Judo Belt Order: Every Rank and Color Explained (2026)

Short answer: the most common judo belt order is white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, then black. The colored belts are called kyu grades and count down from 6th kyu to 1st kyu, and the black belt grades are called dan grades and count up from 1st dan (shodan) to 10th dan. Above 5th dan, senior judoka can wear a red and white belt (6th to 8th dan) and a solid red belt (9th and 10th dan). The catch: the colors below black are not standardized worldwide, so your club, country and age group can change the exact order.

If you just walked into a judo club, saw a 9-year-old in a purple belt and an adult in a yellow belt and thought “wait, who outranks whom?”, you are not alone. Judo’s rank system is one of the oldest in martial arts and also one of the most confusing. Here is the whole thing, laid out simply.

Kyu and Dan: The Two Halves of the System

Judo founder Jigoro Kano created the kyu and dan system in the 1880s, and karate, taekwondo and many other arts later borrowed the idea. According to USA Judo’s history of promotions, Kano awarded the first shodan ranks in 1883, and by 1886 his black belt students wore a different colored belt from everyone else.

• Kyu grades (mudansha) are the student grades below black belt. They count down, so 6th kyu is a beginner and 1st kyu is the last step before black belt.
• Dan grades (yudansha) are the black belt grades. They count up, from 1st dan (shodan) to 10th dan (judan).

A useful way to think about it: the kyu number tells you how many steps are left before black belt, and the dan number tells you how far past it someone has gone.

The Standard Judo Belt Order (Kyu Grades)

The order most of the world recognizes, and the one many international clubs and kids’ programs use, looks like this:

Grade	Japanese name	Common belt color	What it usually means
Novice	Mukyu	White	Brand new, learning breakfalls and basic grips
6th kyu	Rokkyu	Yellow (red in the UK, white in some systems)	Can fall safely and do a handful of basic throws
5th kyu	Gokyu	Orange (yellow in the UK)	Basic throws plus first pins on the ground
4th kyu	Yonkyu	Green (orange in the UK)	Combining throws, more ground work, regular randori
3rd kyu	Sankyu	Blue or brown (green in the UK)	Solid fundamentals, counters, starting kata
2nd kyu	Nikyu	Brown or blue	Competitive-level randori, chokes and armlocks
1st kyu	Ikkyu	Brown	Preparing for black belt grading
1st to 5th dan	Shodan to Godan	Black	Black belt grades
6th to 8th dan	Rokudan to Hachidan	Red and white panels (optional)	Senior teachers with decades in judo
9th and 10th dan	Kudan and Judan	Solid red (optional)	Extremely rare, lifetime contribution

Notice how much the middle of that table hedges. That is not us being lazy. It is genuinely how judo works.

Why Judo Belt Colors Differ by Country

Unlike the dan grades, which are fairly consistent worldwide, the colors for kyu grades are set by each national federation, and sometimes by the club. Ask a room of judoka what color 3rd kyu is and you will get three answers and one argument.

United States

The US has more than one national judo body, and they do not all match. The USJA promotion system lists adult (senior) ranks as white for novices, then yellow (6th kyu), orange (5th kyu), green (4th kyu), and brown for all of 3rd, 2nd and 1st kyu. USA Judo uses the same adult colors. Some clubs in other US organizations use fewer colors, such as white, green, blue and brown. So in an American adult class, it is completely normal to see no blue belts at all and a lot of brown.

United Kingdom

British Judo’s Kyu Grade scheme starts adults at a red belt for 6th kyu, then yellow, orange, green, blue and brown. It is aimed at judoka aged 14 and over, and British Judo says most people complete the kyu grades in about 3 years, or about 2 if they are especially dedicated.

Europe

Many European federations use the white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown order. Some, like Germany, add half belts (white-yellow, yellow-orange, orange-green) so there are more kyu steps, often nine instead of six. That keeps kids motivated with more frequent promotions.

Japan

Here is the twist: in Japan, adults often stay in a white belt through the lower kyu grades and move straight to brown around 3rd kyu, then to black. The colorful belt rainbow is mostly a Western and kids’ invention. The All Japan Judo Federation sets national rules for black belt and above, and notes that black belt covers 1st to 5th dan.

Kids’ Judo Belts Work Differently

Children usually have their own grading track with many more small steps, because waiting a year for a new belt is an eternity when you are seven. Examples:

• USJA junior ranks run from white through yellow, orange, green, blue and purple, with 12 numbered steps above white and two or more steps at most colors.
• British Judo uses separate junior grade schemes (Mon and Sho grades) with colored tabs or stripes on the belt, then converts kids to the adult kyu grades in their teens.
• Purple often shows up in kids’ systems. Historically, young judoka in Japan wore purple where adults wore brown.

When kids move to the adult system, their belt color can change in a way that looks like a demotion. It is not. It is just switching to a different map of the same journey.

Black Belt and Beyond: The Dan Grades

Black belt in judo means you have solid fundamentals and are now a serious student, not that you have “finished”. From there the grades climb:

• 1st to 5th dan: black belt. Earned through technical grading, kata (prearranged forms such as Nage-no-kata), contest results in some systems, and years of training.
• 6th to 8th dan: a belt of alternating red and white panels, often called the coral belt or kohaku obi. The Kodokan introduced it around 1930.
• 9th and 10th dan: solid red, authorized by the Kodokan in 1943.

Both the red and white and red belts are optional. Many senior teachers wear a plain black belt on the mat and save the fancy one for ceremonies. The International Judo Federation’s history of the belt adds a fun detail: Kano himself held no dan grade, because as the founder there was nobody to award him one. And 10th dan is incredibly rare. The All Japan Judo Federation notes that only 15 people had been promoted to 10th dan at the Kodokan as of March 2021.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Black Belt in Judo?

For an adult training two or three times a week, a realistic range is about 4 to 6 years, sometimes less for active competitors and more for people who train once a week.

Some real benchmarks:

1. USJA minimums: the USJA lists minimum time-in-grade and class counts for each adult kyu rank, starting at 3 months and 24 classes for 6th kyu and rising to 12 months and 96 classes for 1st kyu and again for shodan. Add those up and the bare minimum is roughly 5 years at around two classes a week.
2. USA Judo: shodan has a minimum age of 15, and competition points can shorten the waiting time in grade for active competitors.
3. British Judo: about 3 years through the kyu grades, then preparation for the dan grade.

Judo black belts are generally considered slower and harder to earn than in many striking arts, because promotion often involves real resistance in randori and, in some systems, competition. Compare that with the karate belt order, where many schools move kids to black belt faster, or with BJJ, which is even slower at the top end.

How Judo Gradings Usually Work

Details depend on your federation, but most gradings follow a similar pattern:

1. Your coach decides you are ready. You usually cannot just sign up; you need to have attended enough classes and shown the skills.
2. You demonstrate breakfalls (ukemi). Every grading checks that you can fall safely in all directions.
3. You show throws (nage-waza) and groundwork (katame-waza) from the syllabus for your grade, on a cooperative partner.
4. You may do randori (free practice) so the examiner can see the techniques work against resistance.
5. You answer terminology questions. Expect to know the Japanese names for your techniques. “That spinny one” does not count.
6. From brown belt up, kata appears, usually Nage-no-kata, which is required for black belt in most systems.

A tip from people who have been there: do not obsess over belts. Coaches tend to notice the people who show up, help beginners and train hard, and those are the people who get tapped on the shoulder for grading.

Judo Belts vs Other Martial Arts

If you train more than one art, the belt systems can blur together. A judo brown belt and a BJJ brown belt are not the same thing, and neither is a karate brown belt. BJJ uses only five adult belts (white, blue, purple, brown, black) and is famously slow, so a BJJ blue belt can take two years or more on its own. If you are still choosing between the two grappling arts, our judo vs jiu jitsu breakdown covers the differences in training and rules. And if you are just starting out and need a uniform that survives grip fighting, a double weave gi from our list of the best judo gis will last a lot longer than a karate-style uniform.

FAQ

What is the judo belt order for adults?

In the US (USJA and USA Judo): white, yellow, orange, green, then brown for 3rd to 1st kyu, then black. In the UK: red, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, then black. In much of Europe: white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, then black. Always check with your club.

What is the highest belt in judo?

The highest rank is 10th dan, marked by a solid red belt. It is extremely rare and usually awarded for a lifetime of contribution to judo. Most practitioners will never see one in person.

Is there a blue belt in judo?

Yes, in many countries blue is 2nd or 3rd kyu, just below brown. In the US adult system there is usually no blue belt, while US kids’ systems often include one. Note that in international competition, a “blue judogi” is just the uniform color for the second-called athlete and has nothing to do with rank.

What does the red and white judo belt mean?

It marks 6th, 7th or 8th dan, a very senior teacher. Red and white are traditional Japanese colors, and the belt was introduced by the Kodokan around 1930. It is optional, and many senior judoka still wear black.

Why does a kid in my class have a higher belt color than me?

Kids’ and adults’ systems are often separate, with more colors and stripes for children. A child in a purple or blue junior belt may convert to a lower-looking adult belt when they turn 14 to 17, depending on the federation.

Can you skip belts in judo?

Rarely. Most federations promote step by step. Experienced athletes coming from another federation or another grappling art may move up faster, but formal skip promotions are uncommon and need strong justification.

Do judo belts transfer between countries?

Dan grades from a recognized national federation are generally respected internationally. Kyu grades usually carry over too, but your new club may adjust your belt color to fit its own order.