Dojo Information - Ranking System

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Ranks, Belts and Promotions

Dear students,
 
Karate traditionally was never meant to be taught to large audiences at once, in a school setting. Ranking systems, titles, black belts and belts of various colors did not even exist prior to 1933; certainly not tests and promotions... Though philosophically, martial-art training, like life itself, is a continuing test for each of us humans, at various levels....
 
My Sensei stated once, in a certain context, that "teaching karate to the mass dilutes its message". One is certainly prompted to ask oneself when / how / where / why did martial-art schools come about, and how was "karate" taught prior to that? This can be a discussion in itself.
 
So where did the belts and ranks historically come from? When did they originate? Why did they come to existence, and how are ranks and belts in the karate world today as compared to previous times? While I do not intend this to be a history lesson or a complete article on the subject, I feel compelled to explain a few things that I find key for my students to know, understand, and hopefully believe, so we can all move forward in training for the love of training, for true advancement, seeking perfection of character and technique, cultivating the mind as well as the body, and defeating our utmost challenging "enemy", the one within.
 
Ranking systems of karate (belts and grades) were adopted in the 1930s, in Japan, along with creation of the art itself and its "Karate" name, as a Japanese art. The ranking system closely follows the model used in the Japanese sport of Judo. Most martial arts schools today have some sort of ranking system (as there are hundreds of systems and variations). Our school is no exception, by our own choice. We have adopted a ranking system, mainly geared towards the young ones. It is used as students progress in training, but is not something that is required. The karate ranking system gained popularity for many reasons. If often plays an important role, allowing students the opportunity to set small goals for themselves as they pursue training. Please be conscious that at most schools including ours, tests are also an additional source of income.

Our system consists of two major parts, colored belts and black belts. There are 10 levels of color-belts referred to by the term "Kyu", and are numbered from 10 through 1 (in descending order). After reaching the 1st Kyu a student is then considered a candidate for black belt, the second major part of the ranking system. The second part consists theoretically of nine levels of black belt and the Japanese term used to describe them is "Dan".

The following describes how the kyu and dan numbering systems relate to the different belt colors:

10th kyu:

white belt

9th kyu:

white belt w/t stripe

8th kyu:

yellow belt

7th kyu:

yellow belt w/t stripe

6th kyu:

orange belt

5th kyu:

orange belt w/t stripe

4th kyu:

green belt

3rd kyu:

green belt w/t stripe

2nd kyu:

blue belt

1st kyu:

brown belt

 

 

1st dan and above:

black belt

In order to move from one level to the next, it is necessary for a student to test in front of a panel of instructors. They are the ones who will have the final say whether or not a student may be promoted. It is also important to know that it is customary in the program to be invited to test. In other words, instructors have the responsibility of recognizing when a student is ready to test or not. As a matter of fact, following Japanese martial culture, it is culturally inappropriate for a student to ask or suggest to an instructor that he/she is ready to advance to the next level.

REGULAR TESTS: Please know that we do not have a regular testing schedule. In other words, we will not necessarily have a test at the end of each session. Tests are determined based on the overall and individual progress of students. We typically announce a test 2 to 3 ahead of time.

BLACK BELT: There is a lot of mysticism about the black belt, and such a rank (at various Dan levels) can be highly over-rated. In reality, it is generally over-rated, and often gives a false sense of security to the uneducated (on karate). The important thing to remember is that a student who achieves black-belt level (or around that level) is most likely to be a dedicated hard working student who enjoys karate training, and this is what counts. Often black belt becomes an important if not the only goal for a beginner. While this is psychologically understandable, it remains a misconception and a mistake. Once the so-called goal is achieved, one realizes that the destination does not matter; only the journey to get there does. The lesson here is to train hard, train often, and focus on training not on belts. Personally, I hope to develop the attitude in our students that the study of Karate, or any martial art for that matter, is a lifetime process, and the present ranking system is simply created so all students may merely set small individual goals to strive for as they “begin” their journey. Beyond the beginning stages of serious training, belts (including the black one) are best used to hold the pants up. Once more, please be conscious that at most schools including ours, tests are also an additional source of income.