Understanding Belt Ranking Systems Across Different Martial Arts

Walk into any martial arts school and you will see students wearing belts of different colors. But the meaning behind those colors varies enormously from one art to another, and even between organizations within the same art.

A Brief History

The colored belt system was not ancient tradition. Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, introduced the black belt (dan) and white belt (kyu) distinction in the 1880s. Other colors came later, largely as a way to mark intermediate progress and keep students motivated. Gichin Funakoshi brought the system to karate when he introduced the art to mainland Japan in the 1920s.

Before belts, many traditional arts used scrolls, certificates, or simply the recognition of a teacher to mark advancement. Some Filipino and Indonesian arts still operate this way.

How Different Arts Structure Rank

Karate typically uses white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, and black, though the exact sequence depends on the style (Shotokan, Goju-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, etc.). Black belt dans range from 1st (shodan) through 10th.

Taekwondo under the Kukkiwon system uses white through red-black (poom for juniors) before black belt. WT and ITF organizations use slightly different color progressions.

Judo follows white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, black. Higher dans (6th through 8th) may wear a red-and-white paneled belt; 9th and 10th dan wear solid red.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has one of the slowest progressions: white, blue, purple, brown, black. Reaching black belt typically takes 8 to 15 years of consistent training. Coral and red belts exist for 7th dan and above.

What Rank Actually Means

A common misconception is that a black belt in one art is equivalent to a black belt in another. In practice, a judo shodan might require 3 to 5 years of training, while a BJJ black belt takes a decade or more. Neither is "harder" — they test different skills over different timelines.

At WWMAA, we recognize rank across affiliated styles through a standardized credentialing system. This does not erase the differences between arts; it provides a common framework so that a 3rd dan in taekwondo and a 3rd dan in karate can be understood in context by other practitioners, tournament organizers, and school administrators.

The Rank Beyond the Belt

Ultimately, the belt is a piece of fabric. What it represents — hours of training, techniques internalized, knowledge tested — is what matters. Respect every belt you see on the mat, because you rarely know the full story behind it.