we are all aware that there are different schools out there and that things are run differently...so what i'm interested in is the following: in Tae kwon do children younger than 16 who pass the black belt test are not allowed to wear one. they get a black-red belt which is not called black belt 1st Dan but Poom. does such a thing exist in karate?
In our school, which is Isshinryu karate there are no blackbelts under 18. They are talking about changing this to 16 but as it stands you just stay at your second brown until you are 18. I don't know about other karate schools but for us we don't have a special 'junior' black belt or anything.
We don't have the junior belt in our class either. If they make it to Brown at twelve they stay there until they reach the age of sixteen. This has a lot to do with the fact that our Black Belts must show that they know, can use, and know when not to use certain incapacitating and killing techniques. Most of the more dangerous techniques are trained at Brown Belt. And, they are only taught these techniques if they meet the age requirement and show sufficient maturity to know such things.
In our school, people under the age of 14-16 or so are considered JUNIORS and are expected to know less than ADULT karateka. Our school is young and has yet to yeild a new black belt, but I'm pretty sure that our sensei would allow junior black belts (probably in the form of probationary black belt until the proper age)
We had a couple of junior black belts in my old club - one was nine, and the other was his 11yr old sister. They had to re-take their 1st dan when they became seniors (I don't remember whether this was 16 or 18) but still got to wear their BBs in the meantime. A lad in my present club earned (and now wears) his black belt a short while ago, just after he turned twelve. As far as I know, the only concession on him is that he has to wait until he's eighteen before he can go for his 2nd dan. I'm not sure what was in his grading, but generally the junior (under 16yrs) syllabus doesn't demand as much as the senior (adult) syllabus for the same grade - at least up to 3rd kyu/brown belt. I suspect what happens after that depends on the student in question and is up to our chief instructor - I doubt he would have awarded the grade if he didn't think it was deserved, irrespective of age.
In the system of Kempo I study, you have to be 18yrs. old to hold the rank of 1st degree black. Otherwise, you remain a brown/black belt until you turn 18. There was at one point discussion on a jr. BB, but it never really got off the table. Right now my son studies hybrid form of karate(blend of Okinawan/TSD). He's 6 now, so it'll be interesting to see what happens when he reaches that BB level in the next 4-5 years. I've had discussions with his instructor over this, so we'll see where it goes
