Karate belts: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
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===Origin=== |
===Origin=== |
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Revision as of 05:41, 19 November 2010
 | This article has no lead section. (March 2009) |
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 | This article possibly contains original research. (November 2010) |
History
Origin
Karate belts were first introduced in the art of Japanese Judo. This "colored belt system" was then adopted by karate, and was used first by Sensei Gichin Funakoshi and Shotokan Karate. They would say that if you work hard enough, the belt would change colors and show how much work you've done. That is why you never wash a karate belt. But most say that the belts were just "dyed" every time you would advance.
Use
The Karate belt system is used in martial arts training to show the progress that a student has made in his/her study. The student starts out at a low rank of belt and progresses through the ranks to make it to the top to instruct students him/her self. They have to advance through the ranks (called kyu) to show their honor. To advance belts, they must show that they are ready for it by doing a belt examination.
Usual ranks
The usual ranks that a student would go through would be as follows:
- White-Novice
- Orange-Less advanced
- Blue-Advanced
- Yellow-Good
- Green-champion
- Upper brown-Expert
- Black(highest)-Master&Expert
Okinawan Goju Ryu and USA Karate Belt Order
Dentoh Karate School Karate belt orders from the following
- 11th Kyu: White Belt
- 10th Kyu: White Belt with a yellow stripe
- 9th Kyu: Yellow Belt
- 8th Kyu: Orange Belt
- 7th Kyu: Green Belt
- 6th Kyu: Blue Belt
- 5th Kyu: Purple Belt
- 4th Kyu: Purple Belt with a white stripe
- 3rd Kyu: Brown Belt
- 2nd Kyu:Brown Belt with one white/black stripe/tag
- 1st Kyu: Brown Belt with two white/black stripes/tags
- Black Belt 1st Dan
- Black Belt 2nd Dan
- Black Belt 3rd Dan
- Black Belt 4th Dan
- Black Belt 5th Dan
- Black Belt 6th Dan
- Black Belt 7th Dan
- Black Belt 8th Dan
- Black Belt 9th Dan
- Black Belt 10th Dan
1st-10th Dan: Black (Sometimes 6th-10th Dan use Red/White Belts instead of Black)
When a student reaches the black belt level, the ranks are called dan. You reach your first dan and start working your way up to the tenth.
Each style has their own way of organizing the belt system, but this is the most common.
Northern Karate Karate Belt Order
The following is the order of belts
- White Belt
- Yellow Belt
- Orange Belt
- Green Belt
- Blue Belt
- Blue Belt(Advanced)
- Purple Belt
- Purple Belt(Advanced)
- Brown Belt
- Brown Belt(Advanced)
- Black Belt 1st Dan
- Black Belt 2nd Dan
- Black Belt 3rd Dan
- Black Belt 4th Dan
- Black Belt 5th Dan
- Black Belt 6th Dan
- Black Belt 7th Dan
- Black Belt 8th Dan
- Black Belt 9th Dan
- Black Belt 10th Dan
Advanced means with a black stripe through the belt. 1st-10th Dan: Black (5th-6th Dan use Red/White Belts instead of Black)
Okinawan GoJu Ryu - then and now
When I studied GoJu Ryu while stationed on Okinawa in the mid-70's the belt system was simpler:
- 10th Kyu - 7th Kyu: White Belt
- 6th Kyu - 4th Kyu: Green Belt
- 3rd Kyu - 1st Kyu: Brown Belt
- 1st Dan and up: Black Belt
When I returned to GoJu Ryu at a Colorado Springs Dojo in the early 2000's the belt system went like this:
- no Kyu: White Belt
- 10th Kyu: Yellow Belt
- 9th Kyu: Orange Belt
- 8th Kyu: Blue Belt
- 7th Kyu: Purple Belt
- 6th Kyu: Green Belt w/white stripe
- 5th Kyu: Green Belt
- 4th Kyu: Green Belt w/black stripe
- 3rd Kyu: Brown Belt w/white stripe
- 2nd Kyu: Brown Belt
- 1st Kyu: Brown Belt w/black stripe
- 1st Dan and up: Black Belt
Each dojo chooses the sequence of colors for the "undergraduate" karateka. The Colorado Springs dojo more or less mirrored the "old school" but modern Americans seem to need constant symbols of advancement. The white belts were replaced with a rainbow of colors, the green and brown belts now have three variations each. Instead of wearing one green belt for 3 kyu we now wore three different green belts and the same for brown. On Okinawa in the 70's we had 3 color belts for 10 kyu. Come to America some 25 years later and we have 10 color belts for the same 10 kyu.
We can see that, even within a particular style, there are many variations between schools. Compare the examples above to my example, similar but certainly not the same. Between styles the variations can become even more dramatic. In Korean TaeKwonDo, the 2nd Gup (equivalent of 2nd Kyu in karate) typically wears a red belt. In some styles of karate, that color belt is reserved for the Grand Master of the style (a 9th or 10th Dan Black Belt)!
There is a general trend in most schools and styles of working up from a white belt to a black belt in gradually darkening colors. The choice of colors between white and black can vary greatly. The bottom line, there is no common color belt organization that schools and/or styles share. There are even martial arts styles that don't wear uniforms or have belt ranks, as such.
See Also
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External links
