10th kyu / no rank, Ju kyu

9th kyu / Ku kyu

8th kyu / Hachi kyu

7th kyu / Sichi kyu

6th kyu / Roku kyu

5th kyu / Go kyu

4th kyu / Yon kyu

3rd kyu / San kyu

2nd kyu / Ni kyu

1st kyu / Ichi kyu

Shodan Ho /  Probationary

Shodan / 1st degree

Jr Rank

Adult Rank

Name

Name

Belt Ranks go by the name Kyu.  Kyu in Japanese means "Class".  

When a student joins the dojo, they are given a white belt and classified as 10th Kyu which means "no rank".

The student's first test will be for 9th kyu and the ninth test will be for 1st kyu. So the lower the number the higher rank.

After 1st kyu, the ranks change from Kyu to Dan ( don ).  Dan in Japanese means "Step".  Dan ranks are all black belt.

Shodan means 1st step or most commonly known in english as 1st degree black belt.

Many instructors say that your karate training starts at black belt hence calling it 1st step.

As you can see in the diagram below, there is rank called Shodan Ho which means "Probationary".

One must wear a probationary blackbelt for one year before given an offical black belt.

All Kyu testing takes place in the Michigan Dojo under state representative Anthony Sorrentino. All Kyu certificates of proficiency come from the California Headquarters and are signed and dated by Shihan Fumio Demura. All Dan testing is conducted by Shihan Fumio Demura in February in the California Headquarters or in August in the Michigan Dojo.