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If you only train against a heavy bag, or practice & rehearse
self defense drills in a mcdojo, or are being trained by an arm
chair instructor with no real fight experience your in trouble!

Now listen this is very crucial for all the information you know
and all your hard work and training. You need to purchase a
martial artshelmet, and 16 oz open hand mma gloves, find a
park with a training partner and get out there and practice
fighting thru sparring exercises!

You need to feel the stress and pressure of engaging an
opponent, feel the pain of being hit, feel the stress of having
fists and kicks flying at you, I even recommend sparring with
no gloves or helmets once you and your partner are good.
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Martial Art Belt Ranks

Where did they come from and what do they mean?

There are many theories why present day martial art schools use belts and sashes as a ranking system and where the concept of using belts came from. We will discuss two philosophies, one that is widely accepted by many practitioners and another that can be considered as a legend, or story that was passed down by your grandfather. Please keep in mind that the belt ranking system has only been around about 120 years. Throughout this article, keep in mind that not all Martial Arts are the same, your school may have a completely different ranking system than discussed here.

One of the most common arguments comes from the founder of modern day Judo, Dr. Jigoro Kano. An educator and sports enthusiast, Dr. Kano used a black belt to represent his dan (highest-ranking) students in his school, the Kodokan. However, he later realized his kyu (lower ranking) students needed an outward tangible object to acknowledge their accomplishments and encourage their efforts. So he implemented the different colors to signify the progress that his kyu made over time.

Eventually, other Japanese martial art styles such as Karate, Aikido, Kendo, etc. incorporated the Judo belt ranking system when Gichin Funakoshi, an Okinawan karate master and considered as the “Father of Modern Karate” demonstrated his martial art style, Shotokan, at the Kodokan.
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