Why have you adopted the kyu/dan system & colored belts?
(A) In addition to the traditional license grading system, many koryu have adopted a kyu/dan system in recent years. Purple and brown belts were introduced to identify senior kyu-level holders. Why? Students often spend many years at the kyu level. These new colors help newcomers identify more senior students. Many beleive that colored belts have no place in koryu. Traditionally, there is only black or white. This is a common misconception. There is nothing traditional about belts in general. Black and white belts were conceived by judo’s founder, Kano Jigoro in the late eighteen hundreds. Kano also introduced the budo kyu/dan system, known as “dan-i” in Japanese. Belt colors, other than black & white, first appeared in Europe around the early nineteen forties. In koryu terms, uniforms, belts and the kyu/dan grading system are all modern additions, but they do serve a purpose.
