Coloured belts
The system of the coloured belts hasn’t always existed in karate. It only came in use roughly eighty years ago when large classes were introduced. Before that time, one didn’t learn karate in a class, but rather one-on-one from a master. The master knew very well the level of the student, so he didn’t need a belt to remind him. The student didn’t need the encouragement of a new belt every so often, because if he needed it, the master wouldn’t have him as a student. So there were no grades, no belts. Except perhaps a special grade, the ‘Menkyo Kaiden’, which indicated that the holder is the ‘grandmaster’ of a style.
The coloured belts were taken from judo, which had already introduced large classes, before karate. In older days, the coloured belt ranks (the kyu-grades) were complemented with five black belt ranks (the dan grades). Nowadays there are 10 dan grades. The tenth dan grade is reserved for the grandmaster, thus effectively replacing the older ‘Menkyo Kaiden’ grade.
Kyu grades (coloured belts) and dan grades (black belts) are generally only issued after passing a test. Kyu grade tests are in most cases taken by your own sensei (instructor), dan grade tests are generally taken by a committee on behalf of an organization. Kyu grades are counted backwards: it starts with 10th kyu (white belt) and ends with first kyu (brown belt). Dan grades are counted forward: starting with first dan, ending with 10th dan.

These are the colours that are generally used for belts:
white
yellow
green
blue
brown
black

Some organizations may use more colours (orange after yellow, for instance), some organizations may use less. And some high ranking sensei wear a white belt or a red-white belt to indicate their status.

This is the proper way to tie a belt:


























Find the middle of the belt. Turn the ends around the body while keeping the middle of the belt against your belly. Tuck one end upwards under both windings of the belt. Make a knot. And that's it.....


the karate suit
The white karate suit is called a gi or do-gi in Japanese. It was adopted from judo, just like the coloured belts system.
In the old days, before the gi came into fashion, people would use their normal clothes to train in. They would go to the dojo (training hall), simply take off their coats and shoes and, depending on the weather, they would also take off their top clothes and start training. Simple as that.


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