last time I did the math 16 +2 +3 +4 = 25. and that was very rare even then. most martial artists took much longer.  I've know hundreds of serious martial artists that trained for 15-20 years and were not considered masters. They however are some of the best martial artists out there.  I'm not picking on anyone here. I just had to set the record straight on this.  It makes me sick to see the handing out of titles and ranks like it is candy.


  2. I believe the WTF (World Tae Kwon Do Federation) recognizes 5th Dan - 7th Dan as Master and 8th Dan & up as Grand Master.  There is some variance here as many places (including ours) are now recognizing 4th Dan as masters.  

    Some other styles don't go by rank for this title, it's only the for the founder or oldest surviving Master of the art.  

    As for how long it takes, we have a guy that is 24 years old, he's been training since he was about 8, and just earned his 4th dan.  He may be a "Grandmaster" by the time he is 40 as you usually wait 2-3 years between dan's.  

    To go from 1st to 2nd, you have to take 3 trial test, 6 months apart, then your "confirmation test".  

    2nd to 3rd - 5 trial tests 6 months apart, then confirmation

    The number of trial tests for each dan increases as you go up.  

    James

  3. my teacher is 8th dan and has been practicing for 40 years, ran a school in Korea, then came here has been here at least 20 years, 1 guy, a 3rd dan studied under him in Korea and then here and still comes to class once in a while.

  4. Approximately 30 years total. Depending on how quickly you become skilled and how dedicated you are, but after black belt, they start putting one, then two, then three, etc. years in between dan rankings. The short answer is it takes a lifetime.

Question Stats

Latest activity: earlier.
This question has 4 answers.

BECOME A GUIDE

Share your knowledge and help people by answering questions.