Ranks
The belts in martial arts are used to distinguish the skill level of each martial artist. The higher the belt rank, the more expert you are within your chosen martial art. As a result, one can determine the level of experience a student has simply by observing the color of their belt.
Every new student of Sullivan’s Karate School begins as a white belt in Goju Ryu Karate. The time between white belt and testing for black belt is usually 5 or more years of continual classes.
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White (purity) | innocence and the beginning of a quest |
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Yellow (sunrise) | awakening to a new day |
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Green (life) | growth in your martial arts journey |
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Blue (sky) | openness to the knowledge of martial arts |
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Purple (elite class) | member of a new society of artists |
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3rd Degree Brown (ripeness) | full maturity in the arts |
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2nd Degree Brown (refinement) | honing skills to achieve excellence |
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1st Degree Brown (mastery) | demonstrating proficiency and readiness for the final test |
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Black (void of knowledge) | the beginning stage of a life-long search for wisdom through martial arts |