I am starting TKD tomorrow and I was just wondering 3 things: 1) what do you spend your time doing as a white belt? 2) How long did it take you to get yellow belt? 3) How long did it take you to complete the splits? thanks.
Have fun starting tomorrow! The time it takes to move from rank to rank depends entirely on the school you attend. Some schools test only once or twice a year; others offer tests to the lower belts every two or three months. I probably spent three months each for my first few belts—3 months to white belt yellow tag, three more to yellow belt... it was awhile ago, so it's hard to remember! As a white belt, you spend your time learning the very crucial basics. Basic bunches, basic blocks, basic kicks... then you repeat them a lot. You may or may not learn your first form, but everything you do for the next couple of belts will be intended to reinforce your basic moves. It may seem a bit tedious at times (and really awesome other times!), but the moves will be the foundation of everything else you learn—so appreciate the time to get them right. And for what it's worth... I've been practicing various forms of TKD for a decade now, and still can't do a full splits. So if you get them, you'll have beaten me!
Don't worry about rank. Skill is what you're after. It took me 5 years to get promoted to my next rank once simply because I could never make testing days. Did that mean I was magically less than the guys who did earn them? Of course not.
Three months per belt at low levels seems about right. That's common in karate and there are a lot of similarities in the grading from what I've seen.
My new school grades every 2 months. I know that it does not matter what belt you wear, but it feels nice to be able to say that you are anything but a white belt. I see... white belt sounds not as bad as i imagined. I thought it would be a ton of conditioning and little actual tkd but it sounds like its the opposite.
I do not practice TKD but I am a white belt and have been training for almost 2 months. We do a lot of conditioning. My instructor is huge on cardio it takes some getting use to but I am loving the pay off. I am not even the least bit concerned about ranking up I am just enjoying the training. Have fun!
I spent a lot of time trying to remember all the moves and following the commands. The toughest part was practicing turning in my stances. We did a pattern (4 direction strike) that contained much of the key material - did that a lot (and I always start my home practice with it). Normally it takes about 2 months (if you hit 2-3 classes a week and practice a lot at home). I did double classes every night and tested a bit early. Still working on them! I can kick people in the head but the body just won't give me a full split....
It took me 3 months to get to yellow belt, the school I started at did testing every 3 months. How long varies from school to school, places with a lot of ranks it might take a month, but 2 is probably the most common. What did I do as a white belt? It was a long time ago, as I recall it was spend time on stances, technique, learning the pattern and getting the snot beat out of me in sparring. I have never been able to do the side splits, just couldn't get there, I could do side kicks higher than my head but couldn't do the splits. I was able to do the front splits after a couple of years, but it wasn't something I really focused on doing.
After 20 years of training, if you can wear your white belt and defeat all black belts, you will make many people to feel depressed. To wear white belt will have advantage. If you lose, you won't lose face. If you win, your opponent will lose his face big time.
Just my 2 pennyworth. I've found that 2-3 months for the first half of the colour belt progression is about right. 4 to 6 months for later colour belts - but this is really dependent entirely on the student. I personally sat at 5th Kup blue tips for well over a year until I felt I could perform the kicks adequately. In the dojang I attend, the white belts do pretty much what the rest of us do - including having a go at stuff like reflex kicks, flying and jumping techniques, and some (very light controlled) breaking. Otherwise you'll be spending quite a lot of time on a 4-directional punch exercise and some basic linework. You'll probably be surprised at how quickly you pick up the majority of it, and how slowly the fine detail sinks in! I hope you have a great time! ps: I couldn't do the splits if my life depended on it - I can only just about sit cross legged!
Another karate guy chiming in, but it's relevant to your interests. 1 - Learning basics. Basic stances, kicks, punches, blocks, and forms. And some self defense. 2 - Took me a little less then a year to go from white to green (we only do white->green->brown->black). 3 - Last time I could do a split I was 5 years old.
Basic stances, reverse punch, front kick, round kick, basic blocks, and the first hyung (form), if memory serves. About 6 months 41 years and counting
Took about six months for yellow belt. Three for white/yellow and then three more for yellow. Everyone does the same thing in our class. Some basic punch kick drills. Learning forms practicing breaking techniques. After 5 years in martial arts I can do the side split but no where close to the front.
My school tests every quarter. Only the few that are ready are invited to test regardless of rank. Of course they teach several MA styles there. I went 6 months between yellow and orange. When I moved away from tkd to karate it only took me 1 month to achieve a full yellow. It's all about the student,and instructor. When I was in TKD every class we went over basics white to black belts all the same. I am always reminded about the time I correct a black belt on her stance in pawlge 2. She uses it as an example of why we all still practice the basics. Doing the splits is not very high on my bucket list. I can kick head level without em.
WTF TKD here! At my school, white belts usually train: - Basic Kicks, Punches, and blocks. - Taegeuk 1 Jang (White Belt form) - Leg (Hip) Strength - Balance How long until Yellow belt? I think it took me 4ish months, but I have prior MA training.. The average from what I can tell is 5 - 7 in my school. Splits? Ugh, over half way there after 10 years off and 2 years on.
