Many arts have a ranking system. A typical ranking from beginner to most experienced master is: 10th kyu, 9th kyu, ..., 2nd kyu, 1st kyu, 1st dan, 2nd dan, ..., 10th dan. "kyu" and "dan" are Japanese words; Korean systems use the word "gup" instead of "kyu". 1st dan and above frequently wear black belts. That being said, do not put too much stock in rankings, and put even less in belt color. Belt colors are HIGHLY dependent on the art, school, and instructor. Some arts don't have any belts. Some have only white and black. Some have white, brown, and black. Some have a rainbow. Some instructors hand out rank/belts like candy, others are very stingy. A given color will frequently signify different ranks in different arts. Rather than rank or belt color, what will determine an individual's skill are how long and how intensely they have studied, the quality of instruction they have received, and (to a lesser extent) their "natural" ability. A brief history of kyu/dan ranking systems and belts, contributed by Steve Gombosi (sog@rainbow.rmii.com), is given below: Before Jigoro Kano invented Judo, there was no kyu/dan ranking system. Kano invented it when he awarded "shodan" to two of his senior students (Saito and Tomita) in 1883. Even then, there was no external differentiation between yudansha (dan ranks) and mudansha (those who hadn't yet attained dan ranking). Kano apparently began the custom of having his yudansha wear black obis in 1886. These obis weren't the belts karateka and judoka wear today - Kano hadn't invented the judogi (uniform) yet, and his students were still practicing in kimono. They were the wide obi still worn with formal kimono. In 1907, Kano introduced the modern gi and its modern obi, but he still only used white and black. Karateka in Okinawa didn't use any sort of special uniform at all in the old days. The kyu/dan ranking system, and the modern karategi modified judogi) were first adopted by Funakoshi in an effort to encourage karate's acceptance by the Japanese. He awarded the first "shodan" ranks given in karate to Tokuda, Otsuka, Akiba, Shimizu, Hirose, Gima, and Kasuya on April 10, 1924. The adoption of the kyu/dan system and the adoption of a standard uniform based on the judogi were 2 of the 4 conditions which the Dai-Nippon Butokukai required before recognizing karate as a "real" martial art. If you look at ph otographs of Okinawan karateka training in the early part of this century, you'll see that they were training in their everyday clothes, or (!) in their underwear. Most other arts that have ranking/belt color systems adopted them from the Japanese.

I don't think this questions needs any more answering, but it's very simple. The belt system works like this : 1) you show up 2) you work on what they tell you to do 3) they give you a belt 4) repeat Belts are not really even important to your training, if you see a school that doesn't use them, don't freak out. I know my school we don't use Gi's or belts, our uniform is a t-shirt that they give us and we just wear pants that we can work out in. I personally prefer this because if i ever get in a fight I will be wearing the same kinds of clothes as the ones I train in.

As somebody already answered the belt system is different from one martial art to the other. However, the important thing is the concept behind the belt and its meaning, which is unique and the same for all oriental martial arts. In the past, since hundreds of years ago (and in some places even to date), the apprentice would be presented to his Master wearing a plain white robe (known as Gi), which has a white belt accordingly. The Master then would instruct the apprentice to show up every session with the white robe washed and as white as possible, BUT he would never wash the belt. This way, the more sessions and training, the dirtier (and thus darker) the belt. Somebody wearing a complete black belt then of course meant somebody with years of training. This is why, no matter what martial art or belt system (2 , 3 or 10 colors) they always have a correlation of light to dark colors starting with white and ending on black. I dont know why this "Freggie" guy thinks this is not the true story behind the "belt system", but again I insist, this is the real background story behind the belt colors. Perhaps "Freggie" thinks that the belt system was created in the US, with nice colorful belts, for martial arts that exist probably before the Piramids were build.

The Belt's to hold your pants up. Any hooey story about not washing your belt is just plain wrong. For the love of Pete, please wash it. Especially if you're in a style with a lot of close contact like Judo or Aikido. As meticulously clean as the Japanese, the Monks, the Bhuddists, Shaolin, Samurang, etc. were known to be, do you SERIOUSLY think they would find it acceptable to allow something to get so filthy and funky it permanently changes color and to wear it with pride? Get real. The Yoshinkan Honbu in Japan finds the idea extraordinarily offensive, and the Hanshi I spoke to there explained that the ranking system is a Judo thing propitiated by the DNBK (Greater Japan Martial Arts Associations) and similar groups that brought Martial Arts into the public school system. Colors are a Western thing, or a Chinese thing, he said, depending on who you talk to. The Kyu and Dan ranks (Kyu being those students who have not yet earned a black belt, Dans being those who have) in Aikido and Judo largely keep people from getting hurt. You can't practice advanced techniques on someone who can't do the right breakfalls yet, so knowing who is what rank lets an instructor know not only what they are learning, but what they can handle. A Shotokan instructor friend of mine put it very well to his class one afternoon: "You know when you learn to read, you first learn the alphabet. You spend a few years learning the letters and how to make the sounds and how to write the letters down on paper. Then...you learn to read. Your Kyu ranks are learning your ABC's of Karate. Your Dan Ranks are those after you've learned to read, understanding the kata, basics and kumite that we do." I take Aikido and Iaido. In both, I have the joy of not having to fuss with a colored belt system. In Aikido, Kyu ranks wear white belts, Dan Ranks wear black belts or Hakama. In Iaido...you let your skill do the talking, not your uniform.

While I cannot speak for other systems, belts in Tae Kwon Do are fairly regulated to accompany the gup level for 10 to1. While the colors may vary, the system is in place to measure progress and each belt has specific requirements and is awarded after a testing of those requirements. This test may be formal, informal, public, or private, but it is a consistent requirement that each gup is associated with a new belt. Gups refer to colored belts, in my system they are white through red with stripes being added every other gup and two stripes on the red belt. After the last gup rank, 1, we progress to dan ranks beginning with dan 1 or 1st degree black belt. Our system marks multiple degree black belts with gold strips on the belt through 9th dan. Additionally, while we require uniforms to be cleaned regularly, we strongly discourage the washing of a belt. It's just not done. My instructor is American, his instructor is Korean. The injunction against washing belts was handed down from his instructor. I maintain regular blog entries concerning martial arts at: http://www.upallnightgamging.com/blogs/pugilist, feel free to offer your comments on my take on martial arts.

Well I am not completely sure about other types of Martial Arts but I do Kung Fu and the belts just represent the level you are at or the more you know. For example me, I have been training for about 6 years and is only one belt away from black.