Junior Black Belt

[Ramirez]

The only martial arts I have any experience with are jiu-jitsu and judo ( well boxing too), so can someone explain to me what a "junior black belt" is? I was just in Newfoundland and checked out my nephew's Tae Kwan Do class, he is a blue belt after 2 years and his father was saying he will be a "junior black belt" in a year or so.

I signed my step son up for judo when he was seven almost 10 years ago, he is just now getting his brown belt, by the time he is 18 he will be a black belt, period, no qualifier.

Does being a junior black belt mean he starts over at white to get a senior black belt?

[sean_stonehart]

Nah... just a couple of hundred bucks is all.

When I was almost 15, I was a 1st geup Red Belt & ready for Black. My teacher told me that it was practice in his school to not promote any person to black until 16. So I spent an extra 16-18 months at red belt. No such critter as a "Junior".

Now, it's an extra fee is all IMO.

[Abbax8]

Actually Mark, there use to be, not so sure if it still exists, that in Judo there were Junior Ranks and you could get a Black Belt, minimum age was 14. Technically it was only for the top competitors.

Judo had three age groups - Yonen - 12 and under
Shonen - 13 to 16
Seinen - 17 and up.

As you moved from one age group to the next you automatically dropped two ranks, so a Yonen Ikkyu becomes a Shonen Sankyu. A Shonen Shodan would be a Seinen Nikyu. This was how it was when I started. I reached Shonen Nikyu, dropped to Seinen Yonkyu the worked my way back up. It kind of sucked but that was how it was.

Dennis

[Storiale]

Yep, most schools that I've known about have a separate ranking for kids... same rank, but they hold the black belt for adults. Not really that fair, but when you are 18 and competing against kids your whole life, it is a different world to now spar and compete against a 25 - 40 year old.

Also, most black belts quit training after they get the belt. It is definitely a way to keep them at the school as well. Which I agree with, personally. Once a black belt, always a black belt. However, just because you once earned a black belt doesn't mean much if you stopped training.

[jjaje]

We have a children's curriculum which is a subset of the adult curriculum. As a kenpo style that is heavily technique driven, it's just too much information and too many techniques for kids to memorize for one thing. Basically the childrens curriculum is a subset of the adult curriculum, but some of the techniques that emphasize throat punches, certain chokes and some of the arm dislocation/breaks are not included.

We do have an "adult" black belt rank, and junior black belt (with no testing fees for either one). Junior black belt rank is for those under 16, and there are no "degrees" possible. If someone has a junior black belt, they still need to learn the rest of the adult curriculum and take an adult black belt test.

In all practicality, the average is probably 8 years to a black belt at our school. So it's kind of a moot point, because (1) we wear belts very rarely in our school, thus the belt doesn't become the goal (2) When they get older, they just start working the full curriculum and just wait until 16 (or later) for the regular black belt.

Even if a youth could do every basic, kata and technique perfectly, we still would not issue a regular black belt before 16 years of age. That's just policy based on the maturity and responsibility needed for the rank.

[jjaje]

... Not really that fair, but when you are 18 and competing against kids your whole life, it is a different world to now spar and compete against a 25 - 40 year old.

The TXC amateur featherweight MMA fighter is only 19 (it's humbling to routinely get your butt kicked by someone not old enough to drink a beer with you afterwards)
jay1-21-12.jpg

[Abbax8]

When I first fought against seniors, the fights were less brutal than those I had in the junior ranks.

Dennis

[Mark Barlow]

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