Belt Auction

What are the karate belt colors in order, and what do they mean?

Public Comments

1. Depends Judo, taekwondo and others are all different
2. All the martial art belt colors are different. In some forms of martial arts red is the highest and in others black belts are the highest. I was in Tae kwon do. You start off with white, yellow, then lime green, dark green, advanced green, orange, advanced orange, blue, advanced blue, purple, advanced purple, red, advanced red, skunk black, black belt, then your black belt gets degrees added on it. The higher up you get in belts the longer your routines are. also the difficulty in kicks increases. When your a black belt that means your able to perfect most of your different kicks flying in the air. You have a choice when your a black belt between finishing your routine off with a jumping split a ground split or a kudo(upside down cartwheel froze in mid air with one hand)
3. This question has been asked and answered so often my head is spinning. Please feel free to check "Previous answers" to common questions. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ao1agdqAGjtQik_eQyaWC7sjzKIX?qid=20061011201151AAANzRj http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Auo2jhQsHXmgC4g_Ho6W5ZIjzKIX?qid=20060717170710AAoidOn http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ai5tKxyNgV.0Cp5mYQGyKEkjzKIX?qid=20070226204122AA61EEH http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsbXOhydmiuG6x1Y2aD0Ft4jzKIX?qid=20060829182403AA0x78w http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AqORY9VYCjDIG4oPKM4g1rUjzKIX?qid=20070216175056AA6JfLC http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=An2KOUziJJWwibCBSiyutxAAAAAA?qid=20070306150625AAOdj6n&show=7#profile-info-PfmY8yqOaa And On,And On,And On.......................................
4. The colors of the belt (Which have been already named by others, so I won't repeat it) weren't originally a part of the martial arts, at least in Japan. What happened was that when people first practiced, they would wash the uniform, but not the belt. So that the more you practiced, the dirtier (darker)it got. Eventually, a darker belt came to signify a more practiced student and today, we die the belt accordingly.
5. I took karate, but the colors are similar white, yellow,orange,green, brown, black. The meaning is to show your progress, originally there weren't color systems, but you would train outdoors, and the belts would naturally change colors as your kept training, similarly to the color system that is there today. You are not supposed to wash your belt.
6. In karate shotokan they are: white, yellow, orange, green,light blue, violet, blue, brown (3 steps), and black
7. I am in Songham Taekwondo, and in that form of martial arts, the belts go in this order: White Orange Yellow Camoflauge Green Purple Blue Brown Red Red/Black (also known as 1st degree black belt recommended) Black Belt 1st degree Black Belt 2nd degree Black Belt 3rd degree Black Belt 4th degree (Expert) Black Belt 5th degree (Expert) Black Belt 6th degree (Master) Black Belt 7th degree (Senior Master) Black Belt 8th degree (Chief Master) Black Belt 9th degree (Grand Master)
8. The colors don't really mean much anymore. Back in the day before there were belts and systems, everyone started with a white training belt as a sign of being a novice. It's pretty much similar in all systems. The truth behind the belts is that as you worked and trained your white belt would get dirtier and darker as a result of your hard work and practice. The darker your belt, the more work you put in. That's why black belts were originally considered masters or high level practicioners. Because they had put in enough effort to figuratively speaking turn their belts black. That's why it's a shame that a lot of the systems out there now focus so much on the ranking system rather than the actual training.
9. Depends on the style of martial art. Shito-Ryu (at least our school) goes as following: white, white w/ yellow stripe, purple, blue, green, brown (3 stripes down to 1), black, etc . . .as far as their meanings, I'm not sure they have one. Although, reaching black belt is merely a mastery of the basics. The original meaning behind colored belts in general was this . . .at one time, all belts were white. This was back in old Okinawa. As students progressed and trained, their belts began to get dirtier and dirtier until they appeared almost black. From white to black. I imagine the various colors in between are meant to symbolize that progression.