 The black belt, the long coveted wardrobe accessory, sawed after by many, but achieved by few. This rank varies greatly from art to art with different requirements and sometimes it comes in different forms. And if you're currently training in the art or you're thinking about starting, you might be asking yourself, what is a black belt test like? There are two points I would like to make. The first is that the black belt itself is simply a piece of cloth that holds together your uniform. However, in the context of this video, it represents the milestone and achievement of many years of work in training the martial arts. Also, there are many times in this video I refer to our children testing for their black belts. This is a junior black belt and is not the same as an adult black belt. The junior black belt rank is simply to mark the ending of their children's curriculum, which typically takes four to five years, after which they begin their adult curriculum, which is another four years or more. However, they are still expected to go through a vigorous testing process to earn this so that they respect even this level that they've earned. First of all, I'm not talking about McDowjos or schools that are simply belt factories where you go for a year, pay a fee, perform a 50 minute test and you're done. I'm talking about legitimate schools that after you've spent four years or more working for your belt. Of course, every school and every art is gonna be very different and have different procedures and requirements. But here are some general things to prepare yourself and generally what you can expect. First thing to know is you need to be patient. You know, earning a legitimate black belt is a lot of work and it takes time. You're not gonna achieve it overnight. It's something that if it's really worth having, you're gonna have to work for it. So be patient. Now that being said, a black belt test, usually you've got months to prepare for. A lot of schools, at least the schools I'm familiar with will hold black belt tests twice a year, usually in summer and in winter or at the end of the year. Other schools could be different. Some do whenever students are ready. Sometimes it's just once a year. There's even schools that if it's part of a hierarchy when it's time for your black belt test, you actually go up to the head school or the head dojo and do a large test. That's not uncommon. But you have time to prepare. So usually you know if you're gonna test in the summer, you usually know by the beginning of the year. So you've got three, four months to just actually prepare yourself for it. And I really recommend you use that time. Don't just sit around and be like, okay, well I'll just worry about it a week before a time. No, it takes work, dedication. Use that time to prepare yourself. Now here's something else too. You're gonna be nervous, so most likely. We do test twice a year for our kids and even our best students, we see them the weeks leading up to the test, they're a nervous wreck. They're tense, they're tightened up. They're worried that they're not gonna pass. That's normal because again, if you spent years building up to this moment, that could be a lot of pressure. So if you feel nervous, that's fine. Find ways to calm yourself, working out helps. Just put that energy towards your test and trying to make something positive out of it. It's okay to be nervous, that just means you care. Now that being said, look at it this way. If you're testing for your black belt, if your instructor told you that, okay, summer's coming up, you'll be testing for your black belt, your instructor's not gonna sign you up for a test if he doesn't think you're gonna be ready. If you're in a true school where the instructor cares about your teaching and your skill, they're gonna know if you're ready or not. Probably usually before you do. So just know that if you are testing, you've already passed the first part of it, that you've got your instructor's approval to go forward. So again, it's perfectly normal to be nervous, but just know that you've already passed the first part of it. Just being scheduled for a test is a huge deal. Now, build up your endurance. Most tests that I've seen require a physical fitness test and that's usually what starts it. So if you've got these months to prepare, work out, run, jog, do calisthenics, cardio, build up your endurance, you're gonna need it. Many tests last for hours. And when you start off with workouts, like, okay, for our example in our schools, even with our kids, they do two miles of running. They do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 jumping jacks. They do a ton of workouts before the actual test even begins because we wanna see where they are in the fitness level. If they can't pass that part of it, well, then they're not ready. So you've got the time, work on your endurance. Trust me, you're going to need it. Study, study, study. I don't care what art you're in. Know your material. Again, don't just wait till the last minute and feel your way through it. You can't over-study for a black belt test. You know, you wanna be ready in every way because sometimes there'll be questions and answers. Some schools will quiz you. Some schools have written tests. So know your material first and foremost. Also, if possible, find out the format of the test ahead of time. If this is the first time you're experiencing the black belt test, talk to the instructor. Maybe they'll tell you what you can expect. They might not, but if you can, try to find out the format. For example, we here at the school that we teach the children. Their format is they come in in the morning, it's usually on the weekend, and they do all their calisthenics. They're jogging, they're running, push-ups, all their hardcore workouts. They get a little bit of a break and they put the uniforms on, then we come into class. We do more warm-ups to kind of do like, you know, kick drills, punching drills, blocking drills. We do all that in the air. They kind of warm them up, get them moving again. Then we do their self-defense techniques. They'll do it in the air to demonstrate they know it. We'll run through their whole list. They're correcting them that they're testing on. Then they'll apply it on a partner and do the same thing again to show application. After that, they do their forms or their caudas. Then after that, they'll do some more workouts to kind of get the blood going again. You know, more jumping jacks, more push-ups, more sit-ups. Then we go into sparring. And this is where you really see the heart of these kids is that if they still had that energy, and I tell you right now, every time we get to this point, they are gassed, but they push themselves and they do it. I've never seen dedication in a child four hours into a test, sparring his little butt off because he's got everything on the line for him. So know the format, know what to expect. Don't think it's gonna be an hour and be surprised when you show up and it's half the day, okay? So know what you're getting into and do your best to prepare for it. Now, also going into that, it could be multiple hours. But very often, black belt tests take place over the course of multiple days. My personal test, when I tested it back in 1997, we did like a ceremony for the actual test, but the weeks leading up to that, we were testing in fragments. So we did all of our workouts. We did all of our hundreds of push-ups and sit-ups and all of that and our jogging. We did all of our self-defense. We worked with our instructor and our group hours a day for weeks leading up to the test. That's kind of where some of the real test is. That's where the instructor knows you know your material. It's okay to be nervous at the ceremony. You've got a lot of people watching sometimes and you get the pressures on, but the time leading up to that test, your instructor's gonna actually watch you see how you think, see how you react, how you formulate. It's going to be the time where you are actually applying it and not worrying about the test part of itself. So that is a big part of the test, the days leading up to it. Also, if your nerves get the best of you, it's very easy to forget what you're doing. Think on your feet. I know in Kempo, we have a lot of pre-choreographed techniques which demonstrate certain principles. Of course, there's many ways you can do it. A fight's not gonna be choreographed. Nothing's gonna go as planned. So you wanna be able to understand your material and think on your feet. We encourage this with the kids all the time. I tell them, if you mess up, if you step wrong, that's fine. Don't stop and tell your partner, oh, you should have done this or try to reset it, go with it. You mean something happened in the moment? You have to adapt. To me, that's a big part of what I watch for with these kids. For example, one of the last tests we did, the kids' partner stepped the wrong way and of course they weren't in the position that they should have been for the technique to work. Instead of the candidate freezing going, oh, what do I do? They adjusted their body through a different kick and they reset the person in the position they wanted. So that's what I wanna see. So keep that in mind. You don't have to be, usually, again, it depends on your school, you don't always have to be exactly perfect, perfect, perfect. Things go wrong. Just be ready that if something does go wrong or unexpected that you can adapt to it on the fly. A lot of schools, that carries a lot of weight. There's also board breaking. Some schools, particularly karate schools, will have board breaking just to kind of show a feat of strength. We do it for the kids as a more of a confidence thing. We don't have them breaking concrete blocks or anything like that, but it's something fun for them to do once they've done all the hard part. It's a good way to allow some steam and some of that nervous energy. Board breaking, single board, they crack it, they get that big snap, we give them the board, the smiles on the face, it's great. They also make re-breakable boards that you can reset and use over and over and over. Good for practicing. This is the time where you wanna put your 150% effort forward. Make it an event, okay? This is where it all culminates to you. You've worked so hard for this point. So just do your best at it, be in the moment. Anything that's happening in your life, just kind of leave it outside the door. This is your moment, focus on it and enjoy it. Because I tell you, right now, once it's done, the after feeling, you're gonna be extremely happy, then you're gonna be extremely exhausted and you're gonna be relieved. That pressure will come right off your shoulders. So what is a black belt test like? Well, if you're serious about your art training, it is, in short, an amazing experience. It could be a roller coaster of emotions, but the sense of accomplishment is something you are never gonna forget and it opens the door to a whole new range of training. Now, what if you don't pass? Then this is an opportunity to ask yourself, why? Did you know the material well enough where you unable to pass the physical fitness? I've seen people fail tests based on their attitude alone. They thought they were being funny and cocky and took the test for granted. That's not the time to do that, okay? Talk to your instructor about what needs to be worked on and they will usually give you a reason for why they held you back. Then once you know, get back to work, work on it, work on it, work on it and prepare for the next test because you can always test again. It's just a chance to improve. Remember, earning your black belt means that you've mastered the basics of the art and you have demonstrated and understanding the material, but it does not mean your training is over. There are many ranks of black belts and there's always something new to learn. So I wanna hear from all of you. Tell me below about your black belt test experiences or how you're currently working towards it. If you're taking another art, does it even have belts? I would love to hear about your testing process. So please subscribe and share this video and thank you so much for watching.