All of you must have seen Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies and dreamt of being like one of them - taking on 10 people at the same time, doing all sorts of funny jigs, and so agile, that none can harm you even a bit. Sounds like fun but its not so easy. You have to go through the rigours of a martial arts training.
Unlike the common notion, martial arts is not restricted to only Judo, Karate and Kung Fu. Also, there is no "best" or "superior" style of martial arts. Every style is able to beat the other, but at the same time can itself be defeated by a third style. Each martial art has its benefits, but the common benefit of all of them is self improvement.
Another interesting aspect about martial arts is that they teach you how to evade attackers and even how to avoid situations that could become violent. They discipline you to control and avoid unwanted confrontations and have spiritual benefits too. It gives a good approach towards achieving self confidence, inner peace and tranquility. For example, many styles have exercises to develop awareness of the individual's life energy (called "ki" or "chi") and though this may seem religious to some, practitioners consider it an exercise like any other performed in the training centre.
How long until you get your black belt? Requirements for a black belt vary from style to style and as such the amount of time it takes to earn one varies as well. In fact, a number of styles don't even have belt ranks. Some teachers consider a black belt to be a rank given based on the student's knowledge of the style, while others who teach the same style believe that a black belt should be given based on fighting ability. To answer the question more directly, the minimum amount of time one can expect to study a martial art before getting his/her black belt is three years, during which time he/she has to attend classes 2-3 times per week.   Judo | Tai Chi | Karate | Jujitsu | Hapkido | Kung Fu | Kempo | Aikido | Tae Kwon Do Style definitions | Back to martial arts main page |Martial arts belts|Martial art humour