How long would it take to get a black belt in tae kwon do?

Question

Lets take a 37 year old woman (me) who just started tae kwon do. She's in good shape, never fat, naturally athletic, very good muscle tone for someone who never worked out on a regular basis, never got into organized sports until now and never spent her evenings going to aerobics classes. She's somewhat flexible naturally, but is very far from being able to do the splits. She loves training and physical activity especially if there is an element of competition.

Assuming this woman keeps training after work and on the weekends, how long will it take for her to get a black belt. Would it be possible for her to even compete (even if it's only doing forms?).

Answer 1

Just like any other art, it depends on how hard you work, i would not plan on getting it in any less than 2 years.

Answer 2

Sounds like you have a good head start.

Like the others said: 3-4 years depending on your school and if you hardly miss a class.

I'd encourage you to compete in both sparring and forms.  Every tournament I've been to has belt AND age (and sometimes weight) classes - so you won't get beat up!  ;)  Heck - when I was a 22 year old orange belt I got beat (badly) in a sparring match by a woman old enough to be my mom!  (We were the only two women with that belt.)

Besides, competitions are fun! Especially if you go with a group from your school so you can all cheer each other on.

Answer 3

Most academies have testings for the next belt as a class, usually every 3-6 months. It depends on how many belts your academy has. Usually it's around 10 belts, so around 30-60 months or around 3 to 5 years. Yes, I think she could definetly do forms. It doesn't matter really how muscular you are in forms if you can do it well, which means deep stances and lots of power. Taekwondo has a lot to do with flexibility so if you stretch right when you get up (basic stretches: touch your toes, side splits, front splits, windmills, roll your ankles, butterfly, etc.) and stretch before you're about to go to bed, you should gradually get flexible. It's great to see that you're interested in taekwondo (my favorite and in my opinion the most useful martial art). Hope I helped! :)

Answer 4

This really depends on the dojang. At a mcdojo, you can expect it within two years. At a proper dojang you can expect it within three to four years.

There is no reason why you would not be able to achieve your black belt. Enjoy your training!