Four Year Incubation Period To Get To Black Belt In Karate

It often irritates me when people talk about it taking four years to earn their Black Belt in Karate

. This is one of the silliest ideas that has ever taken root in the martial arts. And, I might add, it is just as stupid in any art, be it Kenpo or Jujitsu or whatever.

Martial Arts instructors who push this concept often claim that it takes that long for the body to change. The tendons have to elongate and the muscles have to striate and the bones have to do whatever bones do when you block and punch with them. This is, of course, a justification for time, when their real motive is to keep a student on contract, or to enhance their authority, or some other tawdry reason.

I'm sure there is some change that is going to happen in the body, but not as much as one might think. The fact is that if you gave physical tests to a black belt and a white belt, the black belt would do better, but only by a little. Black belts and white belts train together in many classes, and except for a little harder breathing in the beginning, within a month the white belt manages to keep up.

So it takes about a month to change the body, and this is easily seen if you just look at the military training programs. They take a person and totally change his body in as little as eight weeks. So the concept that it is going to take four years to reach some ideal body just doesn't hold water.

The second half of this notion has to do with history and the people who have gotten to a black belt degree. There are people who have made it to black belt in a short time...Mike Stone took half a year, Chuck Norris a year and a half, Joe Lewis made black belt in three different systems in one year...and so on. So it is possible, but you have to break out of the mind set that has been sold you, that it takes four years to get to the rank of black belt.

Now we come to the kicker on this. Where did the four year to black belt idea come from? Actually, it came from a guy who didn't even get his black belt...it came from Ed Parker.

When Mr. Parker was instructing people in the art of kenpo he was a brown belt. He returned home and asked his instructor to teach him more techniques, and he was told no. Thunderbolt Chow didn't want to teach him more martial arts techniques, and certainly not to promote him.

So Ed Parker returned to the US, found a kung fu master to show him techniques, and began selling karate like you would sell cars. A couple of his students (the Tracey Brothers) actually got a car salesman to show them how to get students on four year contracts, which is the length of time it takes to pay off an automobile. And that is why it takes four years to earn a black belt in Karate, or Judo, or Kenpo, or just about any martial art that bought into this notion.

by: Al Case

POST COMMENT

Computer Repair Silver Spring Md Firms - Which One Is Right For You? Find An Easy Solution To All Your Computer Problems Feel Free To Quit Smoke With Silver Surfer Vaporizers How To Give Sparkling Best Man Speech Granite Worktops A Vital Option To Choose Aprende A Superar El Comer Emocionalmente Y Pierde Peso Abs Are Made In The Kitchen, Not In The Gym Central Texas Barbecue The Whole Truth About Pimples Scar Prevention Benefits Of Mississauga Condos For Sale Choose A Good Mississauga Condos Agent Quality Stock Photo The Whole Truth About Blackheads