Karate students use belt ranks to track their progression. Each color signifies their respective levels of skill.
Before the 1950s, Master Soken referred to his martial art as Matsumura Shuri-Te. Subsequently he adopted the term Matsumura Seito(orthodox) Shorin Ryu.
Kanryo Higashionna was an important influencer on Okinawa karate. He taught kata influenced by Chinese martial arts.
Kyu
At this level, students have acquired the essential foundational knowledge for karate. They are capable of performing basic movements, forms and sparring drills.
Reaching this rank requires approximately 48 months of practice, during which a student must display proficiency in all three categories: Kihon, Kata and Kumite.
Once a kyu has achieved first dan, they may begin teaching others their art of karate. This step requires significant training, maturity and discipline before commencing instruction to others.
Jigoro Kano, founder of judo and highly esteemed individual, introduced the Kyu/Dan system. His desire was for an approach to martial arts rankings which was both universal and merit based.
White
Karate belt colors symbolize your rank and level of expertise. Additionally, they symbolize your journey from being a beginner student (white belt) through becoming an accomplished practitioner of this martial art (black belt).
Jigoro Kano, the creator of Judo, introduced colored obi obis as a method to rank his students back in 1883. He believed this system would both motivate students while providing structure to classes at all skill levels.
Chosin Chibana named his style “Shorin Ryu” in 1933 after drawing inspiration from Matsumura Sokon, his teacher. Sokon was known as an esteemed warrior and bodyguard to three of Okinawa’s kings; furthermore he was Anko Itosu’s top pupil; until his death from throat cancer in 1969 as one of its last warriors known as shuri ryu.
Brown
Brown belt status signifies an individual has entered the intermediate phase of martial arts training. At this level, focused and consistent effort are required to master basic techniques as well as begin learning Sun Tzu’s The Art of War’s offensive and defensive strategies.
At this stage, students develop various katas, such as Fukyugata Ichi which establishes a formal attention stance, Passai Sho and Dai which incorporate open hand techniques that weaken an opponent’s defenses and twisting strategies, and the double flying front kick. However, these katas may prove challenging to master; many black belt students at this stage train alongside instructors from different karate styles in order to quickly identify any weak instructors and identify stronger ones.
Black
Black is symbolic of the sky and represents mastery of advanced techniques, something which typically takes four or six years for most karate schools to accomplish.
Sensei Noujaim travels extensively promoting Shorin Ryu Karate & Kobudo on both a national and international scale, drawing participants from multiple martial arts disciplines for his annual November Camp.
Matsumura Shorin Ryu draws its inspiration from both Chinese and Okinawan styles of karate. Many kata incorporate movements derived from white crane movements – a symbolic of strength and grace. Legend has it that Jigoro Kano created the kyu/dan ranking system after witnessing Japanese swimmers use belts as markers during competition; others believe its origin may lie with judo practice where black bands around a student’s waist would eventually become stained with dirt over time, coming to symbolize senior expertise.
Dan
Black belt status is highly sought after and typically takes 5 to 10 years of dedicated practice for most karateka to reach. Black belt ranks are further broken down into “dan’s grades”, signifying each level. Reaching this pinnacle usually signifies reaching extremely high skill levels in Karate.
Funakoshi credits Kano Jigoro with popularizing the dan ranking system for use in martial arts, Funakoshi attributing his ideas of limited number of belt colors as inspiration for Funakoshi’s limited belt system.
As such, kyu/dan rank systems are relatively recent innovations to karate. Prior to this point, students were graded by instructors holding menkyo (license or secret scroll) certificates and by their proficiency in performing the various katas. Belt colors became widespread only within twentieth-century practices – there are variations among various shorin ryu styles as to which styles use which color sequence for belt colors in practice katas and sequences.
My passion for martial arts goes beyond practice; it is a philosophy that shapes my writing, bringing a distinctive edge to my narratives and advice. I hold black belts in two martial arts disciplines and have competed internationally, experiences that enrich my storytelling with authenticity and excitement.