Karate Belt Levels

The most significant aspect of Karate is the karate belt levels and colors. These belts help indicate the rank of the wearer awarded to him or her according to a successful advancement in the martial art level. There is no universal rule in governing the karate belt levels and colors that they signify. They differ according to the organization that specifies the karate belt levels order.

Belt Levels in Karate and Other Martial Arts
The belt levels in karate follow the lightest to the darkest level beginning from white and ending at black as the final level. The karate belts levels and colors include white, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, brown and black. In other martial arts systems, there is a slight change in the belt levels and colors. In case of Taekwondo, the belt system followed is white, yellow, green, blue, red and black. In another martial art form, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the colors are white, blue, purple, brown, black and red for adults. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu belt color system for children is as follows, white, yellow, orange and green.

As the martial arts student progresses, he earns a rank along with their belts. This helps in comparing the ranks of martial artists from different schools following the different colored belt system. These common ranking system are Gup, Kyu and Dan. A beginner is ranked as 'rank 10' or 10th Kyu in Karate and a student who is to be tested for a black belt is ranked as 1st Kyu or 1. After one achieves a black belt, he is then ranked according to the Dan system. The 1st Dan will be surpassed by the 4th Dan.

Karate Belt Levels in Order
Awarding a karate belt is more of a ceremonial process that is used as an award for accomplishing the levels by a student. The lower karate belts levels are given for technical achievements and the higher karate belts are awarded to those who have dedicated their life to this martial art. The karate belt levels vary according to the type of karate, that is, Shito Ryu, Wado Ryu, Goju Ryu, & Shotokan. The following karate belts levels in order cover the lowest rank of white to the highest rank black.

• White
• Yellow
• Orange
• Purple
• Blue
• Green
• Brown
  3rd degree
  2nd degree
  1st degree
• Black
  1st degree
  2nd degree
  3rd degree
  4th degree
  5th degree
  6th degree
  7th degree
  8th degree
  9th degree
  10 degree

The ordering system for white, yellow, green and brown are mostly standardized. However, some schools also use a white 1st degree for yellow and white 2nd degree for orange. Some schools bring the blue belt between green and brown and some bring the purple belt after blue. Some may even get the orange belt after white. Once the students achieve the 1st Kyu rank, the students have to move on to the Dan ranks. There are 10 ranks or degrees of Dan. Some schools award a red or white belt to students who achieve the 6th Dan. This is the highest honor for the achiever as it proves that the bearer is now a master of his field.

The highest karate belt levels of 10th Dan are an extremely rare and are mostly awarded posthumously or to those who practiced this art for more than 40 years. The 9th and 10th Dan are only for those who have made significant contribution to the field and have followed the art all their lives. You can read more on karate exercises.

This is all about the karate belt levels in order. One requires a lot of self-discipline, patience, perseverance and dedication to be able to move on the different karate belt levels and ranks. If you have the fighting spirit in you and can take upon the challenges thrown at you, achieving the karate belt levels and colors won't be as difficult as it sounds.