Belt Ranks: The Journey to Black Belt (and Beyond)

The karate belt rank system was borrowed from Judo when karate was first introduced from Okinawa to mainland Japan. Different styles of karate — and even different schools of the same style — have different color belt orders, but generally there is a progression from White Belt (a beginner student) to Black Belt (a student who is proficient in the fundamentals of their art), and then degrees of Black Belt as practitioners continue their study beyond those fundamentals.

In our dojo, our belt system works in the following order:

Students in our Tigers Pre-School Program will earn a couple extra belts along the way, as the journey from

White Belt to Blue Belt can be a big task for our smallest students. The same White Belt Curriculum that

students in our Kids Program and Adult Program learn is divided up into the following belts:

The purpose of the belt system is simply to give students specific, discrete goals to pursue as they work toward their long-term goal of Black Belt. It also helps us codify what the minimum required curriculum for students is at each level, although students may have opportunities to learn material “above” their current belt rank.

Students will also earn stripes on their belts, denoting proficiency in a specific curricular requirement. These can be great short-term (4-8 week) goals for students to set for themselves within each belt rank, and also help instructors know immediately where each student is on their path toward their next rank. There are 6 stripes earned at each belt rank.

White Belts in our Kids Program and Tigers Pre-School students will also earn a set of ten “Personal Development” stripes. These stripes acknowledge growth in particular “soft skills” that our young students need not only in karate, but in school and at home — skills like Focus, Discipline, Teamwork, Leadership, and Respect. These stripes will be earned organically throughout their journey as beginners and are not an indicator of their readiness for their next belt.

Students are expected to show solid proficiency in the skills required at their belt level, as well as proper effort, discipline, and respect before being invited to test for their next rank. There is no timeline for this. Every student will progress at their own pace. We caution students against comparing themselves to others — there will be times in everyone’s journey where we excel, and times in everyone’s journey where we struggle. Just keep going.

White Belt and Blue Belt students will test for their next belt in their regular classes; one of the sensei will alert you 2-3 weeks prior that you are ready to test. Students will be expected to demonstrate all skills required at that belt level in order to earn their next rank. Parents: You are invited to come inside the dojo to watch your child test. We will do our best to coordinate your student’s testing date so that you’re able to attend.

Beginning at Yellow Belt, all belt ranks are earned through a formal testing process that we hold semi-annually in May and December of each year. Students will be invited to test 2-3 months prior the next testing date. You can find those dates on our website’s calendar, and may wish to consider marking those dates if you feel that you / your child may be close to their next opportunity to test.

Although it is not appropriate to ask “Can I test?” or “When am I going to get my next belt?”, if you are curious about your progress, it is absolutely appropriate to ask one of the sensei what skills you can be working on developing, or for feedback on your training. Trust that the instructors are keenly aware of each student’s development and progress; we take tremendous pride in this aspect of guiding students through their journeys, and are constantly in discussion as a staff about the trajectory that each student in the dojo is on.

For students in the Kids Program, once you’ve been invited to test for your next rank, it’s a great idea to start looking at the class schedule to plan which class(es) you’ll attend if you are successful in earning your new belt rank. Some classes may be at capacity, so always be sure to speak to one of the sensei to confirm there’s space in your desired classes. We ask students to move immediately to those new rank-specific classes upon successfully promoting to their new belt.