Rank in judo

The ninth (kudan) and tenth degree black belt (jūdan) and, theoretically, those higher, have no formal requirements. Only 15 individuals have been promoted to the rank of Kōdōkan 10th dan. On January 6, 2006, three individuals were promoted to this rank simultaneously: Daigo Toshirō, Ichirō Abe, and Ōsawa Yoshimi. This is the most ever at the same time, and the first in 22 years. No one has ever been promoted to a rank higher than 10th dan, but in theory the judo rank system is not limited to 10 degrees of black belt. As an educator by profession, Kanō believed that there should be no end to an individual's learning, and therefore no limit to the number of dan ranks. The English language edition (1955) of Illustrated Kodokan Judo, edited by the Kōdōkan, says:

There is no limit ... on the grade one can receive. Therefore if one does reach a stage above 10th dan ... there is no reason why he should not be promoted to 11th dan.

This statement was later clarified, however. Essentially, the dan-rank system was capped at 10 after the death of Kanō. In that respect, in the November 1963 issue of Jūdō, the Kōdōkan's official magazine, the Kōdōkan responding to the question "Do the 11th and 12th Dan really exist?" *clarifies that the hierarchy now stops at 10 and that the Kōdōkan does not envisage any nominations to these grades.[2]

There have only been fifteen 10th dan promotions awarded by the Kōdōkan itself in the history of Judo.[1]

In Japan, the use of belt colors is related to the age of the student. Some clubs will only have black and white, others will include a brown belt for advanced kyū grades and at the elementary school level it is common to see a green belt for intermediate levels.

In Europe the belt system is white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and black for both senior and junior practitioners. Judokas who have attained the 6th dan may also use a red-white paneled belt, and judokas who have attained the 9th dan may wear a solid red belt. In some countries a red belt is used between the white and yellow belts to signify full membership of the judo club or the country's judo association. More commonly, however, the red belt is reserved only for 9th and 10th dan practitioners.

In some countries junior practitioners have an extra system in place to show the progress in between two kyū grades. The sub rank is symbolized by a small piece of fabric on the end of the belt. The colors of these are yellow, orange, green, blue or brown. The piece added to the belt can never be of a lower or the same color as the belt worn by the judoka, so an orange belt cannot have a yellow piece, but it can have green, blue or brown.

In other countries, such as Finland, junior sub ranks below a certain age are denoted by one to three red stripes on both ends of the belt. They are also used to signify that joint locks, chokes or strangles may not be performed upon the wearer as those are not taught nor applied to juniors below the age of 15 due to safety reasons.

Denmark

The gi (judo suit) comes with a white belt, which is the color of the beginner. There are 6 kyu degrees and 10 dan degrees.[5] The appearance of the belts makes the judoka's level visible. Upon successful graduation, you are entitled to a new degree. The kyu degrees are counted down from 6 to 1. The dan degrees are counted up from 1.

Children and youth (ages 6–14) wear half-colored belts, while seniors wear full-colored belts[6]

Degree	Belt	Seniorbelt	Children- and juniorbelt
6. Kyu	white
5. Kyu	yellow
4. Kyu	orange
3. Kyu	green
2. Kyu	blue
1. Kyu	brown
1.-5. Dan	black
6.-8. Dan	white and red
9.-10. Dan	red

In Israel the following belt colors exist:

Judo kyu belt colors in Israel White Japanese Kyu 6 White-Purple Japanese Kyu 6 Purple Japanese Kyu 6 White-Yellow Japanese Kyu 6 Purple-Yellow Japanese Kyu 5 Yellow Japanese Kyu 5 Yellow-Orange Japanese Kyu 5 Orange Japanese Kyu 4 Orange-Green Japanese Kyu 4 Green Japanese Kyu 3 Blue-Green Japanese Kyu 3 Blue Japanese Kyu 2 Brown Japanese Kyu 1

Judo dan belt colors in Israel Black Dan 1–5 Black or Red-White Dan 6–8 Black or Red Dan 9+

Judo belt colors in Brazil

White 9th kyu (junior) or 7th kyu (senior)
Grey 7th kyu (junior)
Blue 6th kyu	[7]
Yellow 5th kyu
Orange 4th kyu
Green 3rd kyu
Purple 2nd kyu
Brown 1st kyu
Black 1st to 5th dan
Red & White 6th to 8th dan
Red 9th and 10th dan

Brazilian belt rankings are normally white, grey, blue, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown and black (6th, 7th, and 8th dan may wear alternating red and white panels, and 9th and 10th dan holders may wear solid red belts).[8] As in some European countries, young judoka in Brazil have an extra system in place to show the progress in between two kyū grades. The sub rank exists between white and orange belts and is symbolized by the ends of the current belt being the color of the next rank.

In Canada belt rankings for Seniors are, in ascending order: white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and finally black. Belt rankings for Juniors use, white, white-yellow, yellow, yellow-orange, orange, orange-green, green, green-blue, blue, blue-brown, and brown.[9]

In Australia belt rankings for Seniors are, in ascending order: white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and finally black. Belt rankings for Juniors follow the same ranks and colours (up to and including brown), but have either 1, 2 or 3 white bars (depending upon age) at each end of the belt, as follows:
If the judoka is aged up to 10 (Mon), there are to be 3 white bars.
Between 10 and 13 (Yonen), there are 2 bars.
Finally, for 13 to 16 years of age (Shonen), there is a single bar.[10]

In Ireland the senior belt system is white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and black. A practitioner must be at least sixteen before being eligible to grade for blackbelt. For white, yellow, orange and green belt gradings are held in the practitioners club and are based on demonstration of a syllabus and kata. For promotion to blue and brown the judoka must compete at a national grading against players of their own rank and win at least two fights by ippon or wazari. To achieve black belt a judoka must earn 100 points i.e. 10 points for every ippon or waza-ari victory against a brown belt.

In the United Kingdom, the British Judo Association Kyu Grade system is as follows:[11]

Novice
6th Kyu
5th Kyu
4th Kyu
3rd Kyu
2nd Kyu
1st Kyu

A practitioner must be at least fifteen before being eligible to grade for black belt.

Judo kyū belt colors in the United States

Japanese kyū names	USJF Senior	USJF Junior	USJA Senior	USJA Junior	USJA Junior level names
Jūnikyū				White	Junior 12th Class
Jūichikyū		White		Yellow	Junior 11th Class
Jūkyū		White- yellow		Orange	Junior 10th Class
Kukyū		Yellow		Orange	Junior 9th Class
Hachikyū		Yellow- orange		Green	Junior 8th Class
Nanakyū or USJA Senior "Beginner"		Orange	White	Green	Junior 7th Class
Rokkyū	White	Orange- green	Yellow	Blue	Junior 6th Class
Gokyū	Green	Green	Orange	Blue	Junior 5th Class
Yonkyū	Blue	Green- blue	Green	Purple	Junior 4th Class
Sankyū	Brown	Blue	Brown	Purple	Junior 3rd Class
Nikyū	Brown	Blue- purple	Brown	Brown	Junior 2nd Class
Ikkyū	Brown	Purple	Brown	Brown	Junior 1st Class

In the United States only senior players (usually those age 16 and over) are allowed to earn dan levels, signified by wearing a black belt. The United States Judo Federation (USJF) and United States Judo Association (USJA) recognize dan grades awarded by the other organization. Advanced kyū levels can be earned by both seniors and juniors (children under the age of about 16) and are signified by wearing belts of various colours other than black. The order of belt colours can vary from dōjō to dōjō, depending on the dōjō's organizational affiliation.

For senior players, both the USJF[12] and the USJA specify six kyū, as listed in the table. The USJA requires "Beginners" (not a kyū) to wear a white belt until they test for yellow belt. The USJA also recommends wearing a patch specifying the practitioner's level. This is true for both kyū and dan levels.

The USJF Juniors ranking system specifies ranks to 11th kyū (jūichikyū). The USJA Juniors ranking system specifies twelve levels of kyū rank, beginning with "Junior 1st Degree" (equivalent to jūnikyū, or 12th kyū) and ending with "Junior 12th Degree" (equivalent to ikkyū). As with the senior practitioners, the USJA recommends that juniors wear a patch specifying their rank. When a USJA Junior reaches the age of 17, their conversion to Senior rank is:[13]

• Yellow belt converts to 6th kyū (rokkyū)
• Orange belt converts to 5th kyū (gokyū)
• Green belt converts to 4th kyū (yonkyū)
• Blue belt or higher converts to 3rd kyū (sankyū)

The style of belt commonly worn in modern judo