Not all Martial Arts Schools are the same. A while ago I was sitting at the Front desk at the University Karate Center when a gentleman came through the door with his son. He told me the boy was six years old and had just been given his Black Belt in Taekwondo and now the Dad was thinking about having him join my academy to learn Karate. The next question was “can he keep his belt”. I told the father “of course he can keep his belt, but he must keep it at home”. Some schools believe that they should award a Black Belt after two years of study, regardless of the student’s level of skill or achievement. I am not of this mind. I see no reason to award a rank until a required degree of proficiency can be demonstrated. Consequently, the students in my academy have to train long and hard to achieve promotion through the ranks to Black Belt and beyond.
My MuDoKai (unlimited way) Martial Arts style is a scientifically based method of training, so our practice does not always look like other schools.