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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThis is a topic that comes up with some regularity on social media. New students generally want to know how long it takes to get a black belt. They\u2019re almost always referring to shodan (1st<\/sup> dan) as well. Very few people ask how long it takes to get to anything beyond that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answers to this are universally the same and quite fascinating. They almost all read like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt takes at least seven years, but it doesn\u2019t matter because a black belt doesn\u2019t mean anything. It\u2019s a beginners belt\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost all the answers will contain either the first or second part but the majority will contain both. I\u2019ve always found this to be quite insulting to beginning students, as well as extremely disheartening. At the same time it highlights a very interesting failure amongst aikidoka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first issue with this is the humble-bragging. The idea that the black belt doesn\u2019t mean anything. I will grant you that this is technically true. The rank of shodan is an indication that you have mastered the basics and are ready to start learning aikido. It\u2019s often referred to as \u2018The First Step\u2019. The people who say this though will generally wear it with a degree of pride. Very few individuals regard it as not meaning anything on the day they are awarded their black belt. I was certainly happy when I received mine. As has everyone else I\u2019ve known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second problem with the idea that it doesn\u2019t mean anything is a result of the first part. The length of time. Seven years is thrown around a lot. I don\u2019t why, there\u2019s certainly no official rule that says that, but that\u2019s the number that people seem to use. I can think of a single individual to state a number less than 5, not counting myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quite simply it vastly demeans a persons achievement. You cannot turn up to training, half-ass it, and get a black belt in several years time. Ok, you can totally do that, but only in a McDojo. No, in order to get a black belt you have to dedicate years of your life, you will be injured, you will be tired, you will feel like giving up. If you cannot develop the discipline to get on the mats week after week, to put yourself through something that, at least in the beginning, is inherently uncomfortable, then you will not succeed. You have to have the patience to get there and the strength of character to keep going when pizza and a movie are so much more appealing. You\u2019re going to invest significant financial resources to achieve this goal. All of this, is voluntary. Nobody is going to make you go through any of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then at the end of it someone tells you it was all meaningless. That\u2019s insulting. That demeans everything the person has gone through to receive that black belt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where the time element comes in. I could almost accept the idea that shodan is meaningless if you didn\u2019t spend over five years getting there. University degrees take less time to earn than that. When a person dedicates seven years of their life to something, telling them it was meaningless lessens you. What\u2019s even worse, and I see this all the time, is the justification of, \u201cWell, the truth hurts.\u201d It\u2019s used to excuse their behaviour as being legitimate. It\u2019s not a good excuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therein lies the core of the problem. It takes a very long time to achieve something that doesn\u2019t actually mean anything. Personally I disagree with this statement. I think it takes a very long time to achieve something that\u2019s actually quite important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we accept the premise that it takes seven years and that shodan is a beginner level then where this gets really interesting is when we ask ourselves, \u2018Why does it take so long to achieve such a basic level?\u2019 After careful consideration I\u2019ve settled on an answer but that\u2019s a topic for a different month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would seem to me that this disconnect, between time taken and level achieved, comes down to a misunderstanding of what a shodan represents. I know several people who trained in Japan, you probably do too. Almost universally they have told me that a black belt in Japan is a very low level. They don\u2019t mean that in the way that we\u2019ve been discussing. It\u2019s not humble-bragging. When asked to explain further they all essentially say the same thing. The standard required to achieve the rank of shodan in Japan is a lot lower than it is in other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s two ways to look at that. The first is that the Japanese standards are too low. I discount that one straight away. I could give numerous arguments for it but I stack those against the simple fact they invented the system so they should know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second is that the standards outside Japan are too high. This I\u2019m completely inclined to believe. If you look at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo grading syllabus you\u2019ll note that it\u2019s entirely possible to gain a shodan in under a year. The time requirement lists 300 days training from kihon to shodan. For the record, they count an hour of training as a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll fully admit it would likely take you longer than 300 hours. I suspect not much longer though. The point is that it\u2019s a much shorter space of time, which means the standard is lower, which means everywhere else is likely too high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have had literal arguments with people in grading panels over this. On one notable occasion there were two people grading for 1st<\/sup> kyu. They wanted to fail one and promote the other. I wanted to give them both shodan. I wasn\u2019t alone, the grading panel was split 50\/50 over this and after 30 minutes I was moments away from doing something I hate. Pulling the tradition card. The only way I could see around it was to point out that myself and the other yondan were in agreement, we are senior, and therefore we have decided. In the end that\u2019s what happened but without anyone saying it out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hopefully this story will highlight what may be at the heart of the problem. There is no actual standard for a grade. If I put 100 aikido sandan\u2019s or higher in a room and ask them what is required to pass a shodan grading I\u2019m going to get 100 different answers. This is a problem and leads to grade inflation (coming in a month or two).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We really do need to move past the illogical concept that a shodan can take so long to achieve and still be meaningless. If it really takes that long, maybe your standards are too high. If you don\u2019t think they\u2019re too high, then start giving those who achieve a black belt the respect they deserve because of what they\u2019ve gone through to get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you can afford it, and would like to help out, So what’s the answer?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Issues<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Why is that a problem for what a black belt means?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Heart Of The Problem<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
An apparent disconnect<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nVibrant Discussions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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consider donating some brain fuel!<\/p>\n\n\n