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I am currently training for my Kempo Black Belt test. I attend a 1 hour class once a week, and practice with other brown belts once a week for about 2 hours. Is that enough for preparation? My test is in 2 months, and I have been doing this for 5 months now.

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Entirely depends on your sensei expectations and your current skills. It might be enough for a sensei and totally insufficient for another. How about asking directly that question to your master? – pboy Apr 2 '12 at 18:08
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Welcome to the site! As it stands, this question isn't a great fit for our format – it is dependent upon your instructor's point of view of your progression, so it is really only answerable by him. Please try to rephrase the question. Please keep our proposed FAQ in mind when asking questions here. – stslavik Apr 2 '12 at 18:31
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@RichardGivis One way you could improve your question is by making it more specific and actually anticipating the answer you really want. Why do you feel like your training is not enough? Do you have a busy schedule? What are your concerns with taking the test? Is it a confidence issue? Do you feel like you don't know the material well enough? The better you specify what your concerns are, the better answers you will get. – Matt Chan♦ Apr 2 '12 at 19:53
i don't know about kenpo, but when i was preparing for my black belt test in judo, i was training 2 hours a day 4x a week. – Patricia Apr 5 '12 at 14:15
I'm afraid we can't help you with this question. As @pboy said - you should ask your teacher, not us. – Trevoke Apr 5 '12 at 17:38

closed as not constructive by slugster♦, Trevoke, stslavik Apr 6 '12 at 17:57

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.

1 Answer

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I don't ever think I have enough preparation, but I also never know when my next test is going to be. That's because my sensei will only test me when he feels I am ready to be tested. However, he does share with me the criteria for getting to the next belt. In general, as you progress things that you need to make sure of are:

  • Technique. As a potential black belt, your technique should be exemplary. Make it crisp, and make sure it reflects the style you've been taught.
  • Power. My art has requirements for being able to perform certain breaks, mainly as a demonstration of the power already in our technique. In short, there should be something behind your technique.
  • Knowledge. All arts have requirements for the set of katas, combinations (sometimes called one-steps), techniques, etc. that someone of your rank should know. Particularly in the black belt ranks, it is not uncommon to be required to come up with your own combinations (one-steps) or counters to ones you learned as an underbelt.
  • Timing. Higher ranks have had more practice than lower ranks. This means they are more used to the techniques, combinations, etc. They are also able to react at sparring speeds to execute these techniques. For example, delivering a kick on a moving target requires that you get your timing down right.
  • Teaching ability. The higher your rank, the closer to an instructor you become. Different schools will require you to reach different dans (degrees on your black belt) before you can become an instructor. However, you will be working with under belts to help them get to where you are during class. To keep progressing, you will have to know your art well enough to teach it.

So, assuming you know the requirements for becoming a black belt, do you feel like you are currently ready in all these areas? If not, it's time to start focusing your training time to bring up the weak areas. Some schools require you to demonstrate your cumulative knowledge from white belt to black belt, making that test pretty intense. Are you physically ready for it? If not, start incorporating the conditioning work to get ready.

In many ways, the quality of your training matters more than the quantity. However, if you can't cover everything you need to cover in the training you are currently doing, you will need to increase the frequency. It might be a good idea to plan your personal training to be ready by the time you are tested. In the weight lifting world it's called "programming", and applied to martial arts it's a matter of what you are going to focus on, how often you are going to train, and what training tools you are going to use.

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