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Paul Fenech Sensei teaches a class in the Randwick Dojo

Grading

As a learn more Karate-Do you will earn different ranks. To progress to the next rank you must undergo and examination, or "grading". There are 23 possible gradings, the first 17 of which are described in this section.

There are several different coloured belts which represent the ranks, including the famous "black belt".

For students under the age of 16, four extra "junior" ranks are inserted between purple belt and brown belt, to lengthen the time it takes to achieve black belt. This ensures that younger students truely learn the discipline and self-control necessary.

Listed below, from beginner to master, are the ranks recognised by Shotokan Karate:

  1. 9th Kyu
  2. 8th Kyu
  3. 7th Kyu
  4. 6th Kyu
  5. 5th Kyu
  6. 4th Kyu
  7. Junior One (under age 16 only)
  8. Junior Two (under age 16 only)
  9. Junior Three (under age 16 only)
  10. Junior Four (under age 16 only)
  11. 3rd Kyu
  12. 2nd Kyu
  13. 1st Kyu
  14. Shodan (1st Dan)
  15. Nidan (2nd Dan)
  16. Sandan (3rd Dan)
  17. Yondan (4th Dan). The rank held by our Chief Instructor Paul Fenech Sensei.
  18. Godan (5th Dan)
  19. Rokudan (6th Dan). The rank held by our patron, the late Frank Nowak Sensei.
  20. Schichidan (7th Dan)
  21. Hachidan (8th Dan)
  22. Kudan (9th Dan)
  23. Judan (10th Dan)

Here is a list of our students and which rank they hold.

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A student’s journey

Whilst few karate students would say that getting a black belt was the primary reason they joined a dojo, earning a black belt may indeed be the result of all their years of effort. All they have to do is train long enough, and hard enough.

In Shotokan karate a black belt or Dan ranking is the first truly significant plateau obtained by a student. It is a individual achievement that they will remember for the rest of their life, and even though karate is not a team sport, it is virtually impossible for any student to reach the black belt level without constantly training in the company of others. Unfortunately far too many students once having reached the rank of Shodan consider this to be the end of their journey and so they cease their karate training.

In fact quite the opposite is true. A black belt is only the beginning, all be it a very large first step if you will, down a truly long and wonderous path for those who have courage and the discipline to walk it.

Upon receiving their black belt a karate student will be awarded the title of sempai (assistant teacher). At this point in their training the new sempai will find that they will be expected to take on a more formal leadership role within the dojo, leading by example from the front row, constantly encouraging the junior students, while at the same time re-affirming their own commitment, and seeking to expand the limits of their own horizon by looking for previously unseen meaning in all of the basic techniques and katas that they have learnt so far.

This is not as simple as it sounds. Indeed it is only through a lifetime of conscientious training that the tightly held secrets of basic Shotokan techniques and katas will finally be revealed to those who desire them. Getting your black belt is definitely not a time for quiting or winding down.

It has been said that life is truly a circle. The same can be said for a student’s journey down the Shotokan road. Starting out wearing a white belt made of cotton, the student rises up through the ten kyu (coloured belts) ranks until they find themselves on the threshold of their Shodan grading. Finally upon passing their grading they are a black belt at last. They will now wear this colour of belt for the remainder of their martial arts career, and when the years have passed and their belt has been tied and untied a countless number of times, the student will look down one day late in life and notice that all the black colouring has ultimately worn off.

Their belt is now white again.

The beginner has now become the master; after a lifetime of training they have in the end come to see the truth, that they have in fact always been just a white belt. The colour itself was always just an illusion, something to feed their ego until, when after many years of physical, mental and spiritual training, the time came when ego no longer mattered.

For in the art of Shotokan karate it is not the colour of the belt around your waist that makes you a success, what does make you a success, however, is how well and how true you pass on the knowledge that you have come to possess to those who follow you down the Shotokan road.

If you can ever truly come to that realization then your circle will indeed be complete.

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The way of the Samurai

In addition to the ten Dan levels listed above, three Samurai titles can be awarded in Shotokan karate:

Renshi
"A person who has mastered oneself". This person is considered an expert instructor. Renshi are no longer one of the many and is usually given at Yodan (4th Dan) or Godan (5th Dan). It is not unusual for a Renshi to be over 50 years old before this title is ever conferred upon them.
Kyoshi
"Knowledgeable person". Usually this title is conferred at Rokudan (6th Dan) or Shichidan (7th Dan). It is not unusual for a Kyoshi to be over 60 years old before this title is ever conferred upon them.
Hanshi
"Master". A title given to the oldest and most senior black belt, usually the head of an individual karate organization, someone who has studied the art of karate for most of their lifetime. This rank signifies their true understanding of the art. It is not uncommon for a Hanshi to be well over 70 or 80 years of age before this title is ever conferred upon them.
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