Belts & Rank

In karate, belts (called “obi”) are used to signify a student’s rank, ranging from a white belt for beginners to a black belt for advanced practitioners. The colors, and their order, differ from school to school, but the ranks are broadly divided into two groups, “dan” grades and “kyu” grades. “Dan” grades are black belt ranks and count upward, while “kyu” grades are beneath black belt and count downward.

This can be really confusing, especially if you try to compare between schools, because there’s very little consistency. The rest of the articles in this section will help you understand, but the only thing that really matters is how your school does it.

• How Belts "Work"

  A general overview of the karate belt system

• Testing for Rank

  How karate tests work.

Rank Requirements

Our dojo’s rank requirements for each kyu grade can be found here.