Martial Arts Belts: Everything You Need to Know
By SENSAI BOND
Martial arts belts are used to represent the ranking and progress of students in martial art. It was a system put in place to reward the best students and show their progress until they get to the highest rank after attaining a certain level of expertise. Martial arts belts consist of 9 belt colors: white belt, yellow belt, orange belt, green belt, blue belt, purple belt, black belt, and red belt. The number and order of martial art belts can vary depending on specific martial arts. In this article, I will tell you everything about martial arts belts colors, what are the highest ranked martial arts belts (and is there a belt above black?), the history of belts in martial arts, and much more about martial arts belts.
Teaching
In some Japanese schools, after obtaining a black belt the student also begins to instruct, and may be referred to as a senpai (senior student) or sensei (teacher). In others, a black belt student should not be called sensei until they are Sandan (third-degree black belt), or the titles kyosa or sabom in Korean martial arts as a second degree or higher, as this denotes a greater degree of experience and a sensei must have this and grasp of what is involved in teaching a martial art.
Higher grades
Some martial art schools use embroidered bars to denote different levels of black belt rank, as shown on these taekwondo 1st, 2nd, and 3rd dan black belts.
In Japanese martial arts the further subdivisions of black belt ranks may be linked to dan grades and indicated by 'stripes' on the belt. Yūdansha (roughly translating from Japanese to "person who holds a dan grade") is often used to describe those who hold a black belt rank. While the belt remains black, stripes or other insignia may be added to denote seniority, in some arts, very senior grades will wear differently colored belts.
In judo and some forms of karate, a sixth dan will wear a red and white belt. The red and white belt is often reserved only for ceremonial occasions, and a regular black belt is still worn during training. At 9th or 10th dan some schools award red. In some schools of jujutsu, the shihan rank and higher wear purple belts. These other colors are often still referred to collectively as "black belts".
Highest Belt in Martial Arts
Usually, the black belt is the highest belt in martial arts. But, in a few arts including Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Karate, the red belt is reserved for exemplary masters of the art and is above the black belt.
No universally accepted standard governs how the belt colors of martial art should be, each type of martial arts follows its own rules, explanations, and traditions and there are at times variations within the same type.
However, it is generally accepted that the first belt should be white while the highest belt is black. You will usually move from white belt to yellow belt, to orange belt, to green belt, to blue belt, to purple belt, to brown belt, and then to black belt which is the peak.
Meanwhile, there are levels to black belts and it takes a level of mastery and time to attain those feats.
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