Belt Auction

Question about karate/ belts. What happens if...?

...I took karate as a kid, got up to a red belt , and then stopped taking lessons. 12 years later If i decided to start up again, would I start as a red belt? or would they make me re take classes and start as a white belt again? Just curious as to how this would work, its only a hypothetical question. Thanks :)

Public Comments

1. I took taekwondo, I got up to black belt first degree. I will always be a black belt. If I stopped at red, and started again at a later time the master would evaluate my skills and whether I remembered my forms and give me my belt based on that. I know someone who started at orange from just before a black belt.
2. no you would not start as a red belt
3. They would test you to what level belt skills you have and that would decide your belt color.
4. It depends on the instructor--when I went back to TKD(after a few years off) my instructor let me train as a 5th gup(purple belt). I would ask, to be sure.
5. Your new school would probably want to test you and see whether you can pick up where you left off, or whether you should start from the beginning again. You might have forgotten some of the basics in that time; you might find that your new school does things differently than your old one did, so you'd have to start over anyways; or you might just be out of shape from not having done karate in twelve years.
6. If it has been 12 years since you last trained you should start all over for a couple of reasons. First you were a kid back then and now you will be learning adult Karate which is quite different. It is time to start over and open your mind so you can learn again. Secondly you should do it out of respect for the school you chose to train at. Just because you earn a belt in one system does not mean it is the same in another. I was a brown belt in Goju Ryu when I began training in Judo. The first day they asked me what belt I wanted to wear when training since the Judo Sensei and my Goju Sensei were friends. I chose the white belt because I knew nothing about Judo. Belts are just symbols anyway which represent your status in the dojo and system. Below black belt they mean very little outside of your own dojo. The best thing you could do is start all over since you quit 12 years ago. What you had learned will help you but it is always best to empty the mind so it can be filled with knowledge. Good luck.
7. If I were you, I would start over again, especially if it has been 12 years ago. This answer only makes sense if your goal is to learn and not to get the next belt.
8. In reality you would be a white belt. But depending on the school the instructor has the right to determine your status for their class. In our dojo we would honor your previous rank with conditions. You must work up to our standard for thar rank befor you would be considered for promotion. When I began with my current instructor I had earned the rank of a brown belt in judo. Our style is shorin ryu and jujitsu. I was told that I could wear my brown belt, but that I would have to earn it over time. Personally I didn't feel comfortable wearing this rank in a totally different style. I asked if I could wear a white belt because that is where I felt I belonged. It was allowed. Years later I was told by my instructors to wear my brown belt. A few years later I earned my black belt. I am still there and now I am second to the head instructor. I believe I am the only student that he has that has reached the yudansha ranks in both karate and jujitsu.
9. That depends on your new teacher. By red belt, do you mean ni kyu, or one belt away from Black Belt? I teach U.S.A. GOJU RYU KARATE. If you were a Goju student, and came to train in my Dojo, you would certainly be evaluated, and given the proper ranking, whatever that may be. In any case, if you are a serious Karateka, and really want to train, I would walk in with a white belt, and let your Sensei decide what rank to give you. This not only will show him that you are humble and serious, it will also show him your character. Again...this is what I would do and what I would look for in a new student. Yours Truly in The Spirit of Goju, Sensei Howard J. Gelber Godan - Fifth Degree - Director U.S.A. Goju - Do Karate - Heian Bushi Setai Samurai Dojo www.usagojudokarate.com
10. yes. u could wait as long as you wanted as long as you still have the belt they will let you rejoin.