The Meaning Of Martial Arts Belt Colors

Color belts are a common sight in martial arts. They’re used to signify a student’s progress, with each symbolising rank. In many martial arts, this rank goes from low (10th kyu) to high (10th dan). Once a student has reached the highest kyu rank, the next is a black belt (1st dan). They then begin their ascent of dan ranks to 10th dan.

The concept of using a belt to distinguish rank, as well as the accompanying kyu / dan system, was established by Dr. Jigoro Kano in the early 1880s. Kano initially used only black or white belts to distinguish experienced students from novices and applied it to jujutsu, which forms the basis of modern judo.

Shortly after Kano founded his martial arts school – the Kodokan Judo Institute – many more disciplines adopted the belt ranking system, including karate and taekwondo. The belts then evolved over time, arriving at the coloured belts we know today.

White Belt

White represents the start of one’s journey into martial arts. It is clean, innocent, a mere seed that aptly absorbs anything that comes in contact with it; thus, a white-belted student is such.

Yellow Belt

Yellow captures the moment a martial arts student in training begins to “see the light” of his/her Sensei’s teachings. It is considered a rebirth of the soul as the student opens himself/herself up to new ways of thinking.

Orange Belt

Orange represents the burgeoning strength found at the center of the sun. In this case, as a student’s knowledge grows, his/her capabilities become enriched.

Green Belt

Green signifies the union of the seed (white belt) and the power of the sun (orange belt), thus helping the student blossom into a self-sustaining sprout of knowledge and growing proficiency with his/her skills.

Blue Belt

Blue represents the finish line of sorts for the green-belted sprout to aspire to. As the student continues to learn and master his/her skill, he/she reaches up to touch the blue sky, growing fervently as he/she progresses.

Purple Belt

Just as the sun sets each night, giving way for night to cast a new theme over the earth, purple signifies a student’s maturation of skill. It ultimately serves as a bridge to understanding the qualities that an advanced student possesses.

Brown Belt

Brown showcases the rounded journey of the student from seed (white belt) to growth (green belt) and ultimately maturation (purple belt). It is here where a student begins to reap the fruit of his/her labors earned through previous belts.

Red Belt

Moving back to the sun metaphor, red represents the hottest portions of the sun. In this stage, a student learns how dangerous his/her skills can be to opponents. In Aikido, he/she learns how to control these skills in a way that does not bring complete devastation to adversaries unless necessary.

Black Belt

Finally, the black belt represents a student’s exodus away from the unwavering power of the sun. It is in this last phase that a student reaches complete understanding of his/her martial art, thus signifying the graduation from pupil to master. At this point, a black belt will either continue his/her martial arts journey elsewhere, seeking further enlightenment, or cultivate white-belted seeds of his/her own.