Should little kids be able to get a black belt?.?

Question

my litttle cousin is getting a black belt but i can still kick his butt.

Answer 1

Some academies have what's called a temporary black belt or junior black belt which is for black belts under a certain age. It's also possible that the teacher doesn't really care about their job at all and doesn't make students earn their ranks. Hope I helped! :)

Answer 2

only if they have killed a man.  

Answer 3

Being able to "kick butt" is not the definition of a black belt.  There is so much more that goes into it.

For starters:

Attitude

Morality

Technique

Ability

...the list goes on.

But in my opinion, children should not recieve black belts unless they are stipulated with some pre-fix like "junior black belt".

I have seen many places that will do something similar to this.

Answer 4

I study TKD and with a lot of McDojangs out there, a lot of kids are getting black belts in like a year.  My school doesn't allow people to test for Black until they are 16. But I've seen places that have kids 7 or 8 that are BB and I don't think it's right.  

Some schools have to produce BBs or else they may go out of business, not matter if you think it's right or wrong, it happens.

There are so many kids that think they are real BBs and it scares me they might get caught in a situation and not be able to defend themselves because they haven't had the proper training time.

Answer 5

I don't think that little kids have the maturity or attitude that a black belt should have. There's a boy that I know who is several years younger than me (I'm 17) who has his. . .what is it now? I can't keep up  -- 2nd or 3rd degree black belt. He heard my kyu rank and asked how many years I've been doing my art. He bragged a little about being ahead of me.

I don't think that people with an ego should be allowed to test for their black belt. Martial arts is about learning self discipline and having an inflated ego doesn't have a place in class.

In our school you have to be at least sixteen to test and  you have to train at the school for a minimum of four years (it's almost always five). The one black belt test I watched was almost four hours long. We don't have junior black belts, and many people drop out because they don't move up through the ranks as fast as other schools.

Answer 6

First, I do not believe that "kicking butt" is a requirement for a black belt.  If that were true then schools would just have massive sparring competitions and give the winner a black belt.  Why is there such an obsession with violence with some people?

Now, how little is little?  Obviously five is way to young and 18 is pretty good, but where do you draw the line in between?  Different kids mature at different rates.  I know 13 year old black belts who are wonderfully mature, are great teachers and students, and basically have their heads on straight.  I also know 18 year old black belts whose act out, stop taking instruction, and are basically an embarrassment.

So my bottom line is that it is up to the instructor granting the belt or the system to develop their own guidelines for a black belt.

I am completely against the concept of a "junior" black belt.  You're either a black belt or you're not.  

Answer 7

I am in a traditional Shotokan school and ever since getting a black belt myself, I have had my thoughts on this topic.

My dojo doesn't promote people under the age of 13 to black belt, at least, I have never seen anyone that young become a black belt in my school.

My answer to your question is no, I don't think children under the age of 13 should be allowed to test for a black belt due to the level of maturity. I know when I was 10-13 and in karate, I thought I was the ultimate **** until I got punched in the eye. Now of course, I don't abuse my skills and I actually do have the ability to fight.

As many other people on here are posting, people under the age of 18 really are considered "junior black belts", for those of whom that have been in karate for over 6-8 years. Before the mid 1990's, however, anyone under the age of 18 was not allowed to have a black belt, and this was a rule that was mainly practiced and kept by Japanese schools.

The reason for this is mainly tournaments. There is a junior black belt division and kids who have been in karate that long are generally above the rank of "advanced", and it's not fair to stick them against other advanced kids when they are really better than them. This is a really big flaw in martial arts when you put some thought into it.

One thing my school does to see ones true potential of being a black belt is by having a knowledge test during the physical part of the test. You have to know everything about Shotokan, who the founder was, who helped promote your style of martial arts, where karate came from, and so on. My school does not hand out black belts to anyone, as they want only truly serious students who want to pass down traditional and true methods of martial arts to the next generation of martial arts practitioners. Over a long amount of time, people change moves and forget katas, and my school is focused on not allowing people who are promoted to black belt to do that.

Lastly, I do not only think kids should not be allowed to get black belts under 13, but I also believe that anyone who is pushed into karate by their parents should not even be in karate, none the less, get a black belt. In the old days of Japan, it was a huge honor to become a black belt, and I think we should not abuse that honor by giving it to inexperienced kids.

Answer 8

The youngest black belt in my dojo is like 35 lol

Answer 9

Junior black belt. The actual black belts you need to work hard for them.  

Answer 10

I don't think children should be eligible for the rank. Of course, it's hard to make blanket statements like that; some young people are more mature than others. But in general, it is my experience that children lack both the mind set and the physical ability to be a black belt. They do not understand the principles behind what they are learning, and they also are incapable of executing techniques at a level as to be effective. What age is appropriate? Again, I can't say exactly because everyone is different. I know one boy who is 12 and is more proficient and dedicated than people twice his age, but I also know people in their 40s or 50s who perform no better than most children. However, I think at somewhere around 16 to 18 most people are capable of fulfilling what my expectation of a black belt would be.  

Answer 11

Giving children "junior" black belts is a western thing and does not serve the child well but does serve the teacher and his or her dojo, kwoon, school well, at least monetarily.

The answer is emphatically, "No".

Answer 12

If they have learned he required forms, and strikes fine, at our school they are not taught joint locks and such until teens at least, adults must learn about 180 joint locks or throws to be black belt, after that another 2 hundred or so before 4th dan, but this is only for after teens.

little kids could not be trusted with that training until at bit more mature.

Answer 13

i don't think anyone should get a blackbelt until.......

they have proven themselves. by sparring (full contact with some protection of course)........against strong opponents. and winning.

i knew a kid who was 15 and he got a 2nd degree blackbelt. and he definitely deserves it. no doubt about it.

but younger than 14, i cant see how someone can get a blackbelt.

Answer 14

kicking butt is not a requirement for getting a black belt.

some schools have a junior black belt. at my school someone can get a junior black belt and gets the real black belt at the age of 13.(thats what i did but i got my junior black belt 3 months before my birthday.) but then again i was very mature for my age and very dedicated to TKD. one of my friends got his black belt and he is one year older than me and talks too much when teaching a class.

other more traditional schools make the person wait until they are 16 or so.

i think that there should be a minimum age of 12 or so for a junior black belt. for the actual black belt i would say 13 or 14.

there really shouldnt be and age limit because some people are more mature and dedicated than others, but its better to have a definite age so people wouldnt be complaining etc.