Karate is an ancient art that has been practiced for centuries throughout the world. Karate's presence continues to be strong in the United States, with classes and programs available in most cities and states. An integral part of many karate classes is the progression of belts, which are earned by achieving certain goals both in skill and discipline.
History
The colored belt system began with Japanese judo as a way to track the progress of students within a program. Later, the same belt system was adapted to fit karate programs for the same reasons by sensai Gichin Funakoshi as part of Shotokan Karate schools. From there, the practice caught on and is used in many different karate schools in varying forms.
Colors
With the exception of the white and black belts, karate belt colors often differ between karate programs, with each school having the ability to customize its belt system. This means that different belt colors might signify different levels of karate skill depending on the program; however, a white belt always identifies the beginning level and a black belt means a student has achieved the highest level attainable. Colored stripes also might be added to a karate belt to signify achievements. Belt colors typically advance from light to dark because in older times students dyed their belts the new color. As such, traditionally colors in the system progress as follows: white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and black.
Examination
Students progress through series of belts, or "kyu," by taking part in graded examinations. These examinations test a wide variety of skills for both physical tasks and knowledge-based tasks. Belt ranks start at 10 for a white belt and progress to 1 for a black belt. The physical portions of rank exams might consists of simple tasks like a specific amount of pushups, or more complex tasks like demonstrating specific moves or kicks. Knowledge tasks might test memory or require reciting specific phrases or facts about karate.
Higher Belts
There typically are additional requirements for achieving the two highest level belts, brown and black. Black belts usually have an age requirement of 18 and might require a waiting period of up to two years. Along with demonstrating skills with a higher degree of difficulty to progress, black and brown belt candidates also might be required to teach a specified amount of hours to students of lower ranks.
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