Guide to Karate Belts

Karate belts, known as obis, are more than just a part of the Karate uniform. A Karate belt signifies the skill level of the practitioner wearing the belt. Originating with Judo, the Kyu/Dan rank system is now used by most styles of Karate. The Kyu/Dan rank system goes from 10-1 and then 1-10^th Dan. Kyu denotes below Black Belt, while Dan means that a student has reached Black Belt status.

The colors of Karate belts signify the student's skill level. Though they vary from school to school and between styles of Karate, a popular system includes, in order: White, Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, Brown, Black, Black Belt 1^st Dan, Black Belt 2^nd Dan and so on until the practitioner reaches Black Belt 10^th Dan. Some Karate styles have adapted their belt system from the Kyu/Dan system. For example, Shotokan Karate belts follow the Kyu/Dan system, plus have added some additional colors. Some Karate schools use stripes, or tips, to further differentiate a student's skill level. Dans are designated by these stripes, with a 1^st Dan having one stripe on her belt, a 2^nd Dan having two and so on.

Originally Karate students didn't get belts at all. Rather, they a received a scroll when they reached another level of skill. It was Jigoro Kano who introduced belts by giving Black Belts to two of his students. After that, a Karate student received just one belt at the beginning of his training and he dyed it darker with each level that he reached. There are many theories associated with this practice. For example, some say that the belts started out white and were allowed to get darker with time until they were black, signifying the length of time a person had been studying Karate.