Q&A for How to Get a Black Belt in Karate

Definitely! Karate is also a way of finding inner peace and discipline -- don't only focus on attacking and defending.

You can learn at any age.

Wait until the injury heals, and then continue training. Getting injured is a part of life and competing in sports, and an injury can often be a valuable learning experience.

Typically age 7 - 8 is when the young kids have their minds able to focus and bodies coordinated enough to train.

It will give you a good background and history, for sure. As for learning physical techniques, that is best learned from your sensei, as some books, especially the generalized ones, could be detrimental to your learning and development.

All of them are good, but Kyokushin has a lot more focus on hard sparring.

You can learn at any age.

It depends on what style of karate you learn. Each school will have its own requirements, so get with your teacher or school administrator to find out.

Generally there are ten, but it also depends on your school.

Be brave, and try to use your memory to its fullest potential to remember everything that you need to know for it.

Most karate schools do both open hand (karate) and weapons (kobudo); you usually start the open hand portion first and then after a certain level you'll add in weapons. Some schools combine both within the requirements for your rank, while others separate the two so that you'll have two different belts at once. So a person can have a black belt in open hand and a purple in weapons. It could also be that the school does karate and another type of martial art (aikido or jujitsu); all three are very different and are taught separately, and thus different belts are awarded for each.

It usually takes 4-5 years to achieve a black belt in karate.

Practice as much as you possibly can at home. Just because you can only visit the dojo once a week, does not mean you can't spend time going over your lessons.

No you can not. You need the combination of being taught the proper techniques along with performing them on another student to understand what you are doing. MMA / UFC fighters are taught by unqualified "coaches" who themselves do not know what they are doing or even talking about and are not accepted as "real martial artists." Find a school that you like and stick to your goals. You really have to take one step at a time. Only 3% of real martial artists ever become black belts.

No, it is not. One must study, practice and learn over years to advance that far.

4 - 5 years if you train twice a week.

Of course! That's a great time to start pursuing your black belt.

If you are tutored by a proper sensei, yes, but it will slow down your performance.

Well, there are different stage in different schools, but in mine, it goes white, red, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, brown, and then black. It probably will be different in the school you're considering joining.

If you are scared to teach, you're not ready to teach. Train more and work out your fears.

Go over your kata at home and try to learn how to do new moves and katas on the internet.

There is no age requirement, but you can check with your specific program to see if there is an age minimum.

There is no best school. This is because not everything will work for you as a person. One dojo might have a teaching style that doesn't suit you or your body type, whereas with others you may not feel comfortable attending. The best way to find a school is to go, watch and ask questions about contact, injury management and prevention, tournaments, requirements and how long it takes to get to black (this should be around 7 -10 years).

Yes, you will need to be somewhat flexible, but if you're just starting out, you will gain flexibility as you advance through the belt levels. Ask your instructor if they can suggest stretches for you to do.

As long as your karate club is indoors, it is not dangerous to do karate in winter.

You cannot. You must be tested and graded by a black belt to receive your black belt.

There are 10 Dans (Degrees) for black belt. When you first get promoted to your black belt, you are a Sho (1st) Dan.

Usually, it's one to two years after passing the first dan exam. It will vary by school, however.

There are no websites. Karate is a long process of dedication, loyalty and pride. There is no modern aspect in it, it is complete with customs, and practice. You should have revived a student handbook that has everything needed in it. You will practice your forms, and do not stop at black belt. There are many more belts, and do not compare yourself to others, only do your best.

It takes an average of 4-5 years to gain a black belt in karate. Some times longer depending on your age, your natural abilities, body type, coordination levels, fitness levels, the type of sports you have done before, how much you train, how much you listen to your instructor and so on.