The boy reliably informs me that ninjutsu (in contrast) has only 4 belt colours - white, green, brown, black. The reasoning is rather cute: ninjutsu training is traditionally outdoors, and the different coloured belts are all the same belt (which, unlike the uniform, you don't wash). You begin with a white belt, which is stained green by the grass as you learn (and are thrown/hit the ground, presumably). As you progress, the green grass stains are replaced by brown staining, and finally the belt becomes blackened over the years - so belt progressions make sense, colour-wise. It is, however, a very wide difference in skill level between all four belts, hence the other colours for intermediate belts in other martial arts forms.
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Date: 2004-09-22 10:49 pm (UTC)The boy reliably informs me that ninjutsu (in contrast) has only 4 belt colours - white, green, brown, black. The reasoning is rather cute: ninjutsu training is traditionally outdoors, and the different coloured belts are all the same belt (which, unlike the uniform, you don't wash). You begin with a white belt, which is stained green by the grass as you learn (and are thrown/hit the ground, presumably). As you progress, the green grass stains are replaced by brown staining, and finally the belt becomes blackened over the years - so belt progressions make sense, colour-wise. It is, however, a very wide difference in skill level between all four belts, hence the other colours for intermediate belts in other martial arts forms.
Just a bit of trivia. *grin*