New belts at Dan gradings???

[yamesu]

All the prior talk about belts got me pondering.......

 

I was wondering,

 

Does your school/dojo award new black-belts at every Dan grading?

 

or,

 

Does your school/dojo award the grading with a new gold stripe etc. on a single black belt?

 

OSU.

[Red J]

You get a new belt every time. Many just elect to wear the old faithful and just add the appropriate stripe. At 5th the stripes turn to red so I guess most go with a new belt (by the time you get here your belt needs to be replaced I'm sure).

[Jussi Häkkinen]

We don't have stripes that mark dan-ranks in our style. Basic black belt (with embroidery or not, "basic" in a sense of having no stripes or other rank marks) is used until Renshi-level, which usually can be granted after reaching a grade of 5th dan. Then one "rank stripe" is added. After 7th dan one can be elected to a rank of "kyoshi" with 2 "rank stripes" and after 8th dan the rank of "hanshi" with 3 "rank stripes" can be awarded.

 

We don't have any embroidery colours etc. that would be rank-related. Colour is a matter of personal taste.

[Shorin Ryuu]

In my system, you have the option of adding stripes to your black belt. Most people do not. I think that is very uneccessary.

 

I simply have my name in katakana one one side and the name of my organization in kanji on the others.

 

My system is also one of the few Okinawan systems (relatively) that has a red-and-white belt for Kyoshi Rank (7th, 8th dan) and a red belt for hanshi rank (9th, 10th dan). Probably about half the Shorin Ryu styles do this, but it is less prevalent in other Okinawan styles. I've always found it kind of amusing, but hey, if they want to do that, then I'm not about to tell them to stop. It is useful if you are in a camp or other function with about 250+ people. You can spot them from far away.

 

I draw the line at my name and organization on the belt, and I even have some mixed feelings towards that. But, since I suppose most people in my organization do it (not necessarily a "peer pressure" thing, but more of a politeness thing), I figured I would go for it.

 

That being said, I cut off the Shureido emblem on my belt and the manufacturer's patch on my gi...that was too much commercialism for me.

[MASIsshinryu]

I remove the tags, as well. I have never seen the need to advertise a given product, although I do not mind telling people the source of anything I use, if they are looking to purchase the same.

 

We use a very simple White-Green-Brown-Black progression, buying your own as appropriate. If you wish to add the name of the sytle on the end, that is permitted. We have not added stripes or other markers to anything up through Yon-Dan.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

I've always had to buy my own belts after promotions, so no, we don't get a new black belt with each test. My current belt is around 12 years old or so and still holding up well.

 

As for stripes, I was always against stripes and my sensei never wore them himself. I didn't either until about 10 years ago or so I got tired of people at tournaments asking my rank so that they could determine where they wanted me to judge or referee. Also, competitors would ask me just out of curiosity. So, i grabbed some tape...and have had stripes ever since. When my senior student got his Shodan, he put one stripe on his belt...now has 3. I guess I started a pattern here, and it's to late to change it back!

[isshinryu5toforever]

We put stripes on the belts. I think it's just something we've always done.

[G95champ]

We keep the same Black Belt no stipes...

[ninjanurse]

Old Shotokan Style: White embroidery for shodan, gold for nidan and up-no stripes.

 

Current TKD school: New stripe for each confirmed Dan rank (each Dan is broken down into novice, intermediate, and advanced so you get a new belt every 4th test)

 

[vertigo]

My dojo doesn't give out a new black belt for each grade. It seems that you just continue using that belt.. We don't have stripes either.

 

My Sensei has probably had his current belt far longer than I've been alive... it is very worn in... One question for those who might know.. he does have a piece of red tape on one end of his belt.. does this have any signifigance?