In our club we utilise the usual kyu/dan Karate grading system. Ungraded students wear a white belt before taking their first grading examination. There are 9 junior or kyu grades, starting at 9th kyu and working up to 1st kyu. The next grade is 1st dan - black belt. Depending on how hard and regularly you train, you can expect to reach 1st dan level around 3 to 5 years after commencing training. That is, if you are at University for three years, and train regularly and hard you could achieve black belt by the end of your stay at University.

You must train for a minimum of 24 lessons between gradings for 8th kyu to 4th kyu, and 30 lessons between 3rd kyu to 1st kyu. No particular number of sessions is needed in order to go for 9th kyu. The syllabi given here just provide a feel of what you may be asked to do in the grading; examiners may deviate in detail. The syllabi will be revised from time to time.

Follow the links below to see the requirements for each grade: