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I had a qucik question about the expected timeline for earning belts/levels for krav maga. the website specifies for level one it takes approximatley 4 months, 6 months for level 2, 9 for level 3, etc etc.
my question is: are these timelines concurrent or back to back? for example, say i start on day one, and complete level 1 in 4 months with 2-3 days of trining per week…would it take an ADDITIONAL 6 months to train and test for level 2? in other words, would it take 10 months TOTAL from day one to test/earn level 2? or 6 months TOTAL from day one to test/earn level 2?
i know this is novice question, but i am a novice guy. thanks!
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
Welcome to the forum,
There are no hard or fast rules on when you’re ready to get your belt. The ones stated are guidelines, nothing more. Everyone learns at a different pace, some learn faster than others, some can take more classes than others etc. Also, life gets in the way sometimes.
Hubby and I got our level 1 belt in 3 months, level 2 in 6 but level 3 took a few years due to life getting in the way. Enjoy the journey then worry about a belt. I speak from experience:wav:
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
Its one of those questions that everybody wonders about, no matter if they’ll admit it or not. If you were in a belt focused school they would push you too test approx. every 3 months. Why because they charge for the tests and its day off from teaching as well as added income. Now I understand the concept and we suck into it because we want to kick azz, take names and get the girl or in krav’s case,ladies ,save the cute boy:woohoo:
But the truth is belts are an artifical means of motivation. Most probably test before they are ready and suffer for it at the later stages when they have to go back and relearn things the correct way. In the long run the over eagerness costs them more time in the end
Level 1 from my limited expirience is about fundamentals and conditioning. What you learn is the foundation your going to build your house on. Making sure it is solid to begin with is much better than trying to redo it later. It just creates more work and problems later.
Timelines are silly because everyone learns, adapts and applies things at different rates. Add in life and injuries, add to the timeline. Then we try to compare ourselves to others, which isn’t our best interest, because we all have our own obstacles to fight thru
Focusing on improving, looking at our weakness and being aggressive in our total destruction of them leads to our strength. Tomorrow is whenever, but what we do today will have a major effect on it
I do understnd however the concept of goal setting that says put a date on it. I’ve never been sure of that because when you start something you can’t factor in the obstacles because you haven’t a clue what they are yet. So maybe if you decide a blackbelt is your goal, it might be good to look at the average time it takes to earn it in most other arts,which is about 5 byears or to ask krav BB’s how long it took them and factor that in.
Personally, I think its easier to focus on improving the material I’m learning, setting a mental focus for each class and looking to improve my weakest link on a weekly or monthly basis…than thinking about something months away till its necessary. But then, I’m the guy who won’t test till the instructor says its time. I don’t care about it as long as I’m learning and getting better
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
thanks for the lenghty replies, i really appreciate it. i guess the reason why i am so insistent in the timeline is bc i have a career/life that revolves around timelines/deadlines/milestones/goals. this is def something i will be pursuing on a long term outlook, and performance measures would matter to me a great deal. mostly, i want to get back in shape. i use to be a pretty intenese athlete in hi school and in college. if you were an athlete, you would know what i am talking about when i say it is very easy to get out of shape after having a sporting youth, and then transitioning to a full time professional. the other day my 5 yr old niece wouldnt let me play with her in her backyard playhouse bc she said i was too ‘tubby’. i am now known as ‘uncle tubby’. i am 5 10 and 160 lbs and 25 yrs old, but my gut is coming out. how messed up is that? i am not obsessed about my body, but it was nice when girls would say ‘WOW’ when they poked my gut. i would like my 21 yr old body back. and i would like to do krav bc it seems like a fun, chalenging, and social thing to do rather than run around on treadmill or at park all day, the ecliptic machine or a spin class… i am not a sorority girl.
i am kind of weighing my options. currently thinking about krav, maybe tango/salsa dancing (i am a terrible dancer and i need lessons lol), mountaineering/rock climbing, maybe even the p90x dvd or something. maybe all at the same time 🙂 … not
hey mara jade, so you are saying it took you 6 months total to test for level 2? or 10 moths total (inlcuding level 1 and 2) to test for level 2? yes/no?
thanks!
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
quote mr mossad:the other day my 5 yr old niece wouldnt let me play with her in her backyard playhouse bc she said i was too ‘tubby’. i am now known as ‘uncle tubby’. i am 5 10 and 160 lbs and 25 yrs old, but my gut is coming out. how messed up is that?Front kick to a vertical target!
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
Being an athlete or not is NOT the only reason one gets out of shape. Things in life can happen (illness, etc). Mike and I know about that more than you realize;):
Dunno how you got 10, but it took us 9 months total starting from ground 0 to 2. Like I said, that’s what it took us but that number’s irrelevant to anyone else. Numbers quite frankly don’t mean jack if you’re not ready. The goal hubby and I set for ourselves regarding testing-we’re only taking the friggin test ONCE.:wav:
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
quote mara_jade:. The goal hubby and I set for ourselves regarding testing-we’re only taking the friggin test ONCE.:wav:rofl2
Mr Mossad
Have you tried a class yet? Maybe ask to watch an L3 class and definitely watch the fight class….Best class I ever took…I’ll post you vid of one of the fitness classes because it shows the intensity
Krav will definitly get you in shape quick. And I honestly get where your coming from. We want/need to have a good idea of the end result. Sounds like your looking for a self improvement sport to invest some time in. Thats a call only you can make for yourself.
Krav is a blast but its a lot of work. I think, in my first 5 classes, 3 twenty somethings doing trial classes quit before warmups ended..maybe 15 minutes in….krav will meet your self defense, weight/conditioning and even social goals… I cannot tell you how supportive the krav community has been to me…I say Great System, Better people
Salsa girls are so Hot. You can’t lose there. Mountain climbing will get you there as well. all are great pursuits. Good luck in deciding what to do
9 months seems about right for L2, I’m sure it slows up after that…. I think there are a few Blackbelt tests on youtube..pretty hi-octane
If I could offer you this piece of advice: maybe look at krav like MMA/UFC for the street. Belts don’t mean a thing in either the octagon or the street. The performance measures are proven everyday on the mat and paid for in hard work. The certificates don’t mean a thing
One thing…I’m not an instructor nor do I work for KMAA. I think its a great system and wanted to help you to see it from a solid angle. and if you decide to get involved to come in with a great mindset
Good Luck
Mike
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
As others pointed out here – so many variables that depend on the person, how often they train, their prior experience etc.
At either ends of the spectrum I’ve seen a few people rise quickly through levels & others who took a year or more to test for the next level, or even not test but just keep training…
KM is great for fitness & a whole number of other areas..
Why not try some test lessons & see what you think?
IKMF Instructor Amnon Darsa makes some interesting points about achieving ‘black belt’ level in KM here:
http://www.realitybasedtraining.co.uk/krav-maga/about-krav-maga/amnononkravmaga.html
How hard is it to get to Expert level in the Krav Maga system?
In Krav Maga we believe that everybody should be able to make Expert level. The only problem is how much time you want to devote to this. I can tell you that in Krav Maga system globally, there are people who have made Expert level from instructor in 3 or 4 years. These people were training every day. They were basically following us around the world. So if I was in Germany they would come to Germany. If Eyal was in Poland they would come to Poland. They would follow us everywhere to get as much training as they can. But what is an Expert level, what does it mean?It means only one thing. It means technical ability nothing more than this. It does not say you are a good fighter, it does not say you will survive on the streets. It does not say how you will perform under less stress or more stress. It is a technical thing. An expert level could succumb to the first attack because he will go into shock, where as a P1, who just learned the basic defences but was alert and reactive, will save his own life. I don’t know, it’s just a grade. A grade in all martial arts means just the same. Its about the amount of time you’re training and your technical ability. That’s it.
So if you put your mind to it there’s no problem to do this, (attain Expert level). Some people have to take longer, others who may be young and talented will get to do this in maybe 3 or 4 years. Some people will not. It may take these people 10 years; it may take these people 15 years I don’t know. But if you put your mind into it I don’t think there is a problem to achieve Expert level.
For my first Expert level test I failed, We still called it Black Belt then. I was not ready, I failed. I deserved to fail. Half a year later I took myself back to train and grade again. The 6 months before this I train every day for at least 2 hours. I was harassing people to come and train with me. I was harassing instructors to come and see me to get more training, And when I took my second test I didn’t understand why failed it the first time. It was like this for me because it was so easy the second time. The first time I was not good enough and that’s it. So it was only the technical issue. The repetitions, the thinking, the mental ability. Things like this that stopped me the first time. But everybody can do this, every body can achieve expert level if they put their mind into it.
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
Its rare to hear of someone failing a belt/level test in most other arts/systems these days because you lose students and retention keeps the doors open. In krav, school owners fail their instructor tests and can’t expand their class schedules till they pass. I think in krav you earn your rank
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
Absolutely – passing is not a ‘given’ as people do fail, though instructors don’t usually select people for testing who are guaranteed to crash n burn..
KM level tests are kind of an ordeal where do you do feel you earned it.
When you test for a level you also have to cover the preceding levels as well so your test gets longer and longer the further you go.. hours..
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
yeah you know, when i think about, i dont think reaching expert level or black belt would be a good goal for a guy like me. i think getting up to like green belt or blue belt would be a more practical goal. what do you guys think?
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
My goal was to make it through class without a heart attack…
Leam
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
quote leam:My goal was to make it through class without a heart attack…Leam
No:beer: it wasn’t. You wanted to go into instructor Phase after your 1st class, which started in a monththumbsup
Re: Quick question – timeline for belts/levels
quote mr mossad:yeah you know, when i think about, i dont think reaching expert level or black belt would be a good goal for a guy like me. i think getting up to like green belt or blue belt would be a more practical goal. what do you guys think?Why? whats wrong with a guy like you?
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