Judo (and Karate) Rankings

When you begin as a novice judoka (practitioner of judo), you start as a 6th kyu. If you're serious about it, you then aim to work up through 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd kyu, and eventually to 1st kyu. The next step is to earn a black belt and become a 1st dan. When you achieve the ranking of 6th dan you're entitled to wear a red and white belt, but you may continue to wear a black one. At 9th dan and above you may wear a red belt (or you may still continue to wear a black one).

Outside Japan, different coloured belts are awarded to the different kyu grades. Various systems are used in different countries. This is the one used in Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand:

6th kyu			White
5th kyu			Yellow
4th kyu			Orange
3rd kyu			Green
2nd kyu			Blue
1st kyu			Brown

The upper echelons of the judo ranking system are steeped in tradition and mystique. The legendary founder of judo, Jigoro Kano (1860–1938), decreed that there would be ten levels of dan. He believed that an 11th dan should be created if anyone exceeded the requirements of 10th dan; in his philosophy, no person could ever achieve perfection. But the 11th dan ranking was never needed in his lifetime, and it seems that because Kano never saw anyone who merited its creation, his successors have been reluctant to appear too generous.

The first 10th dan was created in 1936, and two more in 1937. Kano himself never achieved 10th dan, but after his death in 1938 the Kodokan (the institute founded by Kano in 1882, which is the governing body of judo in Japan and thus in the world) created a 12th dan and promoted him to it. For reasons that remain unclear, there never has been an 11th dan. (Presumably the creation of the 12th dan for Kano allowed for the 11th to be created at some point in the future, so that lesser mortals could be promoted above 10th dan if the need arose but would still be inferior to Kano.)

The Kodokan has only ever awarded fifteen 10th dans; it seems that other national bodies have created 10th dans under their own rules, but these are not recognised in Japan. Only three of the Japanese 10th dans were still alive in 2016, and they are all in their 80s. It appears unlikely that anyone will ever be promoted above 10th dan.

Karate

Karate uses a system of coloured belts that is similar in many ways to that used in judo. Similar, but different enough to be potentially very confusing. The same seven colours are used; the lowest ranking is the white belt, and the two top rankings are the brown belt and the black belt. But the other four colours are in a completely different order.

Judo:

Karate:

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24