It has not taken long—in his very first class, one of my new students has asked the question, “how long does it take to get a black belt?” There are many people across the world with some experience in martial arts, and perhaps many of them would smile wryly at this question. But the question in this case was, I know, coming from a genuine desire to learn. Apart from replying that it would depend on several factors, and pointing out that not every martial art system uses a belt ranking system (and even if it does, a black belt might not be part of that system), I posed a more fundamental question in return, “what does a black belt mean to you?”
Apart from the basic physical description, what does a black belt mean to you?
To many people outside the martial arts world, a black belt is probably most associated with having achieved a certain level of physical combat proficiency. Perhaps there is some vague conception of a person who has earned a black belt being ‘dangerous’ or ‘tough.’ Or perhaps, for the cynical, there could be the belief that a black belt is just some fake notion of fighting ability, promulgated by martial art schools for their own gain. The extent to which the notion of a ‘black belt’ is taken seriously (or not) will depend on what that means to the individual. You can talk to someone who is well studied in martial arts history and culture, and it can mean something serious, or you can talk to someone who has maybe watched some martial art movies or perhaps has had a bad experience with a martial art school, and it can mean nothing.
We could well draw a parallel with religion (or many other things) here. Plenty of people will tick a box on the census form indicating that they have a certain religious belief, but whether that belief has any practical evidence to back it up could be another matter completely. Plenty of people might claim that they are good drivers, but that does not mean their claim is necessarily accurate.
Consider also that even if the general meaning of something is understood, the qualities can vary significantly from one instance to another. Take, for example, the academic degree of Doctor of Philosophy—commonly abbreviated as Ph.D., though D.Phil. is another form (probably best known as the form used by the Univerisity of Oxford). Setting aside any fake university degrees for a moment, anyone who has any experience in academic research will be well aware that a Ph.D. is a highly respected qualification, and anyone who has earned a Ph.D. has had to demonstrate a significant degree of intellectual novelty, thorough research, critical analysis, and had to submit a comprehensive thesis that must pass rigorous examination. At many universities, an oral examination (a face-to-face examination with the examiners, normally to defend the argument presented in the thesis) is also a basic requirement. In some educational systems, such as those in North America, advanced coursework must also be completed in addition to the thesis requirements.
What standing does a Ph.D. have? To some extent, as I have mentioned above, any legitimate Ph.D. is worthy of respect and recognition. At the same time, it would be fair to say that a Ph.D. awarded by some universities would be of higher standing than one awarded by other universities. While prestige may form part of that perception, I am thinking more of actual quality of education provided to the candidate, quality of work undertaken by the candidate (which will be commensurate with the standards of the university), and the quality of the examination process itself. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with universities, think of the difference in quality between schools. Not all schools are the same, not all universities are the same, and to an extent, not all Ph.D. degrees are the same.
Having established that the meaning of a black belt can vary significantly depending on context (with a brief analogy to Ph.D. degrees), we can come back to thinking about some commonalities between what various martial art schools might set as the requirements for a black belt awarded within each school.
While martial art schools will differ in their approach to practical effectiveness, I would expect that most schools would consider some degree of practical combat effectiveness (or actual, physical self-defence capability) to be a significant factor, if not the primary one. But how is that calibrated? One school may use its master’s personal judgement as the standard—and there is a long tradition of that. Another school may require certain practical tests, such as being able to break a prescribed number of wooden boards, clay tiles, or other objects with a prescribed technique. Yet others may place an emphasis on physical fitness, requiring several rounds of sparring (simulated combat) as part of the test. Other schools may require an element of historical or technical knowledge, so there could be an oral examination (just as for many Ph.D. degrees). Leadership or teaching ability could be other factors to be taken into account.
We could keep going, and for quite some time. Let us turn back to the question of “how long?”
Apart from the criteria for the award of a black belt, which as we have seen can vary greatly, there is the question of what standards exist. Even if all martial art schools were to adopt common elements, they could have vastly different standards for those elements. This is where standardisation comes into play. Think back to the Ph.D. analogy. Again, assuming that we are going to ignore the fake degrees that are out there, we can appreciate that all established universities across the world will share certain general standards that have been adopted through experience, through common expectation, and perhaps by mandated standards set by governments or accrediting bodies.
The problem here for the black belt is that while major organising bodies do exist in various martial arts, and should be commended for their efforts as far as standardisation is concerned, they very much operate in isolation—typically being restricted to a single martial art, and often a single style of said martial art. They are not like universities, which award degrees across several academic fields under far more regulated conditions. Am I suggesting that martial art ranks could or should be standardised to the same extent as the most common types of university degree? No; I have simply drawn an analogy to try to illustrate certain aspects.
Ultimately, I think it comes down to the definition of the black belt as determined by each martial art school for the purpose of ranking its own students. The criteria and the standards will depend on each school’s leader, leaders, or governing body. For many schools, that will come down to the expertise and the credibility of the master of the school.
Only once we have an understanding of those factors can we even begin to think about how long it would take to earn a black belt in a given martial art school. And that will depend to a large extent on the specific instructor’s teaching ability, and even more so on the specific student’s desire and ability to learn. Assuming reasonably competent instruction, the determining factor comes down to the individual student—and that should not really come as a surprise, should it?
To sum up, it is a fair question and a sensible question to ask, “how long does it take to get a black belt?” But it is not a question that necessarily has a simple or straightforward answer. I have outlined above some of the complexities attached to that question, and the assumptions that one may or may not be making in asking that question.