Beginner's guide

Kyu and Dan Belts Explained

The belt around a judoka's waist isn't just decoration — it's a rank, and the system behind it is simpler than it looks once you know the two words that matter: kyu and dan.

The two grade groups

Kyu (級): Student grades. Counterintuitively, kyu numbers count down — you start at a high kyu number and work toward 1st kyu, the grade just before black belt.
Dan (段): Black-belt grades. These count up from 1st dan, representing advanced and expert-level practitioners — some judoka spend decades progressing through the dan ranks.

Typical belt order

A common progression used by many clubs, roughly light to dark:

White belt — complete beginner, no kyu grade yet
Yellow belt
Orange belt
Green belt
Blue belt
Brown belt — 3rd, 2nd, and 1st kyu
Black belt — 1st dan and above

This exact order and the number of belts between white and black varies by country and federation — some add a red-and-white or red belt for very senior dan grades, some skip a color, and kids' programs often add extra stripes to mark progress between belts. If your club's chart looks slightly different from this, that's normal, not a mistake.

How kids typically progress

Most junior programs test more often than adult classes and focus less on high-level technique count and more on attendance, attitude, basic falling safety (ukemi), and a handful of core throws and holds appropriate for the age group. It's common for a young judoka to earn a new belt every few months in the early stages, then slow down considerably as the material gets harder — that slowdown is expected, not a sign of falling behind.

Judo Academy has a full quiz mode on belt ranks and grading requirements, so kids can check what they've learned between classes instead of just memorizing a chart.

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