Judo Belt Order Explained: Kyu Grades, Dan Grades, and What Each Teaches

The judo belt order for adults, in most Western systems, is white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, black. These are the kyu grades, counted down from sixth kyu to first. Black belt is first dan and takes about four to six years. Japan uses a simpler system: white, brown, black. Kids’ and national federations vary.

I’ve trained judo alongside BJJ, boxing, and krav maga for over two decades, and it’s the art that gave the world the belt system in the first place. Here’s what each judo belt means, how promotion works, why it differs from BJJ, and what the ladder looks like if you start after 35.

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The Judo Belt Order at a Glance

The word kyu means grade below black, and the numbers count down as you climb. Dan grades count up: first dan is a new black belt, and the ranks run to tenth dan, which has been awarded to only a few dozen people in the art’s history. Sixth dan and above can wear a red-and-white belt, and ninth and tenth dan may wear solid red.

Why Judo Belts Vary by Country

Kano’s original system had only white and black. When judo reached Europe, particularly Britain and France in the 1920s and 30s, instructors added colors so students could see progress between the two. That European sequence spread through most of the world and is the one in the table.

Japan still largely uses white for beginners, brown for advanced kyu grades, and black for dan grades. Some national federations, including parts of the United States, use slightly different orders, sometimes swapping blue and green or adding purple. The colors are national conventions; the kyu numbers behind them are what actually transfer.

This is also why the belt colors across all martial arts look similar but never match. Karate and taekwondo borrowed the idea from judo and each adjusted it.

What Each Judo Belt Teaches

White and Yellow: Learning to Fall

The first thing judo teaches is ukemi, breakfalls. Before you throw anyone, you learn to hit the mat backward, sideways, and forward without hurting yourself. For an adult over 40, this is the single most valuable thing in the first six months, and it’s why I recommend judo to people who never intend to compete.

Falls are one of the biggest injury risks in ordinary life, and judoka fall well.

Orange and Green: Randori Begins

Around orange belt, you start regular randori, live sparring where both people try to throw. This is the point at which judo becomes honest in the way BJJ is honest: your technique either works against a resisting partner or it doesn’t. By green, a few throws are starting to land on people who know what’s coming.

Blue and Brown: A Real Game

Blue and brown judoka have a competition game: two or three throws they can hit from their preferred grips, decent groundwork, and the conditioning to survive a five-minute match. Brown belts are often the fiercest people in the club, because promotion to black at many federations depends partly on competition results, and they’re chasing points.

Black Belt: Shodan

First dan means you have the full set of fundamentals, typically demonstrated through a formal technical test (often including kata, prearranged forms) and, in many federations, a required number of competition wins. It takes four to six years at two sessions a week.

Compared with BJJ, that’s fast. Compared with what a judo black belt can do on their feet, it’s fair.

How Judo Promotions Work

Judo sits between BJJ and karate in how it promotes. Kyu grades are usually awarded by your club instructor after a technical test: demonstrate these throws, these pins, this terminology.

Dan grades are awarded by the national federation and typically require a test in front of a panel plus competition points, though many federations offer a technical-only path for older adults.

That competition requirement is the part that surprises adult beginners. If you’re 48 and don’t want tournaments, ask your federation about the alternative route. Most have one, usually a longer time in grade and a fuller technical exam. What a belt actually tells you explains why this kind of formal test is both a strength and a limitation.

Judo Belts Versus BJJ Belts

The two arts share ancestry, and their belt systems reflect how they diverged. Judo keeps seven adult belts and a formal test; BJJ keeps five and promotes on sparring performance alone. Judo’s black belt arrives in four to six years; BJJ’s in eight to twelve. A judo black belt and a BJJ black belt are both experts, at different things.

Ranks don’t transfer between them, but experience does. A judo brown belt who starts BJJ will usually move through white belt quickly because the groundwork overlaps and the falling and gripping skills carry over. A BJJ purple belt starting judo will get thrown a lot for a year. The BJJ belt order covers the other side of that comparison.

Judo Belts After 35

Judo is harder on the body than BJJ in one specific way: you get thrown. Learning to fall makes that manageable, and clubs with older adults tend to do a lot of throw-for-throw practice with a partner who catches you. The knees and shoulders take the most wear. Two sessions a week with a rest day between is the pace I’d suggest.

The belt timeline for an older adult is close to the table above. What changes is that the competition route to black belt becomes less appealing, and the technical route becomes the plan. Plenty of people earn shodan in their fifties that way. Earning a belt after 40 goes into the body management in detail.

For self-defense, I rank judo just below BJJ, and the belt is not why. It’s because a throw ends a confrontation faster than almost anything, and because a judoka who gets knocked down gets up uninjured. My ranking of martial arts for self-defense explains the placement.

Judo Belt Order FAQ

Your This-Week Plan

• Find a judo club with an adult beginner class and ask how they handle breakfalls for new adults. A good club will spend weeks on it.
• Ask about the promotion route for adults who don’t compete, so you know the path before you commit.
• Commit to two sessions a week for 90 days and treat learning to fall as the first goal, not the first belt.
• Read the BJJ belt order if you’re deciding between the two, then the full martial arts belts guide for how judo’s ladder compares with the rest.

This article is educational and reflects my own training experience in judo and related arts. Belt orders and promotion requirements vary by country, federation, and club, so confirm details with the club you plan to join. Judo involves throws and falls, so check with your provider before starting, especially with neck, back, or joint concerns.