The bold statement – “Learn Martial Arts Online and Get Your Black Belt in 12-14 Months” has raised some questions from those seeking to train in martial arts online. As a traditional martial artist who came up in a dojo that required 4-5 YEARS to earn a black belt, I have to admit why answering this might be important for some. So I have put together this response just as I’ve responded to others in their emails.

In the past several years, advancement in technology has offered numerous advantages to learning practically anything you can imagine online. Established and trusted Universities and Colleges all across the world have embraced and implemented online education opportunities for their students. This has lead to more and more advancements in the processes of teaching online, of which Karate Academy Online and our students have benefited.

But is the advancement in learning tools and processes enough to accelerate a typical Black Belt achievement into 12-14 months?

The short answer is ‘No’, but it certainly has helped!

The primary reason Karate Academy Online can make the bold statement of “Get Your Black Belt in 12-14 Months” is because of the way online martial arts training takes place verses the way “it’s always been done.”

The time it takes for a person to receive a black belt in a typical dojo (karate school) is based on the student practicing twice a week for approximately one hour each. This twice a week training is supplemented with the student practicing for a period of time at home, which truthfully happens less than what most instructors would prefer. Typically then most students acquire their skills through the one-on-one instruction they receive in the dojo. However, if a class has eight, ten, twelve, fifteen or more students in the class, there’s very little one-on-one training actually taking place.

The training pattern for our students is quite different as we instill the importance of daily practice from the very start (which also helps develop self-discipline within our students). We continually reinforce the importance of practicing each and every day by providing training schedules to keep students on track.

With a virtual instructor, you can receive your martial arts training when you need it.

Another reason our students are able to complete their Black Belt in a shorter period of time is because they have access to the instructor on a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week basis through the detailed training videos. Students don’t have to wait for their class time in order to confirm a particular technique, they can simply look back at the training video that covers that specific technique. This is invaluable in the process of learning and it’s one of the primary advantages of training martial arts online. 

Lastly I would add that our students don’t suffer setbacks from personal vacations and sickness, or dojo closings due to inclement weather and holidays. These ‘pauses’ in training slow down a student’s progress, and because they are usually guaranteed at some point in a student’s training, they are also built in to the overall length of a typical Black Belt program. This isn’t the case with online martial arts training because students can train when and where they need to without concern for inclement weather, sickness or dojo closings.

While I agree in-person training for martial arts has been a great way to spread Black Belt Excellence throughout the centuries, online martial arts has given enthusiastic instructors like myself an enormous opportunity to share these life enhancing skills with many more students than would ever be possible with in-person training.

To your success! Sensei Mark Roscoe