Origins of the Karate Belt Grading System

Origins of the Karate Belt Grading System

Karate took its belt ranking system from Judo. As Gichin Funakoshi introduced karate, he took advice from his good friend Kano Jigoro, the founder of Judo and their ranking system.
Originally there was few kyu ranks, although it is unknown, it is thought to be three - being white brown and black. Other colors which are now in the karate ranking system today were later introduced. The first new belt color that was brought in was green, it wwas thought that this gave a seasonal meaning to the belts, white - spring, green - summer, brown - autumn and black - winter.
Some schools even now use different numbers of ranks, some choosing to omit certain ranks, however most offer all kyu ranks. There are some Karate Organizations which enforce standardization across the schools.
It is common for karate sensei's to use tape to put a loop on the end of the belt. This indicates that the student is one level up from the original belt rank that they have already earned.
The Karate belts and ranks are beneficial in the way that they provide a benchmarking system for both instructors and students. Students can be organized quickly into groups when teaching a large class. A sensei at one glance can know what level a student is and instantly know what syllabus that person is training to.
Of course, students also get benefits from the belt system. They can set short term goals and feel a sense of satisfaction once they meet the next ran as well as confirming that that have progressed their karate ability. When a student reaches a new kyu rank, they are encouraged to work harder to progress again to the next kyu, which is usually a minimum of 3 months in training.
Once passed beyond the kyu ranks and into black belt, Dan ranks are used to provide further motivation and rewards for continuing to progress. The later dan ranks also provide this motivation to continue training, providing experts with rewards for continuing their training.