How long does it take to get black belt for aikido?
Why do you ask? Black belt in any traditional martial art is only the beginning. In Japanese or Okinawan martial arts all ranks below black belt are collectively called Mudansha. Basically it means “Nothing”. The Black belt ranks are collectively called Yudansha. When a student reaches his first degree black belt, he is seen as a beginner who is now ready to learn the art. Black belt only means that you have learned the basics. It does not mean that you are good at them. I’m not belittling getting a black belt. It is a big accomplishment. but it is only the beginning. In the 1960’s (when I began my training) no one dared ask how long it took to reach black belt. That was because it is not based on time, but knowledge, understanding, and ability. There were minimum time requirements between belt ranks. However they were seldom used to determine if someone was ready to test for rank. Our instructor would tell a student that he could test, only when he had decided that the student was wor
