Color Belt Curriculum Breakdown

[Montana]

As always, I'm the oddball in the group. I've taught hundreds of "kids" between 6 and 17 years of age. Classes ran 2 hours long, twice/week. No water breaks, bathroom only if they couldn't wait.

My curriculum was the same in both the adult class, and children's class, regardless if you were first day white belt, or 20 year black belt. We ALL did the same thing.

Essentially, the first 20 minutes consisted of basics, warmup exercises, and stretches. By the time we were done, you should be sweating pretty darn good! lol

Then we'd work on several things, from practical self-defense techniques, to 1 steps, 2 steps, combinations, etc.

Then we'd do kata, starting with our first kata, all the way thru the highest any of my students knew.

Lastly, we'd spar until class ended.

My students knew the routine, knew what was next, and worked hard. The only testing requirements I had as white belt, basic kicks, blocks, stance, walking and first kata. After that it was based on attendance, effort and skills improvement since their last test. They all knew what they needed more work on, and if they didn't fix it, they didn't test. Period.

That's the way my sensei taught us. That's the way his sensei did it in his dojo in Okinawa, and it's good enough for me.

I've always worked on the KISS method.

Keep It Simple Stupid

[Spartacus Maximus]

For some reason that isn’t quite clear, it seems like there is much less organized curriculum requirements in Okinawan dojos. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the number of belts/grades was very small before Sho Dan. White, blue, green, then brown.

Everyone was expected to learn the Naihanchi and Pinan within the first year and every one trained those according to their level of understanding of the bunkai/application. 

From Sho Dan onwards in no specific order each person learned Passai Sho/dai, Kusanku Sho/dai, Chinto, Seisan, Gojushiho and Teisho 

[Montana]

On 2/17/2026 at 6:08 AM, Spartacus Maximus said:

For some reason that isn’t quite clear, it seems like there is much less organized curriculum requirements in Okinawan dojos. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the number of belts/grades was very small before Sho Dan. White, blue, green, then brown.

Everyone was expected to learn the Naihanchi and Pinan within the first year and every one trained those according to their level of understanding of the bunkai/application. 

From Sho Dan onwards in no specific order each person learned Passai Sho/dai, Kusanku Sho/dai, Chinto, Seisan, Gojushiho and Teisho 

My sensei used just 4 colored belts when I was with him, with 3 levels for each of the green, blue and browns. A number of years after I started teaching, I added some colored belts mixed in just to add a little more color to the group.  We teach Pinan 1-3, then Nahachin 1-3, then Pinan 4-5, then Passai Sho and Di, then Chinto. 1 kata per belt. As for less organized curriculum? Perhaps, but we don't put a lot of emphasis on belt ranks. As for specific techniques, 10th kyu white belts, other than a kata, are the only ranks that have specific skills needed to advance to the next belt. All students, regardless of rank, work on all of the techniques together. I try to pair a lower belt with a higher belt, generally try not to pair women together, and require them to punch/kick their opponent as hard and fast as they are capable of dealing with.

[Furinkazan]

On 2/17/2026 at 9:08 AM, Spartacus Maximus said:

For some reason that isn’t quite clear, it seems like there is much less organized curriculum requirements in Okinawan dojos.

I’ve seen Wastelander’s videos on social media.  He’s wearing a Shorinkan patch, but doesn’t teach the Pinans to adults.

I could never see JKA, ISKF, or SKIF allowing any of its member dojos to not teach the Heians.

So this definitely checks out.

[bushido_man96]

8 hours ago, Furinkazan said:

I’ve seen Wastelander’s videos on social media.  He’s wearing a Shorinkan patch, but doesn’t teach the Pinans to adults.

I could never see JKA, ISKF, or SKIF allowing any of its member dojos to not teach the Heians.

So this definitely checks out.

When the mainland Japanese got a hold of the styles coming in from Okinawa, they were really big on getting things codified into formal rank systems.  They seemed to not like the lack of structure and more "open and free" training approach the Okinawans used.

[Furinkazan]

5 hours ago, bushido_man96 said:

When the mainland Japanese got a hold of the styles coming in from Okinawa, they were really big on getting things codified into formal rank systems.  They seemed to not like the lack of structure and more "open and free" training approach the Okinawans used.

I've never been to Japan or Okinawa, but if what everyone is saying online is to be believed... Okinawan culture is significantly more relaxed and less formal than Japanese culture.  And, as a result, Okinawan hombu dojos are probably far more likely to adopt a laizzes faire style of leadership than Japanese ones.

[Wastelander]

On 2/19/2026 at 3:35 PM, Furinkazan said:

I’ve seen Wastelander’s videos on social media.  He’s wearing a Shorinkan patch, but doesn’t teach the Pinans to adults.

I could never see JKA, ISKF, or SKIF allowing any of its member dojos to not teach the Heians.

So this definitely checks out.

I left that organization at the end of 2019, but they did require the Pinan kata for all students. They didn't dictate what order the kata had to be taught in, or what kata were associated with what ranks, just so long as you knew all of the kata by 5th Dan. Removing the Pinan series for adults was a change I made based on my discussions with my late Sensei on removing redundancy in the curriculum, but I wouldn't have been able to do that if I had stayed in the Shorinkan.

[sensei8]

5 hours ago, Wastelander said:

Removing the Pinan series for adults was a change I made based on my discussions with my late Sensei on removing redundancy in the curriculum, but I wouldn't have been able to do that if I had stayed in the Shorinkan.

There’s everything about this that I love.

Removing redundancy at all costs and by all means. The unfortunate difficulty lies with the overbearing Governing Bodies because they want it their way as though their way is the only way; that’s ridiculous, of course, and that’s why our founder left the Okinawa powers that be. Their way, the Okinawa powers that be, is their way and it never has been the way of our founder, and it’s not my way.

I don’t have to tell anybody about the Heisenberg Principle that says the act of observing a phenomenon changes it.

Edited February 26 by sensei8

[Wado Heretic]

To the opening post, I think the ideas look fine. It sounds like you have identified what you want to see people achieve, and it reads as though you have consider how to so in a reasonable manner.

I consider it wise to keep in mind the old proverb regarding throwing the baby out with the bath water. Which is to not do so. In simple English terms, it means to avoid throwing out something valuable while getting rid of something no longer needed.

When considering my own curriculum I started with the question: “What in my training got me to where I am?”

Now my answer will always be biased towards what I am able to identify as useful. What I can identify as useful is going to be what provided most immediate benefits to effort put in. Thus, some of what I worked on that was longitudinal in benefit, as in it took a lot of time to see a benefit, is going to potentially appear superfluous but could have in fact been the foundation of a lot of what I do well now. This is why I find it useful to be a part of an organisation, and to have a sensei, because it helps balance my perspective. It forces me to consider what I might otherwise abandon. Alternatively, it also forces me to take the initiative in innovating, because I have answers to questions, and questions to answer, which I would otherwise not encounter.

In taking this approach, I feel it has helped me build a syllabus that can be useful to most people engaging in training. It is a safety net against my own egoism and just doing what I enjoy.

The other thing I have asked is what do I want belts to represent. Personally, for me, they need to represent meaningful improvements in the fighting skills being worked on. Thus, I use fewer belts than found in most systems, because I think it takes a while to objectively improve from one level to the other, and just knowing more without getting better is easily done. Knowing more kata or more drills without getting better at them to me is not what I am looking for. Hence, building competency expectations into the grading system. I want to see someone has got better at the goal of the partner exercise, rather than just show me another drill they have learnt and do it poorly.

Anyway, here is my colour belt syllabus (Though it is always subject to change) as posted in the flow drills topic:

Quote

 

Yellow Belt: Pinan Nidan and Pinan Nidan Rolling Bunkai (Eight Applications). Pinan Nidan Flow-Drills Level 1.

Green Belt: Naihanchi Shodan and Sanchin. Pinan Nidan Flow-Drills Levels 2-3. Renzoku Kumite Pinan Nidan Deflection competency. Kakei Kumite Pinan Nidan Grip Release Competency.

Blue Belt: Pinan Shodan and Pinan Shodan Rolling Bunkai (Seven Applications). Pinan Shodan Flow Drills Levels 1-4. Pinan Nidan Flow-Drills Levels 4-5. Renzoku Kumite Pinan Shoidan and Nidan Deflection competency. Kakei Kumite Pinan Shodan and Nidan Grip Release Competency. Renzoku Kumite Pinan Nidan Counter-Striking competency. Kakei Kumite Pinan Nidan Trapping/Position Competency.

Purple Belt: Pinan Sandan and Pinan Sandan Rolling Bunkai (Six Applications). Pinan Sandan Flow Drills Level 1-3. Pinan Shodan Flow Drills Levels 4-7. Pinan Shodan Flow-Drills Levels 6-7. Renzoku Kumite Pinan Shodan and Nidan Counter-Striking competency. Kakei Kumite Pinan Shodan and Nidan Trapping/Position Competency. Renzoku Kumite Pinan Nidan Attacking Competency. Kakei Kumite Pinan Nidan Take-Down Competency.

3rd Brown: Pinan Godan and Pinan Godan Rolling Bunkai (Seven Applications). Pinan Nidan Rolling Bunkai - Escalations 1-3/Ushiro Waza 1-3/Five Ura Variations/Kanren-Waza 1/Dojo Bunkai 1. Introduction to level eight flow-drills with Pinan Shodan and Nidan. Renzoku Kumite Pinan Shodan Attacking Competency. Kakei Kumite Pinan Shodan Take-Down Competency. Bogu Kumite Defence Competency. Kakedameshi Positions, Grips, and Releases Competencies.

2nd Brown: Pinan Yondan and Pinan Yondan Rolling Bunkai (Ten Applications). Pinan Nidan Rolling Bunkai - Escalations 4-5/Ushiro Waza 4-5/Kanren-Waza 2/Dojo Bunkai 2. Pinan Sandan Flow Drills Level 4-7 Bogu Kumite Striking Competency. Kakedameshi Take-Down Competency.

1st brown: One of three Kata: Seisan, Fyukyugata Ni, or Jitte. Level Eight Flow-Drills including Pinan Shodan/Nidan/Sandan. Pinan Nidan Rolling Bunkai - Escalations 6-7/Ushiro Waza 6-7/Kanren-Waza 3-4/Dojo Bunkai 3-4. Pinan Sandan Renzoku and Kakei Kumite Competencies. Bogu Kumite Wrestling Competencies. Kakedameshi Striking and Kubi-Sumo Competency. Introduction to Jissen Kumite.

I shall explain some of my lingo as I suspect some of it is otherwise obtuse:

Escalations - These are variations on the basic Rolling Bunkai where I have changed the attack to something similar but it is much faster paced and closerto  a "realistic" attack. I usually have two points of escalation for each Rolling Bunkai Drilll.

Ushiro Waza - Technically Ushiro means back but I use it colloquially to refer to versions of the drills where the Seme starts in a position of disadvantage such as against a wall. It is part of contextualising the techniques in self-defence as none of us are ever politely attacked in a huge space prepared and ready for a fight.

Ura Variations - As the phrase Ura implies it just means the exercises are done off the opposite side to the basic version.

Kanren Waza - Alternate finishing throws and holds to, or variations on, the ones implied in the classical kata to practice sensible adjustments when confronted with resistance.

Dojo Bunkai - This is just short hand for applications I developed myself for the Pinangata on top of the Rolling Bunkai for my Dojo. Some of the Rolling Bunkai have some mirrored applications where the Kata repeats itself, and those are the instances where I have added an additional application for my students.

What I mean by competencies just means I am looking for a student to be competent in that area when they have reached that level. For example, when a student is defending, I want to see that they are adjusting their distance suitably, aren't flinching or just reacting, but actively making wise defensive choices.

In our version of Renzoku kumite, we take it in turns to be attacker or defender, or play a "tag" version, and we restrict ourselves to using material from the kata we are working in. So the attacker uses strikes from the Kata, and the defender the deflections and trained applications. Our Kakei Kumite follows the same model in that we focus on a specific kata and its content for our practice.

 

In terms of what has been “dictated” to me is the kata and the rolling bunkai. I follow the Kata syllabus of the Kodokan, as it was run by the late Aragaki Isamu Sensei, up until Nidan level. Which is the level I reached while he was alive, and the level to which I can technically grade people. After that, I take the direction of my current teacher, Derek Ridgway Sensei. The Rolling Bunkai are his creation and are used for Brown Belt and Senior Grades so my students need to know them to grade in the organisation. I find them very effective anyway, so I do not begrudge it, and they have been a solid base around which to build the rest of the partner exercises around.

In my limited experience in Okinawa I would say that the syllabus approach is much less structured, and far more individualised. In training with other people that trained far more extensively, or even much less, with Aragaki Sensei we were all taught subtly different ways to do things and the principles were consistent. It seemed to be very much targeted to the individual. That said, I think that was the very old way to do things. As a person, Sensei did not need money, and taught for the love and passion of Karate. I cannot speak to schools which may be more commercial where the teacher lives from teaching.