Rank in judo

In judo, improvement and understanding of the art is denoted by a system of rankings split into kyū and dan grades. These are indicated with various systems of coloured belts, with the black belt indicating a practitioner who has attained a certain level of competence.

The Kōdōkan Kyū-Dan ranking system

Practitioners of Judo are ranked according to their skill and knowledge, and, for high ranking dan grades, their contribution to the art. Their rank is indicated by the colour of belt that they wear. There are two broad categories of rank: those who have attained a level of competency at which they are considered worthy of a Black belt and who hold dan grades and those who are yet to attain that level and who hold kyū grades. Those who hold dan grades are collectively termed Yūdansha and those with kyū grades are, literally "person without dan". High grade "Judoka" 5th dan to 10th dan are Kōdan-sha literally "person of high rank" and the "esteemed" grades of 6th, 7th, and 8th dan have alternating red and white panel belts Kōhaku-obi, and for the "venerable" Kōdan-sha "high ranking" grades of 9th and 10th dan, their belts are solid and bright red.
This ranking system was introduced by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, in 1883. However, the current system is not the original one, but based on Kanō's last system introduced between 1926 and 1931, with some modification shortly after Kanō's death in 1938. The first dan grades were awarded to his students Saigō Shirō and Tomita Tsunejirō. Since then it has been widely adopted by other modern martial arts.
In the current system as in use in Japan, there are six student grades ranked in descending numerical order. Beginners were given the rank of sixth kyū and wore a light blue belt. Once they had passed an elementary level of instruction, they were promoted to fifth kyū, when they would adopt the white belt. This they wore through fourth kyū. The remaining three grades,third kyū, second kyū and first kyū were all indicated with brown belts or with purple belts.
1st kyū is the last kyū rank before promotion to first degree black belt. There are 10 dan'' ranks, which are ranked in ascending numerical order.

Highest ranking jūdōka

Kōdōkan-graded jūdan holders

The ninth and tenth degree black belt and, theoretically, those higher, have no formal requirements. Only 15 individuals have been promoted to the rank of Kōdōkan 10th dan. On January 6, 2006, three individuals were promoted to this rank simultaneously: Daigo Toshirō, Ichirō Abe, and Ōsawa Yoshimi. This is the most ever at the same time, and the first in 22 years. No one has ever been promoted to a rank higher than 10th dan, but in theory the judo rank system is not limited to 10 degrees of black belt. As an educator by profession, Kanō believed that there should be no end to an individual's learning, and therefore no limit to the number of dan ranks. The English language edition of Illustrated Kodokan Judo, edited by the Kōdōkan, says:
This statement was later clarified, however. Essentially, the dan-rank system was capped at 10 after the death of Kanō. In that respect, in the November 1963 issue of Jūdō, the Kōdōkan's official magazine, the Kōdōkan responding to the question "Do the 11th and 12th Dan really exist?" *clarifies that the hierarchy now stops at 10 and that the Kōdōkan does not envisage any nominations to these grades.
There have only been fifteen 10th dan promotions awarded by the Kōdōkan itself in the history of Judo.

Name	Lived	Date of promotion
Yamashita Yoshitsugu	1865–1935	1935 posth., antedated
Isogai Hajime	1871–1947	1937
Nagaoka Hideichi	1876–1952	1937
Mifune Kyūzō	1883–1965	1945
Iizuka Kunisaburō	1875–1958	1946
Samura Kaichirō	1880–1964	1948
Tabata Shotarō	1884–1950	1948
Okano Yoshitarō	1885–1967	1967 posth.
Shōriki Matsutarō	1885–1969	1969 posth., antedated
Nakano Shōzō	1888–1977	1977 posth., antedated
Kurihara Tamio	1896–1979	1979 posth., antedated
Kotani Sumiyuki	1903–1991	1984
Abe Ichirō	1922–2022	2006
Daigo Toshirō	1926–2021	2006
Ōsawa Yoshimi	1927–2022	2006

Variations in rank structure

Although dan ranks tend to be consistent between national organizations there is more variation in the kyū grades, with some countries having more kyū grades. Although initially kyū grade belt colours were uniformly white, today a variety of colours are used. The first black belts to denote a dan rank in the 1880s. Initially the wide obi was used; as practitioners trained in kimono, only white and black obi were used. It was not until the early 1900s, after the introduction of the judogi, that an expanded colored belt system of awarding rank was created.

Belt colors

Examination requirements vary depending on country, age group and of course the grade being attempted. The examination itself may include competition and kata. The kyū ranks are normally awarded by local instructors, but dan ranks are usually awarded only after an exam supervised by independent judges from a national judo association. For a rank to be recognized, it must be registered with the national judo organization or the Kōdōkan.
The appearance of the belts makes the judoka's level visible. Upon successful graduation, you are entitled to a new degree. The kyu degrees are counted down from 6 to 1. The dan degrees are counted up from 1.

Dan

For dan ranks, the first five are colored black, 6th, 7th and 8th dan have alternating red and white panels Kōhaku-obi, commonly known as the "Coral belt," named after the coral snake, and for 9th, 10th dan and above, the belts are solid red. In Europe, according to the ‘IJF’, there is a difference between each grade belts' marking by the difference in length of the alternating white-red coloured blocks of the coral belt, as in “the more blocks in your belt, the higher the grade,”. In judo's promotion system as originally finalized by Kanō around 1926, there was no maximal dan rank, and judoka holding 10th dan would normally wear a red belt, but could also wear a white belt, or a black belt. However, since the highest dan rank reached in judo for a living person, or conferred posthumously remains 10th dan, any judo dan rank higher than 10th dan is now considered as a merely historical theoretical option. Some time after the death of Kanō, the promotion system essentially became capped at 10th dan. Furthermore, holders of a dan rank above godan will often wear a plain black belt during regular training practice, and outside any ceremonial duties. In a similar manner to both Brazilian and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, dan ranks can be signified by either one, or both coral belts with red-black and red-white panels.

Degree	Color	Belt
1st–5th dan	Black
4th and 5th dan	Black or Red-Black Coral
6th–8th dan	Black or Red-White Coral
9th, 10th, and possible above dan	Black or Red

Kyu

The Kyu belt system can contain the colors white, red, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, and brown for both senior and junior practitioners. In some countries junior practitioners have an extra system in place to show the progress in between two kyū grades. The sub rank can be symbolized by a small piece of fabric on the end of the belt. The piece added to the belt can never be of a lower or the same color as the belt worn by the judoka, so an orange belt cannot have a yellow piece, but it can have green, blue or brown.

Australia

In Australia belt rankings for Seniors are, in ascending order: white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and finally black. Belt rankings for Juniors follow the same ranks and colours, but have either 1, 2 or 3 white bars at each end of the belt, as follows:

If the judoka is aged up to 10, there are to be 3 white bars.
Between 10 and 13, there are 2 bars.
Finally, for 13 to 16 years of age, there is a single bar.

Degree	Kyu 6	Kyu 5	Kyu 4	Kyu 3	Kyu 2	Kyu 1
Color	White	Yellow	Orange	Green	Blue	Brown
Belt

Austria

Judoka older than 15 can take the test for the even and odd Kyu degrees as one test.
In Austria the following belt colors exist:

Degree	Kyu 11	Kyu 10	Kyu 9	Kyu 8	Kyu 7	Kyu 6	Kyu 5	Kyu 4	Kyu 3	Kyu 2	Kyu 1
Color	White	White-Yellow	Yellow	Yellow-Orange	Orange	Orange-Green	Green	Green-Blue	Blue	Blue-Brown	Brown
Belt
Minimum age	-	7 years	7 years	8 years	9 years	10 years	11 years	12 years	13 years	14 years	15 years