The Importance Of Karate Belts To The Sport

By Author: Andrew Bui
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"Karate belts are a very well known element of the art and are used by most practicing clubs. The intent of these belts, which come in a variety of shades, is to indicate rank within the practitioner's learning process. The general public has been made aware of the fact that white belts are newcomers and black belts are for experts.

This particular form of martial art formed in the Ryukyu Kingdom prior its early twentieth century annexation into Japan. It was formulated from a sampling of Ryukyu combat types. Around the nineteen twenties, the introductory club for Karate was opened to the Japanese. The second great war left many American servicemen in Okinawa, where many of them picked up the art and carried its traditions back home with them to the states.

Although we very easily associate this ranking system with this particular martial art, it started with Judo. Eventually it was introduced to Karate by one of the four main schools of the art in Japan. It's typically accepted that when this tradition first took shape, practitioners would only have one belt for life, which they would continuously die ...
... a different tone to demonstrate rank. This was far more affordable than attempting to buy a belt with each rank change. This also explains why the shades of the belt start out at white and then go through several ever darkening color changes before eventually being black.

There are also rumors that the reason for the color variations becoming darker is that in the beginning practitioners would only use one belt and never wash it, as a way to show their ranking. Those who accept this theory say that the color was not a dye, but instead an ever increasing amount of dirt building up on a never washed obi or belt. Regardless of which of these stories is truer, what we do know is that the obi got darker as the student got more experienced and it is the same way today, though modernists typically buy a new belt for every rank change that involves a color shift.

Today, Karate belts are white at the beginning of training, and with enough effort they are eventually replaced with black. Becoming a black belt, through a thorough and accurate training regiment can take several years. A number of Karateka have taken decades to achieve the highest level of ranking. Even within the realm of black belts there are several sub-rankings that can be achieved. Very few ever make it to the highest ranking. "
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