In this post I will introduce the various ranks and titles recognized in the Chito-Ryu style of Karate Do. Many of these are commonly used in many of the Okinawan and Japanese styles but there are subtle difference among them regarding some of the specifics. I will attempt to clarify these points.
A great source of accurate information regarding similar topics can be found on the "KARATE by Jesse" blog. I will reference some of the Ranks and Titles that he presented in his "Short Guide" post
In his post he sates, "in Karate... there exists a strong concept of ranks and titles." The ranks and titles used in the Okinawan and Japanese martial arts are fairly common across the board but, as with anything, some do vary.
Brief History
Before Karate Do was introduced to mainland Japan there were no ranks or titles only an instructor and his pupils (a teacher and the students) At this time the self defence art that people were practicing in Okinawa wasn't even called Karate, it was known as 手 Te, hand or 唐手 Toude, Chinese hand because the system came directly from China. I know this is over simplified but the point of this particular post is not to cover the entire history and development of Karate Do. But, it is important to provide a brief history to understand that this is a self defence system that came from China to Okinawa before it was introduced to mainland Japan. After it came to Japan a different name needed to be chosen, one that did not identify any ties to China. Because this system used no weapons 空 Kara, Empty was chosen and the name 空手 Karate, Empty Hand stuck. After this it developed quickly and became very regimented. As the system developed it became necessary to indicate the progress of the practitioners. This is when ranks and titles were introduced. The ranks and titles of Karate Do were initially based on those of Judo.
Before Karate Do was introduced to mainland Japan there were no ranks or titles only an instructor and his pupils (a teacher and the students) At this time the self defence art that people were practicing in Okinawa wasn't even called Karate, it was known as 手 Te, hand or 唐手 Toude, Chinese hand because the system came directly from China. I know this is over simplified but the point of this particular post is not to cover the entire history and development of Karate Do. But, it is important to provide a brief history to understand that this is a self defence system that came from China to Okinawa before it was introduced to mainland Japan. After it came to Japan a different name needed to be chosen, one that did not identify any ties to China. Because this system used no weapons 空 Kara, Empty was chosen and the name 空手 Karate, Empty Hand stuck. After this it developed quickly and became very regimented. As the system developed it became necessary to indicate the progress of the practitioners. This is when ranks and titles were introduced. The ranks and titles of Karate Do were initially based on those of Judo.
The 段 Dan system, better known as the 'black belt' rank, was developed sometime in the 17th Century. Dan as well as 級 Kyu simply means grade in Japanese however, the kyu system was developed later than the Dan system. the common belief on how the ranks and titles of Karate Do were defined is that Dr. Kano Jigoro, the founder of Kodokan Judo, invented the both the Dan and Kyu system. Jesse points out that this is not true. He states, "as we now know, he didn’t. Instead, in 1883, Kano adapted the swimming ranking-system used in Japanese schools. By using that as the foundation, he developed the dan/kyu system for Judo which we are using today in Karate. Clever!"
These days, especially in North America there are numerous Kyu levels with a wide range of coloured belts to identify them and generally 9 to 10 Dan levels in any given style. Some more traditional Dojo use only three belt colours to indicate the Kyu ranks; white, green, and brown. Generally all of the levels of the Dan rank are represented by the 'Black Belt'.
