Judo belt order: kyu and dan ranks, US vs Japan
Judo belt order from white to black: the common international kyu chart, how Japan and the three US judo bodies differ, junior belts, and dan ranks.
The most common judo belt order is white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, then black. Those colors are the six kyu grades, counting down from 6th kyu to 1st kyu, and black belt starts the dan grades. The colors are not universal, though: Japan uses far fewer, and the three US judo organizations each publish their own ladder.
The common international order at a glance: 1. White, 2. Yellow, 3. Orange, 4. Green, 5. Blue, 6. Brown, 7. Black.
This guide shows the common kyu chart, how Japan and the US differ, junior belts, the dan grades with their red-and-white and red belts, and what a club needs to track.
The common international judo belt chart
Wikipedia’s article on rank in judo lists this order for senior grades in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries:
| Order | Kyu | Belt |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6th kyu | White |
| 2 | 5th kyu | Yellow |
| 3 | 4th kyu | Orange |
| 4 | 3rd kyu | Green |
| 5 | 2nd kyu | Blue |
| 6 | 1st kyu | Brown |
| 7 | 1st dan (shodan) | Black |
The International Judo Federation’s belt program groups 6th to 3rd kyu as “Fundamental Judo” and 2nd and 1st kyu as “Competition Judo,” per the same article. National federations still set their own colors and requirements, and some insert extra grades.
Kyu and dan in judo
Judo is where the modern kyu and dan system began. Kanō Jigorō, who founded judo and the Kodokan in Tokyo, awarded the first dan grades in 1883, as Wikipedia’s article on dan rank records. The idea later spread to karate, aikido and other arts.
- Kyu grades come before black belt and count down, so 1st kyu is the highest.
- Dan grades start at black belt and count up.
Japan vs the US vs the rest of the world
This is where most belt charts online go wrong: they show one ladder as if it were “the” judo order.
Japan (Kodokan)
In Japan, colored belts are tied to the student’s age. Wikipedia’s summary of Kodokan practice: adults commonly wear white through the lower kyu grades and brown for 3rd, 2nd and 1st kyu, while juniors may wear purple for those grades instead. Historically the beginner’s 6th kyu wore light blue. So a Japanese adult may go from white straight to brown, then black.
The United States
The US has three national judo organizations: USA Judo (the national governing body for the Olympic sport), the United States Judo Federation (USJF) and the United States Judo Association (USJA). Each publishes its own rank requirements. Wikipedia lists two of the senior ladders:
| Kyu | USJF senior | USJA senior |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | White | White |
| 6th | White | Yellow |
| 5th | Green | Orange |
| 4th | Blue | Green |
| 3rd | Brown | Brown |
| 2nd | Brown | Brown |
| 1st | Brown | Brown |
Notice that both use three brown belts for the senior kyu grades, unlike the international chart, which has one. If you run a US club, the organization you register with decides your ladder, and its current handbook is the source of truth. USA Judo publishes its own requirements, which we have not reproduced here.
Junior belts in the US
Junior programs (usually 16 and under) use many more steps. Wikipedia lists a common US junior sequence of white, white-yellow, yellow, yellow-orange, orange, orange-green, green, green-blue, blue, blue-purple and purple, with juniors converted to a senior kyu grade when they move up to the senior program. The exact mapping differs by organization, so treat this as the shape of a junior ladder, not a rule.
Dan grades and the red belts
Per Wikipedia’s summary:
| Dan | Belt |
|---|---|
| 1st to 5th | Black |
| 6th to 8th | Red and white panels (often called the coral belt) |
| 9th and 10th | Red |
Some clubs let 4th and 5th dan wear other belts, and many senior judoka simply keep wearing black on the mat. A 1st dan and a 5th dan can look the same in class, so the record matters.
How long each grade takes
Judo promotion is set by each organization, and the routes differ: some count time in grade and technical exams, some also count competition results or service such as coaching and refereeing. We do not quote a single timeline because there isn’t one. For a club, the useful step is writing your organization’s requirements down per grade and checking every student against them before a grading.
What a judo club needs to track
- Junior and senior ladders, with the conversion rule when a junior moves up.
- The organization’s requirements per grade, including time in grade and any points.
- Gradings and their dates, so the record shows exactly when each kyu and dan was awarded.
- Licensing and membership with your national organization, which most require before a grading counts.
In BlackBeltCRM, each program has its own ranking system. You set up the junior and senior ladders, name the grades your way, and the Promotions screen lists students eligible to grade by classes attended or time at rank. Grading fees are set on the rank and billed with tuition. See belt tracking software for the whole workflow, or judo club software if judo is your main program.
If you run something other than a martial arts school, ranks are optional, and billing and attendance work the same without them. Try it on your own ladder with the 14-day free trial.
Belt order guides
- Types of martial arts: the major styles compared
- Karate belt order
- Taekwondo belt order
- BJJ belt order
- Kung fu sash order
Sources: Wikipedia (Rank in judo; Dan rank), which summarizes Kodokan, International Judo Federation (IJF), USJF and USJA practice. USA Judo, USJF and USJA each publish current rank requirements on their own sites; those are the rule for clubs registered with them.
Questions people ask
What is the judo belt order?
The most common international order, lowest to highest, is white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, then black. Those are the six kyu grades from 6th kyu to 1st kyu, followed by the dan grades from black belt up.
What are the judo belt colors in Japan?
Japan uses far fewer colors. Adults commonly wear white through the lower kyu grades and brown for 3rd to 1st kyu, and juniors may wear purple for those grades instead. Colored belts in Japan are tied to the student's age.
What belt comes after white in judo?
In the common international order, yellow. It is not universal: some US senior ladders go white to green, and adults in Japan often stay in white until brown.
How many belts are there in judo?
Six kyu grades and up to ten dan grades in most systems, so six colored belts before black in the common international chart. Junior programs often have many more steps, with half-colored belts between the main colors.
What is the highest belt in judo?
Black belt starts at 1st dan. 6th to 8th dan may wear a red and white belt, and 9th and 10th dan a solid red belt. Very few people have ever held 10th dan.
Is a judo brown belt the same as a karate brown belt?
Both usually mark the senior kyu grades just before black belt, but the number of kyu grades and the colors before brown differ between the two arts and between organizations, so the belts do not translate one to one.
How long does it take to get a black belt in judo?
It depends on the organization's minimum times, competition points if the organization uses them, and how often you train. Ask your club for its promotion requirements; we do not quote a single figure.
Can I set a judo belt order with junior ranks in BlackBeltCRM?
Yes. Each program has its own ranking system, so you can run a junior ladder with half-colored belts and a senior kyu ladder side by side, each with its own eligibility rules.