
There are over 20 distinguishable styles of Karate. All come with variations in kata, organizations, sparring rules, and for our interests here, belt rankings. It is not enough to speak of Karate in general terms when listing belt ranking orders and colors.
There are 20+ styles of Karate, each with slightly different Kyu and Dan rankings that range from 6 to 20 color belt levels. There is not one answer that can encompass all of these varying systems. Each have similar roots, but hold uniqueness in technique and belt progression.
The name for color belt ranks is Kyu. There are different color and ordering systems for the Kyu ranks. Keep in mind, most Karate styles consider all the Kyu ranks to be variant levels of white belt.
Due to this fact, some schools will change the order and color variations from the style’s national or international forms to fit their specific situations. Though these charts have been thoroughly compiled with 25 hours of research, there can be slight variations from dojo to dojo in each of these Karate styles. These are the common practices.
The Japanese names of the dan ranks (black belt levels) for all Karate styles are as follows:
Order Number | Japanese Name of Rank | Number of Stripes |
Preliminary | Shodan Ho | 1 Horizontal |
1st dan | Shodan | 1 |
2nd dan | Nidan | 2 |
3rd dan | Sandan | 3 |
4th dan | Yondan | 4 |
5th dan | Godan | 5 |
6th dan | Rokudan | 6 |
7th dan | Nanadan | 7 |
8th dan | Hachidan | 8 |
9th dan | Kyudan | 9 |
10th dan | Judan | 10 |
One further note: Today there four styles of Karate that are considered by most to be ‘main’ styles. Some would like to argue the point, but for the purposes of this article I have colored their names in red for your reference.
Contents
- What is the History of Belt Colors and Rankings?
- Ashihara Karate
- Budokan Karate
- Chito-ryu Karate
- Enshin Karate
- Gensei-ryu Karate
- Goju-ryu Karate
- Go-Kan-ryu Karate
- Gosoku-Ryu Karate
- Isshin-ryu Karate
- Kyokushin Karate
- Matsubayashi-ryu Karate
- Seido Juku Karate
- Shidokan Karate
- Shindo Jinen-ryu Karate
- Shito-ryu Karate
- Shorei-ryu
- Shorin-ryu Karate
- Shotokan Karate
- Uechi-ryu Karate
- Wado-ryu Karate
What is the History of Belt Colors and Rankings?
Most uniforms or Gis you see today are simple adaptations of normal fashions of generations ago in specific Asian cultures. These types of clothing were not specially designed at first to be used as workout or martial arts training attire.
Yet over the centuries, developments in the materials used, thickness of collars, and fit of the jackets and pants have tailored them into precise training gear.
Even the thickness of the material will determine what style of martial training it should be used for. Though there was no uniformity, most began to utilize similar clothing like you would see at a health club today.
For the belt though, the legend goes like this…
The same sort of evolution happened with the belt over time. From the beginning the belt was a simple tool to keep a robe or jacket closed. Depending on the clothing option for training in the specific training hall or area, belts were sometimes used and sometimes not.
Though through constant training, they became symbols of time in the art or effort in the pursuit of perfection simply by the wear and tear that they displayed.
Eventually, advanced students would be known by the state of their obi (Japanese term for belt). Did it happen this way? Probably not, but it makes for good story for instructors to tell their students. What did happen then?
Jigoro Kano needed a way to distinguish between advanced students who could help with instruction and lower more novice ones. If you want to see the belts I use for my little ninjas, check them out on Amazon at this link.
He was establishing a codified throwing and grappling system called Judo when he came up with a brilliant idea in the late 19th to early 20th century. He developed at first a three colored belt design. Black would be for instructors, brown would designate advanced students, and white would signify a novice practitioner.
Thus in the year 1907, Judo officially had a belt ranking system that would soon change the face of most of the martial arts world. What comes next here in this article is the results of this grand plan as it invaded the styles of Karate that were forming in the same time in the Japanese culture.
If you want to see what are the best kicking bags for Karate styles, check out my article here.
Fasten your seat-belt (I have many Little Ninjas that start off calling the Karate belt a seat belt) and lets dive right in…
Ashihara Karate
This is a hybrid self defense oriented style that was derived from a combination of Kyokushin Karate and adding elements from many others and was founded in 1980 by Hideyuki Ashihara. It emphasizes the Sabaki style which is focused on multiple attackers and real world self defense situations.
The association for students seeking rank to belong to started by Ashihara for his new style was called NIKO (New International Karate Organisation). Its headquarters is located in Matsuyama City, Japan.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
9th – 10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | 0-1 | Blue |
7th – 8th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | 0-1 | Yellow |
5th – 6th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | 0-1 | Green |
3rd – 4th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | 0-1 | Brown |
1st – 2nd Kyu | ![]() | 0-1 | Black |
Shodan Ho | ![]() | 1 | White Horizontal |
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 | Gold |
The minimum age to achieve the black belt level in this Karate style is 12 years old. A black belt takes a minimum of 4 years to achieve in Ashihara Karate.
Check out my post on the legitimacy of child black belts here.
Budokan Karate
This style of Karate-do was founded by the Malaysian Chew Choo Soot in 1966. He learned the style from a military officer who practiced Shotokan Karate and others during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia.
Chew wanted to travel the world and spread his Karate style to many nations before his death in 1995. Today, the Karate Budokan International association is reaching out globally to nations around the globe. Its headquarters is in Noosa, Queensland, Australia.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
9th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
8th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
7th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
5th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
4th Kyu – 1st Kyu | ![]() Brown IV, III, II, I | ||
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
Budokan Karate takes a minimum of 4.5 years earn a black belt.
Chito-ryu Karate
This Karate system was founded by Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose in 1946. Chito-ryu is classified as Japanese, but many consider it an Okinawan style. Like the other Okinawan systems, Chito-ryu ultimately can trace its beginnings back in time to ancient China.
This is evident in its name. Chito-ryu translates to mean “1000 year old Chinese style”. Yet, since Chitose lived in Kumamaoto Japan when he formulated the style, it is overwhelmingly considered a Japanese system.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
10th – 12th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | 1-3 | Black |
8th – 9th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | 0-1 | White |
6th – 7th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | 0-1 | White |
4th – 5th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | 0-1 | White |
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | 0-2 | White |
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
Chito-ryu Karate requires around 4 to 5 years to earn a black belt.
Enshin Karate
With an emphasis on using the Sabaki Method, Enshin (meaning ‘inner circle’) Karate was founded in 1988 by Joko Ninomiya. The Sabaki Challenge is a full-contact, no pads annual karate tournament utilizing traditional strikes from other Karate systems along with throws and take-downs from Judo.
In the beginning Ninomiya was a part of the Kyokushin system and an instructor for many years. Once Hideyuki Ashihara left the style in 1980, he joined him in forming the Ashihara system, and headed up the style in the United States.
Ninomiya then decided to leave Ashihara, and taking many of the instructors and students with him, began his new Enshin style of Karate.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
9th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
7th – 8th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | 0-1 | White |
5th – 6th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | 0-1 | White |
3rd – 4th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | 0-1 | White |
1st – 2nd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | 0-1 | White |
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
To earn a black belt in Enshin Karate a student usually trains 4-5 years.
Gensei-ryu Karate
Gensei-ryu Karate was founded in 1950 by Seiken Shukumine. This Japanese style of Karate spread throughout Japan and out of its boarders to nations around the world. The name means the pursuit of subtle deep truths.
The belt ranks here are used by students pursuing a black belt in Gensei-ryu, but their founding master Shukumine moved on to form another martial arts style called Taido. Though there are similarities, they large differences kept the two styles split and the original students upholding the original style.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
![]() White Belt | |||
7th – 9th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
4th – 6th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | ||
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
It will take approximately 4 to 5 years to earn a black belt in Gensei-ryu Karate.
Goju-ryu Karate
Go meaning hard and ju meaning soft gives this Karate style its name which translates to ‘hard-soft’ Karate. These two refer mainly to the closed hand techniques considered hard and the open hand techniques considered soft. The closed hand refers more specifically to striking techniques and the open hand refers mostly to grappling and throwing techniques. The founder of the system was named Higaonna Kanryo.
As students progress through the ranks, a major component of their training is concentrated on correct breathing. Just over the half way mark in their black belt journeys is the Sanchin kata. This is a major focus on the breathing control exercises.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
9th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
8th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
7th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
4th – 5th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | 0-1 | Black |
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | 0-2 | Black |
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt |
It can take on average 3 to 4 years to earn a black belt in Goju-ryu Karate.
Go-Kan-ryu Karate
GKR Karate was established in 1984 by Robert Sullivan in Adelaide, South Australia. After teaching in both Japan and the United States he introduced the system to Australia.
The system centers around the normal three pillars of Karate-do practice and training. The first is kata, the second is kumite, and the third is self defense. In the GKR system there is a fourth component as well. The sense of inner development is strong and being a positive force in your community is also a goal of students moving through the ranks.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
9th – 10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | 0-1 | Yellow |
7th (ho) – 8th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | 0-1 | Orange |
7th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
5th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
4th Kyu | ![]() Red Belt | ||
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | ||
Shodan Ho | ![]() Provisional Black | 1 | White Horizontal |
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
The minimum time it takes to reach a black belt in Go-Kan-ryu Karate style is 4 years.
Gosoku-Ryu Karate
This form of Karate was founded by Takayuki Kubota in Tokyo, Japan in 1953. It was started with influences from both Shotokan and Goju-ryu styles of Karate. Gosoku means ‘the style of force and speed’ and also included techniques from the styles of Judo, Aikido, and Jujitsu.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
9th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
8th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
7th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
4th – 5th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | ||
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
Black belts in Gosoku-ryu style of Karate take between 4 and 5 years to earn.
Isshin-ryu Karate
Master Tatsuo Shimabuku started the Isshin-ryu World Karate Association in 1974 one year before his death. This style of Okinawan Karate is an amalgamation of Shorin-ryu and Goju-ryu Karate styles along with kobudo. Isshin-ryu means ‘one heart method’.
Master Shimabuku stressed the need for students climbing the Kyu ranks to master the basics of the techniques over sport kumite and kata. His idea was that most of the beginning years should be spent perfecting these foundational techniques so that when kumite and kata were attempted, the student would have much greater success at mastering those in the future.
This is a very popular style of Karate in the United States with many service men learning while stationed in Okinawa and returning with their new passion ready to delver it to a waiting U.S. population.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
9th – 10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | 0-1 | Green |
8th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
7th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
5th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
4th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | 0-2 | Black |
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
The minimum amount of time it takes to get an Isshin-ryu black belt is 3.5 years. The minimum age for a full black belt ranking is 15 years old. Below this age a Junior Black Belt is awarded.
Kyokushin Karate
This style of Karate is a full contact system founded in 1964 by Masutatsu Oyama. The name means ‘the ultimate truth’ and was formed by combining elements from the styles of Shorin-ryu, Shotokan, and Goju-ryu.
The self defense side of the style is also known as Goshin Jitsu. It is heavily based on Aiki-jujutsu. Because of the emphasis on sport kumite, the self defense elements not only were not included in the belt grading system, but are noticeably absent from many dojo training regimes.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
Mukyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
9th – 10th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | 0-1 | Black |
7th – 8th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | 0-1 | Black |
5th – 6th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | 0-1 | Black |
3rd – 4th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | 0-1 | Black |
1st – 2nd Kyu | ![]() Red Belt | 0-1 | Black |
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
It takes a minimum of 5 years to earn a black belt in Kyokushin Karate.
Matsubayashi-ryu Karate
Matsubayashi-ryu is a form of Shorin-ryu Karate founded in 1947 by Shoshin nagamine. The name was derived from the name of two influential Karate masters Sokon Matsumura of Shuri-te and Kosaku Matsumora of Tomari-te. Students and fans of the style use this name or Shorin-ryu interchangeably.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
7th – 8th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | 1-2 | Green |
4th – 6th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | 1-3 | White |
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | 1-3 | White |
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
A Matsubayashi-ryu Karate black belt can take an average of 4 to 5 years to earn.
Seido Juku Karate
Kaicho T. Nakamura founded Seido Juku Karate in 1976 after withdrawing from the Kyokushin Karate style. Seido means “sincere way” in Japanese which points to the inner development Nakamura wanted to include in his martial arts system.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
9th – 10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | 0-1 | Black |
7th – 8th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | 0-1 | Black |
5th – 6th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | 0-1 | Black |
3rd – 4th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | 0-1 | Black |
1st – 2nd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | 0-1 | Black |
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
Typical time to black belt in Seido Juku Karate is 5 years.
Shidokan Karate
This Karate style was instituted by Yoshiji Soeno in 1980 as an amalgamation of full contact Karate styles, Muay Thai kickboxing, and various grappling based martial arts. Though there is a full contact tournament system, usually held in boxing rings, practitioners consider their style a martial art based system rather than a sport.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
9th – 10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
8th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
7th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
5th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
5th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
4th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | ||
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
Shidokan Karate black belts can take as long as 5 to 6 years to earn.
Shindo Jinen-ryu Karate
Now under the Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai, Shindo Jinen-Ryu Karate was founded in 1933 by Yasuhiro Konishi. The name means “Divine, natural empty hand way”. It incorporates techniques from Shotokan and Shito-ryu Karate styles, Aikido, Jujitsu, and Kendo. It has an emphasis equally on philosophy, education, and physical training.
Students earning Kyu ranks will begin to notice the emphasis on practical techniques and applications. Strikes will often be coupled with controlling and throwing techniques that lead in to finishing moves. Self defense tends to be highlighted rather than the sport side of kumite.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
9th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
8th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
7th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
5th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
4th Kyu | ![]() Red Belt | ||
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | ||
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
Black belts can be earned in Shindo Jinen-ryu in approximately 3 to 4 years.
Shito-ryu Karate
Founded in 1934 by Kenwa Mabuni, this style takes techniques from many Okinawan styles of Karate. Mabuni was a friend of Chonjun Miyagi, the founder of Goju-ryu and was greatly influenced by his style. The name was derived from a combination of the names of his two primary Karate-do teachers.
Students will notice that elements from most of the major branches of Karate can be found within Shito-ryu Karate. There are the deep stances and strong linear elements of a style such as Shotokan.
There are also techniques as progression moves forward that has the circular motions of the Uechi-ryu bent. This combination gives Shito-ryu a wide audience that can fit their personal style to its offerings.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
8th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | 1 | Yellow |
7th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
5th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
4th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | ||
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
A black belt in Shito-ryu Karate can be attained in between 4 to 5 years of training.
Shorei-ryu
The name Shorei-ryu means “the style of inspiration”. It came from the Naha-te style of Okinawan Karate with original Chinese roots. The two main styles of Shorei-ryu Karate today are Goju-ryu Karate and Uechi-ryu Karate.
The development of Shorei-ryu Karate originally was influenced by the Okinawan Shuri-te style that has its roots deep in the Chinese fighting arts.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
8th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
7th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
5th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
4th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | ||
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
It takes approximately 5 to 6 years to earn a black belt in Shorei-ryu Karate.
Shorin-ryu Karate
Being one of the oldest and most known of the Okinawan Karate styles, it has wide representation throughout the world. It received its name in 1933 from Choshin Chibana, but it is reported to be much older and deriving its roots from Shuri-te and ultimately Chinese fighting systems.
The student learning and rising through the ranks of this system will notice its emphasis on narrow, naturally high stances, and natural breathing patterns. The low deliberate stances and forces breathing patterns are foreign to this style. There is still a great emphasis on a strong frame and posture for effective blocking.
Another feature that is also shared by Isshin-ryu Karate is the vertical positioning of the fist in the punch. It is claimed by many instructor and student alike that utilize this method of punching to align the bones in the arm to create more power and deliver faster hand strikes.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
7th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
5th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
4th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
3rd Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
1st -2nd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | ||
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
A black belt normally takes between 4 and 6 years to earn in Shorin-ryu Karate.
Shotokan Karate
Gichin Funakoshi popularized the study of Karate-do throughout Japan by establishing many clubs in Universities and holding public demonstrations. As arguably the most widely practiced style of Karate, Shotokan has many variations and followers of all types.
Though Funakoshi never officially gave his style a name, his students used his pen name Shoto (“waving pine needles”) and Kan (“house”) to name his former dojo in Mejiro before it was destroyed by allied bombing in 1945. He simply called his style Karate.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
9th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
8th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
7th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
4th – 5th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | ||
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
Many Shotokan schools still use the original white, brown, black belt system devised by Judo’s Jigoro Kano in the early 20th century. Depending on the student and instructor Shotokan black belts can be earned in 3.5 to 5 years.
Uechi-ryu Karate
Originally the style of Uechi-ryu Karate was called Pangai-noon, a southern Chinese Kung Fu which means ‘half hard – half soft”. Later the style was renamed after its founding grandmaster Kanbun Uechi. He had originally went to China to study the martial arts and medicine.
Uechi-ryu differs from many of the other Okinawan and mainland Japanese influenced linear styles of Karate. It takes much of its influence from the circular movements and motions of Kung Fu. Like its Chinese ancestors movements are based loosely on animal motions.
There are three animals that mainly are the focus of Uechi-ryu: the crane, the dragon, and the tiger.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
9th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
8th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
7th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
5th – 6th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | 0-1 | Black |
3rd – 4th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | 0-1 | Black |
1st – 2nd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | 0-1 | Black |
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
Note: the traditional colors for belts are white, green, brown, and black. Some schools still use this simplified order with variations of stripes.
A black belt in Uechi-ryu Karate can be reasonably achieved in 3 to 5 years of regular training.
Wado-ryu Karate
Wado-ryu is considered one of the four major styles of Karate today. This doesn’t mean better than others, but simply leading in popularity, lineage documentation, contribution to the Japanese culture and people, usefulness, etc. Its founder Hironori Ohtsuka, already a renowned Jujutsu grandmaster, established this hybrid Karate style with techniques from other Karate styles blended with Jujutsu.
The name Wado-ryu means the ‘way of peace’ referring to yielding to aggression to use the force against the aggressor.
Order | Color | Stripe Number | Stripe Color |
10th Kyu | ![]() White Belt | ||
9th Kyu | ![]() Red Belt | ||
8th Kyu | ![]() Yellow Belt | ||
7th Kyu | ![]() Orange Belt | ||
6th Kyu | ![]() Green Belt | ||
5th Kyu | ![]() Blue Belt | ||
4th Kyu | ![]() Purple Belt | ||
1st – 3rd Kyu | ![]() Brown Belt | ||
1st – 10th Dan | ![]() Black Belt | 1-10 |
It is practical to plan on 3 to 5 years of training to achieve the black belt level in Wado-ryu Karate.