Judo belt colors show a judoka's grade. The most common belt order goes white → yellow → orange → green → blue → brown → black. That sequence isn't universal, though. Each national federation sets its own colors below black, while the kyu and dan numbering and the red belts at the top are shared worldwide.
Judo belt order: the common pattern
Judo grades split into two families. Kyu grades are student grades and count down, usually from 6th kyu to 1st kyu. Dan grades are master grades and count up, from 1st dan to 10th dan. Our page on judo dan grades explains how the numbering works in detail.
Here's the pattern you'll see in most clubs across Europe and the Americas. Treat it as a common reference, not an official worldwide chart.
| Belt | Usual grade | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| White | 6th kyu (beginner) | Breakfalls, etiquette, first throws |
| Yellow | 5th kyu | Basic throws and the first hold-down |
| Orange | 4th kyu | Inner reaps, shoulder throws |
| Green | 3rd kyu | Big hip and leg throws, first combinations |
| Blue | 2nd kyu | Counters, strangles, competition work |
| Brown | 1st kyu | Preparing for black belt, kata |
| Black | 1st to 5th dan | Awarded by the federation |
| Red and white | 6th to 8th dan | Senior teachers |
| Red | 9th and 10th dan | Extremely rare |
We deliberately give no ages for the colored belts. Minimum ages and waiting times are set by each federation, and two clubs can move at different speeds without either being wrong.
Why judo belt colors differ by country
Jigoro Kano created the dan system at the Kodokan in the 1880s. Colored kyu belts came later, mostly from Europe. The spread of the colored system is usually credited to Mikinosuke Kawaishi, who taught in France from the 1930s. Each country then adapted it, and the result is a patchwork. A few examples we have checked against federation sources:
- Japan. The Kodokan tradition uses very few colors. According to the IJF's history pages, adults have worn white for the lower kyu grades and brown from 3rd to 1st kyu since 1913. Children's belts can differ.
- United Kingdom. British Judo's senior kyu syllabus runs red (6th kyu) → yellow → orange → green → blue → brown. Juniors follow a separate mon grade system with more steps.
- Canada. Judo Canada uses white → yellow → orange → green → blue → brown. Two-color steps sit in between (white-yellow, yellow-orange and so on). Clubs administer the kyu grades under the national syllabus.
- France. White → yellow → orange → green → blue → brown. Children also get half belts.
- United States. Several organizations issue judo ranks, and their charts are not identical. Ask your club which body it grades under.
So if your club gives out a red belt to beginners, or skips orange, nothing is wrong. Check your own federation's syllabus before comparing with a friend in another country.
Kids' grades and half belts
A seven-year-old who waits two seasons to go from white to yellow tends to lose interest. That's why many federations split the kyu grades into smaller steps for children. Some use two-color belts like white-yellow or orange-green. Others add stripes or tabs on the belt, or run a separate junior scheme like the British mon grades.
For the youngest groups, the grade mostly rewards attendance and effort. Our guide to judo for toddlers explains how those classes work. Adults usually skip the half steps and go straight from one full color to the next. If you're starting at 30 or 40, see judo for adult beginners.
Who decides when you move up?
For kyu grades, it's usually your coach, working from the federation's syllabus. Some clubs hold formal grading sessions with a demonstration in front of the group. Others hand over the new belt at the end of a regular class. The coach watches your technique in uchi-komi, your breakfalls, your attitude in randori and your respect for the judo moral code.
Black belt is a different process. The 1st dan is awarded by the national federation (or the Kodokan in Japan), usually through a formal grading with kata, technical demonstration and sometimes competition results. The steps are covered in the judo black belt grading.
What each color usually covers on the mat
No single syllabus applies everywhere. Most coaches build their progression from the gokyo, the Kodokan classification of throws, plus the groundwork families. This is what you'll typically see:
- White: falling safely with ukemi, bowing, holding the judogi.
- Yellow: first throws like o-soto-gari (major outer reap) and the first hold-down, kesa-gatame.
- Orange: inner reaps and shoulder throws.
- Green: big hip and leg throws, first combinations.
- Blue: a personal attacking system and competition.
- Brown: preparing for 1st dan, including kata.
Each belt page goes into the typical syllabus, what the coach looks for and the common mistakes at that stage.
Above black belt: red-and-white and red
The first five dan grades are worn on a black belt. From 6th to 8th dan, a judoka may wear the red-and-white belt with alternating panels. 9th and 10th dan wear the red belt. These grades recognize a lifetime of teaching and service to judo. Nobody earns them by winning fights.
The 10th dan has been awarded only a handful of times in Kodokan history. If you see a red-and-white belt at a seminar, that person has usually been training and teaching for more than thirty years.
How judo belts compare with BJJ belts
Brazilian jiu-jitsu has only five main adult belts: white, blue, purple, brown and black. Stripes mark progress within each belt. A BJJ blue belt has little in common with a judo blue belt and usually takes much longer to earn. The full comparison is on our page about BJJ belts.
Wearing your belt properly
A belt that comes undone every thirty seconds in randori annoys everyone, the referee included. Tying a judo belt takes two minutes to learn and keeps both ends the same length.
One last piece of coaching advice. If you want to know where you stand between gradings, look less at the color and more at your randori. The day your attacks start dropping partners of your own size, the next belt is usually close.