The Journey to Black Belt —

When people call the Minnesota Taekwondo Center to inquire about taking lessons, a common question is “How long does it take to get a black belt?” Our general answer is “Three years is about the minimum, but everyone progresses at their own pace. Many people take longer and some can do it slightly faster.” With the growing popularity of taekwondo and its development as an Olympic sport, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at how this timetable developed.

As you can see, the training time necessary to achieve a black belt has shortened over the years. And the U.S.T.U., with its emphasis on sport taekwondo, has greatly accelerated the minimum training requirements. At the Minnesota Taekwondo Center, we have gone from 36 months in 1975 to 30 months, based on three workouts a week. If you come more often, you can do it in 26. However, promotions have always been dependent on the teachers’ assessment of the student. And most people take longer than three years to test for black belt.

We could take a very athletically gifted person and teach them all the physical techniques they need to know to test for black belt in six months. But what would be missing is the mental development. This kind of development can’t be rushed, even if you work out seven days a week. It’s a slow process that only comes with putting in the time. That’s part of the unique value of the martial arts. Otherwise there is little to distinguish it from working out in a gym.

Our school has always taken pride in the fact that when you get a black belt here, it truly stands for something. The Minnesota Taekwondo Center does not have the reputation for being a “black belt factory”. Students work long and hard, and the requirements are challenging. And we hope that if you achieve the rank of black belt, it is more than something you take off and hang on your wall next to your diploma. We hope it has become an important part of your life, one that you will continue long past your black belt test.