The normal answer to this is “Never, the average person never trains long enough to get a black belt” Maybe 1 in a 100 will actually make it to black belt.
This is a question I get asked time after time, and probably one of the most common questions asked when they start martial arts. How long will it take me to get a black belt?
Think of it as being no different to taking driving lessons or learning anything else new. There are so many factors involved in how long it will take, including age, previous experience, how many lessons per week or per month you attend, how quickly you learn, how much effort you put in, and a lot more, so there are quite a few things to consider.
People who attend 2 or 3 lessons per week in theory could achieve belts quicker than someone who attends 1 or 2 lessons per month, however neither are guaranteed. We can’t tell you exactly, but can tell you how long previous students have taken to achieve theirs, and you can use that as a guide.
And remember, belts by themselves do not mean anything, and just because I have a 6th degree black belt, this does not mean I’m better than anyone else at a lower belt than me, and can do everything better than others, this is just not true. It simply means I’ve been training for 35 years and my instructor(s) believed I had the necessary skills and experience to achieve those belts.
Everyone is different and will do things at their own speed, and that’s the beauty of what we do at impact martial arts in our kickboxing classes, it’s not a competition against anyone but yourself and to be that little bit better than you were yesterday.
