History UsefulNotes / MartialArtsBelts

Colored belts to denote rank in martial arts are [[NewerThanTheyThink a relatively modern invention,]] out of the post-Samurai Meiji Era of Japanese history. In the 1880s, the founder of Judo, Kano Jigoro, began using white and black ''obi'' to denote novices and experienced practitioners respectively. After the modern martial arts uniform, the ''gi'', was developed in the early 1900s, colored belts were added corresponding to numbered ''[[DanAndKyuRanks kyu]]'' ranks, with a black belt signifying ''dan'' ranks. (Some sources say that the intermediate colors originated in Europe first, not in Japan; another source, less probable, says the first to use colors was UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu.)

Colored belts to denote rank in martial arts are [[NewerThanTheyThink a relatively modern invention,]] out of the post-Samuri Meiji Era of Japanese history. In the 1880s, the founder of Judo, Kano Jigoro, began using white and black ''obi'' to denote novices and experienced practitioners respectively. After the modern martial arts uniform, the ''gi'', was developed in the early 1900s, colored belts were added corresponding to numbered ''[[DanAndKyuRanks kyu]]'' ranks, with a black belt signifying ''dan'' ranks. (Some sources say that the intermediate colors originated in Europe first, not in Japan; another source, less probable, says the first to use colors was UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu.)

The number, colors and significance of the belts varies greatly between martial arts, and even from dojo to dojo. There are some consistent similarities: White is always the beginner's color, either the lowest ''kyu'' or lacking a rank; a few schools still use white belts for all kyu. Black is nearly always ''dan'' rank and is usually the highest belted rank; successive ''dan'' ranks are either simply numbered or indicated by adding stripes or other marks to the belt. The order of colors in between varies, but one theory is that early on, instead of receiving a new belt, the older ones were dyed to their new color, so they had to go from light to dark in order for successive colors to show up. A few Korean martial arts such as tang soo do and soo bahk do replace black with "midnight blue" for philosophical reasons: black is associated with death and signifies the end of the journey, which dan rank is not.

* Some schools of Aikido use only white and black belts, or white, brown and black. Aikido practitioners may also wear hakama: in many schools this is a privilege earned by higher rank students.

* Muay Thai has something called a ''Pra Jiad'', an armband worn around the upper arm, traditionally to bring confidence and luck. Some schools use colour variation on these, though the meaning varies - sometimes it means the student has taken some number of gradings, sometimes a number of wins in the ring, and an instructor might wear one signifying that he's trained a fighter from scratch to his first ring win.

* Krav Maga originally used a belt system derived from Judo, though many organisations now use a patch system. However, a black belt is generally presented to someone who achieves an Expert grade, seen as the equivalent of a ''dan'' grade.

The meaning of the black belt itself varies. The ''perceived'' meaning to western minds is that the black belt indicates mastery. However a first ''dan'' black belt is still a student (who may be addressed as ''[[SenpaiKohai sempai]])''. They will generally assist the ''sensei'' in classes and may begin to teach in some capacity, but generally won't be acknowledged as a full sensei for a couple more ''dan'' ranks. (Website/TheOtherWiki gives the analogy as a first ''dan'' black belt being like a bachelors degree - fluent in all the basics but lacking the experience that breeds full mastery). The highest ''dan'' ranks in a school are usually reserved for those who not only show mastery in the art but also contribute back to it as an instructor and/or leader, and past 5th ''dan'' or so are awarded solely by the will of the organizational body. For normal rankings, some schools award ranks based on completing a test demonstrating your skills, some grant ranks whenever the Sensei decides they've earned it, and some award them based on the amount of time you have been training.

The meaning of the black belt itself varies. The ''perceived'' meaning to western minds is that the black belt indicates mastery. However a first ''dan'' black belt is still a student (who may be addressed as ''[[SempaiKohai sempai]])''. They will generally assist the ''sensei'' in classes and may begin to teach in some capacity, but generally won't be acknowledged as a full sensei for a couple more ''dan'' ranks. (Website/TheOtherWiki gives the analogy as a first ''dan'' black belt being like a bachelors degree - fluent in all the basics but lacking the experience that breeds full mastery). The highest ''dan'' ranks in a school are usually reserved for those who not only show mastery in the art but also contribute back to it as an instructor and/or leader, and past 5th ''dan'' or so are awarded solely by the will of the organizational body. For normal rankings, some schools award ranks based on completing a test demonstrating your skills, some grant ranks whenever the Sensei decides they've earned it, and some award them based on the amount of time you have been training.

** In some schools, these belt ranks may be broken up by full-colour and black stripe variations (for example, one may advance from brown belt to brown with a black stripe to red).

The meaning of the black belt itself varies. The ''perceived'' meaning to western minds is that the black belt indicates mastery. However a first ''dan'' black belt is still a student (who may be addressed as ''[[SempaiKohai sempai]])''. They will generally assist the ''sensei'' in classes and may begin to teach in some capacity, but generally won't be acknowledged as a full sensei for a couple more ''dan'' ranks. (Wiki/TheOtherWiki gives the analogy as a first ''dan'' black belt being like a bachelors degree - fluent in all the basics but lacking the experience that breeds full mastery). The highest ''dan'' ranks in a school are usually reserved for those who not only show mastery in the art but also contribute back to it as an instructor and/or leader, and past 5th ''dan'' or so are awarded solely by the will of the organizational body. For normal rankings, some schools award ranks based on completing a test demonstrating your skills, some grant ranks whenever the Sensei decides they've earned it, and some award them based on the amount of time you have been training.

* Brazilian Jujitsu has belts that go white, blue, purple, brown, black, red and black and red, with ranks in between marked by stripes. Students move up in rank much more slowly, with average time to black belt being around 10 years; it is, therefore, much more accurate to associate black belt with mastery.

Colored belts to denote rank in martial arts are [[NewerThanTheyThink a relatively modern invention,]] out of the post-Samuri Meiji Era of Japanese history. In the 1880s, the founder of Judo, Kano Jigoro, began using white and black ''obi'' to denote novices and experienced practitioners respectively. After the modern martial arts uniform, the ''gi'', was developed in the early 1900s, colored belts were added corresponding to numbered ''[[DanAndKyuRanks kyu]]'' ranks, with a black belt signifying ''dan'' ranks. (Some sources say that the intermediate colors originated in Europe first, not in Japan; another source says the first to use colors was Brazilian jujitsu.)

Colored belts to denote rank in martial arts are a relatively modern invention, out of the post-Samuri Meiji Era of Japanese history. In the 1880s, the founder of Judo, Kano Jigoro, began using white and black ''obi'' to denote novices and experienced practitioners respectively. After the modern martial arts uniform, the ''gi'', was developed in the early 1900s, colored belts were added corresponding to numbered ''[[DanAndKyuRanks kyu]]'' ranks, with a black belt signifying ''dan'' ranks. (Some sources say that the intermediate colors originated in Europe first, not in Japan; another source says the first to use colors was Brazilian jujitsu.)

** In the early era o BJJ there were only three belts: White (Students), Blue (Teachers) and Navy Blue (Head teachers). Recently, a minor controversy started when Royce Gracie (Winner of the first UsefulNotes/UltimateFightingChampionship events) started using the Navy Blue belt as a protest of what he percieved the over-commercialization of BJJ and a supposed "deterioration" caused by sports Jiu-Jitsu.

The meaning of the black belt itself varies. The ''perceived'' meaning to western minds is that the black belt indicates mastery. However a first ''dan'' black belt is still a student (who may be addressed as ''[[SempaiKohai sempai]])''. They will generally assist the ''sensei'' in classes and may begin to teach in some capacity, but generally won't be acknowledged as a full sensei for a couple more ''dan'' ranks. (Wiki/TheOtherWiki gives the analogy as a first ''dan'' black belt being like a bachelors degree - fluent in all the basics but lacking the experience that breeds full mastery). The highest ''dan'' ranks in a school are usually reserved for those who not only show mastery in the art but also contribute back to it as an instructor and/or leader, and past 5th ''dan'' or so are awarded solely by the will of the organizational body. For normal rankings, some schools award ranks based on completing a test demonstrating your skills, some grant ranks whenever the Sensei decides they've earned it, and some award them based on the amount of time you have been training. Aspiring black belts should beware of what the martial arts community derisively calls the [="McDojo"=] - schools that are operated as a business (not bad in and of itself) and promise black belts in an unrealistically short amount of time (definitely bad). For an adult without prior martial arts experience, three to six years is considered the average time to go from white to black. (There are a few exceptions but such programs tend to be run by police or military organizations and are extremely intensive.)

There is also a stereotype that a person with a black belt can kill with his or her bare hands. This is a gross oversimplification, if not patently false. Let's face it: it's easy to kill people. If you get someone to stand still long enough, you can kill them with [[CherryTapping your bare hands]] or [[WebVideo/TheHorriblySlowMurdererWithTheExtremelyInefficientWeapon a spoon]] or even [[VorpalPillow a pillow]]. What's difficult is having the physical and mental training to deliberately provide a CloseCallHaircut -- to demonstrate that not only ''could'' you have handed out a CurbStompBattle, but you have ''chosen'' not to. In this sense, a black belt demonstrates not your skill with your fists, but your CharacterDevelopment from ArrogantKungFuGuy to MartialPacifist, from someone who knows how to hurt people to someone who knows how ''not'' to.

The meaning of the black belt itself varies. The ''perceived'' meaning to western minds is that the black belt indicates mastery. However a first ''dan'' black belt is still a student (who may be addressed as ''[[SempaiKohai sempai]])''. They will generally assist the ''sensei'' in classes and may begin to teach in some capacity, but generally won't be acknowledged as a full sensei for a couple more ''dan'' ranks. (TheOtherWiki gives the analogy as a first ''dan'' black belt being like a bachelors degree - fluent in all the basics but lacking the experience that breeds full mastery). The highest ''dan'' ranks in a school are usually reserved for those who not only show mastery in the art but also contribute back to it as an instructor and/or leader, and past 5th ''dan'' or so are awarded solely by the will of the organizational body. For normal rankings, some schools award ranks based on completing a test demonstrating your skills, some grant ranks whenever the Sensei decides they've earned it, and some award them based on the amount of time you have been training. Aspiring black belts should beware of what the martial arts community derisively calls the [="McDojo"=] - schools that are operated as a business (not bad in and of itself) and promise black belts in an unrealistically short amount of time (definitely bad). For an adult without prior martial arts experience, three to six years is considered the average time to go from white to black. (There are a few exceptions but such programs tend to be run by police or military organizations and are extremely intensive.)

Many seasoned martial artists will tell you that the art isn't about gaining rank, it's about the journey. Belts fill the desire to have tangible marks of successful progress along the path, but if you give them too much importance, you're missing the point.

* Chinese-style and American-style Kenpo use a system with several variations. In the most common of these, awhite belt indicates either a recruit rank, or the lowest ''kyu'' grade. Colored belts follow, generally in the order of yellow, orange, purple, blue and green. Following this are the three degrees of brown belts, which are regarded as senior students or junior instructors. (Think petty officers or sergeants in military terms.) They are generally the lowest grades permitted to formally instruct junior students. Some schools use a red belt in lieu of the most junior brown belt, others use red to represent tenth ''dan'', though this rarely causes any real confusion. Anyone who brags about being a red belt is surely of the senior-''kyu'' variant. ''Dan'' grades are represented by a black belt, with increasing rank sometimes denoted by red stripes. Most senior instructors (who are variously called ''sensei'', Master or simply Instructor) who have their own ''dojo'' are of second ''dan'' grade or above. Ranks above fifth ''dan'' are honorary and somewhat arbitrary - by then, a student has learned all of the technical knowledge of the art and probably devised some of his own.

* {{Kendo}} has ''kyu'' and ''dan'' rankings but no belt system.

The meaning of the black belt itself varies. The ''perceived'' meaning to western minds is that the black belt indicates mastery. However a first ''dan'' black belt is still a student (who may be addressed as ''[[SempaiKohai sempai]])''. They will generally assist the ''sensei'' in classes and may begin to teach in some capacity, but generally won't be acknowledged as a full sensei for a couple more ''dan'' ranks. (TheOtherWiki gives the analogy as a first ''dan'' black belt being like a bachelors degree - fluent in all the basics but lacking the experience that breeds full mastery). The highest ''dan'' ranks in a school are usually reserved for those who not only show mastery in the art but also contribute back to it as an instructor and/or leader, and past 5th ''dan'' or so are awarded solely by the will of the organizational body. For normal rankings, some schools award ranks based on completing a test demonstrating your skills, some grant ranks whenever the Sensei decides they've earned it, and some award them based on the amount of time you have been training. Aspiring black belts should beware what the martial arts community derisively calls the [="McDojo"=] - schools that are operated as a business (not bad in and of itself) and promise black belts in an unrealistically short amount of time (definitely bad). For an adult without prior martial arts experience, three to six years is considered the average time to go from white to black. (There are a few exceptions but such programs tend to be run by police or military organizations and are extremely intensive.)

There is also a stereotype that a person with a black belt can kill with his or her bare hands. This is a gross oversimplification, if not patently false. Let's face it: it's easy to kill people. If you get someone to stand still long enough, you can kill them with [[CherryTapping your bare hands]] or [[WebVideo/TheHorriblySlowMurdererWithTheExtremelyInefficientWeapon a spoon]] or even [[VorpalPillow a pillow]]. What's difficult is having the physical and mental training to deliberately provide a CloseCallHaircut--to demonstrate that not only ''could'' you have handed out a CurbStompBattle, but you have ''chosen'' not to. In this sense, a black belt demonstrates not your skill with your fists, but your CharacterDevelopment from ArrogantKungFuGuy to MartialPacifist, from someone who knows how to hurt people to someone who knows how ''not'' to.

Also worth noting: there is no universal standardization of what level of experience and skill a given belt represents, including a black belt; two schools training in the exact same martial art may expect very different things from their black belts (particularly if they are not members of a greater organization).[[note]]This is why news media stories about "the world's youngest black belt" are typically given little weight by actual martial artists, as the black belt on its own means nothing without knowing the instructor or school that awarded it[[/note]] Some schools - indeed, some entire styles - treat a 1st degree black belt the same way other schools would treat a colour-belt ranking: as a symbol of basic competency, with greater levels of proficiency being reflected in dan rankings. Kyu ranks in these schools are typically few in number or entirely absent, with the student being promoted directly from white belt to first dan. Conversely, some schools treat black belt as a mark of extremely high competency; such schools may not even bother with dan rankings, with "black belt" being a single rank, as the student is seen to be beyond the need for subsequent rank denotation. While there is a tendency amongst the martial arts community to criticize schools that promote black belts quickly as "belt factories" (criticism that is, more often than not, warranted), a more accurate statement would simply be that such schools expect different things from their black belts.[[note]]Although, more unscrupulous instructors may simply give out belts quickly as a way of generating significant income through testing and promotion fees. [[/note]]

Also worth noting: there is no universal standardization of what level of experience and skill a given belt represents, including a black belt; two schools training in the exact same martial art may expect very different things from their black belts (particularly if they are not members of a greater organization).[[note]]This is why news media stories about "the world's youngest black belt" are typically given little weight by actual martial artists, as the black belt on its own means nothing without knowing the instructor or school that awarded it[[/note]] Some schools - indeed, some entire styles - treat a 1st degree black belt the same way other schools would treat a colour-belt ranking: as a symbol of basic competency, with greater levels of proficiency being reflected in dan rankings. Kyu ranks in these schools are typically few in number or entirely absent, with the student being promoted directly from white belt to first dan. Conversely, some students treat black belt as a mark of extremely high competency; such schools may not even bother with dan rankings, with "black belt" being a single rank, as the student is seen to be beyond the need for subsequent rank denotation. While there is a tendency amongst the martial arts community to criticize schools that promote black belts quickly as "belt factories" (criticism that is, more often than not, warranted), a more accurate statement would simply be that such schools expect different things from their black belts.[[note]]Although, more unscrupulous instructors may simply give out belts quickly as a way of generating significant income through testing and promotion fees. [[/note]]

Many seasoned martial artists will tell you that the art isn't about gaining rank, it's about the journey. Belts fill the desire to have tangible marks of successful progress along the path, but if you give them too much importance, you're missing the point.

* Contemporary {{Capoeira}} adopted a belt system inspired by the oriental arts in order to cultivate image as legitimate sport so that they could get funding from the government. Belts are almost always braided cords of various bright colors with gray generally being the beginner cord, white being the master level (because you're supposed to be good enough to avoid dragging your cord and pants through the dirt). They frequently use the colors ofthe Brazilian flag (green, yellow, blue and white, and various combinations thereof)) with higher rank being denoted by colors closer to the center. However, various groups use a wide variety of different rope color progressions; the only common value is that white is always a master's belt.

There is also a stereotype that a person with a black belt can kill with his or her bare hands. This is a gross oversimplification, if not patently false. Let's face it: it's easy to kill people. If you get someone to stand still long enough, you can kill them with [[CherryTapping your bare hands]] or [[TheHorriblySlowMurdererWithTheExtremelyInefficientWeapon a spoon]] or even [[VorpalPillow a pillow]]. What's difficult is having the physical and mental training to deliberately provide a CloseCallHaircut--to demonstrate that not only ''could'' you have handed out a CurbStompBattle, but you have ''chosen'' not to. In this sense, a black belt demonstrates not your skill with your fists, but your CharacterDevelopment from ArrogantKungFuGuy to MartialPacifist, from someone who knows how to hurt people to someone who knows how ''not'' to.

* Muay Thai has something called a ''Pra Jiad'', an armband worn around the upper arm, traditionally to bring confidence and luck. Some schools use colour variation on these, though the meaning varies - sometimes it means the student has taken some number of gradings, sometimes a number of wins in the ring, and an instructor might wear one signifying that he's trained a fighter from scratch to his first ring win.

There is also a stereotype that a person with a black belt can kill with his or her bare hands. This is a gross oversimplification, if not patently false. Let's face it: it's easy to kill people. If you get someone to stand still long enough, you can kill them with [[CherryTapping your bare hands]] or [[TheHorriblySlowMurdererWithTheExtremelyInefficientWeapon a spoon]] or even [[VorpalPillow a pillow]]. What's difficult is having the physical and mental training to ''avoid'' hurting someone, to pull back and demonstrate that not only ''could'' you have handed out a CurbStompBattle, but you have ''chosen'' not to. In this sense, a black belt demonstrates not your skill with your fists, but your CharacterDevelopment from ArrogantKungFuGuy to MartialPacifist.

There is also a stereotype that a person with a black belt can kill with his or her bare hands. This is a gross oversimplification, if not patently false. Let's face it: it's easy to kill people. If you get someone to stand still long enough, you can kill them with your bare hands or a spoon or even a pillow. What's difficult is having the physical and mental training to ''avoid'' hurting someone, to pull back and demonstrate that not only ''could'' you have handed out a CurbStompBattle, but you have ''chosen'' not to. In this sense, a black belt demonstrates not your skill with your fists, but your CharacterDevelopment from ArrogantKungFuGuy to MartialPacifist.

The meaning of the black belt itself varies. The ''perceived'' meaning to western minds is that the black belt indicates mastery. However a first ''dan'' black belt is still a student (who may be addressed as ''[[SempaiKohai sempai]])''. They will generally assist the ''sensei'' in classes and may begin to teach in some capacity, but generally won't be acknowledged as a full sensei for a couple more ''dan'' ranks. (TheOtherWiki gives the analogy as a first ''dan'' black belt being like a bachelors degree - fluent in all the basics but lacking the experience that breeds full mastery). The highest ''dan'' ranks in a school are usually reserved for those who not only show mastery in the art but also contribute back to it as an instructor and/or leader, and past 5th ''dan'' or so are awarded solely by the will of the organizational body. For normal rankings, some schools award ranks based on completing a test demonstrating your skills, some grant ranks whenever the Sensei decides they've earned it, and some award them based on the amount of time you have been training. Aspiring black belts should beware what the martial arts community derisively calls the [="McDojo"=] - schools that are operated as a business (not bad in and of itself) and promise black belts in an unrealistically short amount of time (definitely bad). For an adult without prior martial arts experience, three to six years is considered the average time to go from white to black. (There are a few exceptions but such programs tend to be run by police or military organizations and are extremely intensive.)