Yenrab Posted March 23, 2005 Posted March 23, 2005 For Karate, what is the order, I know Black belt is the highest....
Venrix Posted March 23, 2005 Posted March 23, 2005 Hi There.In general - the belt sequence can (and does) change from Dojo (school) to Dojo and Organisation to organisation. However, in the main - Karate Organisations and schools follow a 10 step ranking system.10th Kyu - 1st Kyu (The coloured belts - with 10 being start and usually white belt). Some organisations and styles use an 8 Kyu system (starting at 8th Kyu - ending with 1st Kyu). The colours used to represent each Kyu grade varies from organisation to organisation and evens schools from the same organisation often choose to use a differing colour scheme for various reasons (e.g. a school that offers more than one style may choose to use the same 'colour sequence' for both styles in order to avoid confusion).Subsequent to the 'Kyu' system is the 'Dan' system. Beginning with 1st Dan and ending with 10th Dan (these being 'black belt grades' - although, many styles use red after 6th Dan). Typically, only those that have dedicated an entire lifetime to the Martial Arts will receive a 10th Dan from Japan. Therefore, if you know a 50 year old '10th Dan' it's worth checking out the background! One could probably place a fairly safe bet that this 'master' has 'appointed himself' the grade as the 'founder' of his own 'brand new turbo charged advanced mind meld' style. There is almost no chance that the grade was appointed by the Japanese Honbu's, as 50 years hardly constitutes a 'lifetime' in the eyes of the Japanese. Only a very select few actually have a 10th Dan in Karate awarded by the Honbu's of Japan. In Europe, for example, there is only one.Hope that helps.-V- More than 200 pictures of Kyokushin technique. Kata outlined step by step. https://www.kyokushinbudokai.org (Homepage)Diary of a Full Contact Martial Artist (Diary)
Grenadier Posted March 23, 2005 Posted March 23, 2005 As Venrix stated, it varies from style to style. He has already explained how the kyu and dan ranks operate in good detail.Some styles have 8 kyu grades, others might have 10 kyu grades, and so forth. In one style of Karate, the progression went as follows:8th Kyu (hachikyu) = white belt7th Kyu (schischikyu) = yellow belt6th Kyu (rokyu) = blue belt5th Kyu (gokyu) = green belt4th Kyu (yonkyu) = purple belt3rd, 2nd, and 1st Kyu (sankyu, nikyu, ikkyu) = brown belt Another style of Karate has a different level of progression:no rank = white belt10th kyu = yellow belt with white stripe in the center9th kyu = solid yellow belt8th kyu = yellow belth with black stripe in the center7th kyu = orange belt6th kyu = purple belt5th kyu = green belt4th kyu = blue belt3rd-1st kyu = brown beltIn general, it's fairly safe to assume, that white or yellow belts are considered beginner, or beginner-intermediate ranks, that green belts are considered intermediate ranks, and that brown belts are considered as advanced ranks, though. So, as you can see, one style's purple belt, may very well be an advanced student, while another style's purple belt might be an intermediate student. Some schools have one more rank after 1st kyu, and might call it a pre-shodan rank, while possibly using a red and black belt, or some other semi-lofty color. No matter which style, though, those who have obtained the highest rank of kyu grade, can become eligible to take their black belt test, for the rank of shodan. Also, while arguably, most styles of Karate have 10 dan (black belt) grades, some might only have 8, while a few even only go up to 5 dan grades. Some might even have ranks in between dan ranks. Typically, someone who has just received his black belt, is considered a 1st dan, or better known as a shodan rank holder, and this is sometimes referred to as a 1st degree black belt. Someone with his 2nd dan rank is known as a nidan rank holder, aka 2nd degree black belt, and so forth. Someone holding a judan / 10th degree black belt is supposed to be very special indeed. Typically, this is the soke (founder) of the style, or if the soke is deceased, then his successor. Someone who has truly earned the highest rank in an authentic style of Karate isn't going to be a spring chicken in terms of how old they are. If anything, such judans are into their 60's, and up.Now, to confuse the belt issue even more, here's some more food for thought:In some styles, some of the more advanced black belts are eligible for the titles of Renshi, Kyoshi, and Hanshi (top). Holders of such titles might wear different colored belts at formal events, such as the red and white belt (horizontal for Renshi, vertical stripes for Kyoshi), or even solid red (Hanshi). If you see someone wearing a solid red belt, though, it really doesn't tell you what rank they are, since they could simply be an advanced kyu rank, or the menkyo-kaiden of a given Karate style. Fortunately, though, you can safely assume that a young person wearing a solid red belt isn't the menkyo-kaiden!
Shorinryu Sensei Posted March 23, 2005 Posted March 23, 2005 Like everybody else has said (anybody here an echo?), it varies between system to system, dojo to dojo. Here's mine:Dan Ranks10th Red7th-9th - Red/White1st-6th - BlackKyu Ranks1st - Brown w/black stripe running through center2nd - Brown with one black stripe at end of belt3rd - Brown 4th - Blue w/ black stripe on end of belt5th - Blue6th - Purple7th - Green w/ black stripe on end of belt8th - Green9th - Yellow10th-White My nightly prayer..."Please, just let me win that PowerBall Jackpot just once. I'll prove to you that it won't change me!"
cathal Posted March 23, 2005 Posted March 23, 2005 Here are the ones for my Shotokan dojoDan RanksBlackKyu Ranks1st - Brown2nd - Brown3rd - Brown4th - Blue or Purple5th - Purple6th - Green7th - Orange8th - Yellow9th - White10th - White .The best victory is when the opponent surrendersof its own accord before there are any actualhostilities...It is best to win without fighting.- Sun-tzu
AnonymousOne Posted March 24, 2005 Posted March 24, 2005 5th Kyu - Orange4th Kyu - Green3rd Kyu - Blue 2nd Kyu - Purple1st Kyu - BrownShodan Ho - Brown with black stripeShodan - Black 7th Dan ChidokaiA true combat warrior has to be hard as nails in mind, body and soul. Warriors are action takers and not action fakers. If you are cruising, make time for losing
vertigo Posted March 24, 2005 Posted March 24, 2005 9th Kyu - White8th and 7th - Orange6th - Green5th and 4th - Purple3rd, 2nd, and 1st - BrownShodan and beyond - Black "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T. S. Eliot
strangepair03 Posted March 24, 2005 Posted March 24, 2005 10-6 kyu-White6-3 kyu-Green3-1 kyu-Brown1-7 dan-Black7-8 dan-Red/White (optional)9-10 dan-Red A punch should stay like a treasure in the sleeve. It should not be used indiscrimately.Kyan Chotoku Sensei
Yenrab Posted March 24, 2005 Author Posted March 24, 2005 Thanks for all your help, you guys are great.
karatekid101 Posted March 24, 2005 Posted March 24, 2005 You didn't let me have a chance!WHITE YELLOWORANGEBLUEGREENJUNIOR PURPLE BELTPURPLE BROWN WHITE STRIPEBROWN BLACK STRIPEBROWNBLACK1st Dan2nd Dan3rd Dan4th Dan5th Dan6th Dan7th Dan8th Dan9th Danfinally... 10th Dan KarateKid101"The answers to life aren't in the back of the book"- Charlie Brown
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