How are karate divided into levels?

First paragraph: (Must be over 16 years old).

Second Dan: Those who have obtained the first Dan (must be over 16 years old).

Three-dan: Those who have obtained the second-dan (must be over 16 years old).

Fourth Dan: Those who have obtained the Third Dan for more than 3 years (over 30 years old, with more than 11 years of experience).

Fifth Dan: Those who have obtained the Fourth Dan for more than 4 years (over 35 years old, with more than 16 years of experience).

Sixth Dan: Those who have obtained the fifth Dan for more than 5 years (over 41 years old, with more than 21 years of experience).

Seven-dan: Those who have obtained the sixth-dan and have passed it for more than 6 years (over 48 years old, with more than 28 years of experience).

Eight-dan: Those who have obtained the seventh-dan and have passed it for more than 7 years (over 58 years old, with more than 38 years of experience).

Nine-dan: Those who have obtained the eighth-dan and have passed it for more than 8 years (over 60 years old).

Jin-dan: Those who have obtained Jiu-dan for more than 9 years (over 70 years old).

Extended information

Levels

Karate’s dan level system and ribbon system were created with reference to Judo. The karate dan system was issued by Gichin Funakoshi in 1924 and was the earliest karate dan system in history.

Like Judo, Karate is divided into black belts and white belts. Black belts are for advanced students, and white belts are for beginners. Between black belt and white belt (levels 1 to 3), most schools have tea belts. Some schools originally had green, yellow, cyan and other color bands, but today they have become common. Dan levels and ribbons vary among each school. The traditional karate level is recognized by the All Japan Karate Federation.

The titles of karate include fanshi, priest (daoshi) and sashimi, which were first awarded by the Dai Nippon Budokukai. After Japan surrendered in 1945, it was disbanded under the orders of the United Nations Supreme Commander General Headquarters (GHQ/SCAP). Thereafter, each school or sect will grant it on its own.

Teaching Methods

During the Ryukyu Kingdom era, teaching of karate (karate) was conducted in secret, often in the dead of night or in sparsely populated locations (such as cemeteries) conduct. This was to avoid being discovered by the Satsuma feudal lords. Therefore, there was no dojo at that time and the number of masters and disciples was very small.

Different from the Japanese martial arts of the same period, the Ryukyu martial arts represented by karate do not have specialized martial arts books, but are passed down through word of mouth and actual drills. Legend has it that it took three years to learn each kata at the time. The Ryukyu era used bound kumite rather than the free kumite of the early 20th century, so training must be done in actual combat.

After the Meiji period, karate professors changed drastically. Various middle schools and normal schools in Okinawa Prefecture began to teach karate publicly, with one-on-one practice between brothers. Under the command of the coach, a large number of apprentices practice the same style at the same time. Itosu Anheng created the Heian style during this period.

After entering the Taisho era, the Okinawa Tangote Club was established in Naha. At that time, everyone in Okinawa's karate joined the club and made the first effort to jointly study and practice karate. Also, Funakoshi Gichin and Motobu Toki published the first research book in the history of karate during this period. After the Showa era, the names of karate techniques began to appear, books were published one after another, research on kumite continued to be in-depth, and efforts were made to try it out. The dan level system and ribbon system of karate were recognized, and the practice system was gradually rationalized. Karate masters established their own dojos one after another to teach more disciples.

However, with the modernization of karate, the introduction of Western body movements and movement theories caused karate practitioners to reflect. Nowadays, there is a wave of re-understanding and re-evaluation of ancient karate and Okinawan karate.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Karate (a martial art originated in the Ryukyu region)