Rank Stripes or just plan Black Belt

[TallAdam85]

Hey just wondering what people like better Do u like to have ur name and rank on your black belt or just ur name I am a fan of Name on One Side in english with stripes on the other Or just plan black belt with Name on one side in english only

what about you?

[pstarr]

We have the name of the system (Yilichuan) in Chinese on one end and the grade (in Chinese characters, not stripes) on the other.

[tsdclaflin]

Plain black, with stripes if rank requires. 1 Dan, no stripe.

[Brandon Fisher]

Black Belt embroidered with the kanji for Seijitsu Shin Do on one end and the persons name on the other in katakana if a english name. If they are japanese and their name translates into kanji it would be in kanji.

[MJS]

Hey just wondering what people like better Do u like to have ur name and rank on your black belt or just ur name I am a fan of Name on One Side in english with stripes on the other Or just plan black belt with Name on one side in english only

what about you?

My current belt has my last name on one side with stripes on both.

Mike

[gixxershane]

i just got my first degree black belt on friday 6-16-2006.. i have a red stripe on each tip. :D

[Kreth]

I have my name in katakana on one side, and the kanji for "Bujinkan Dojo" on the other.

[Grenadier]

I've had both.

My first Karate school used a single white stripe for shodan, and gave you an additional stripe for each rank beyond shodan. We were a poor school, and used medical tape as our stripes. :)

My Tae Kwon Do school used plain black, no stripes, but once you became Jogyonim (or higher), you could get your name embroidered (in Hangul, as best as the translation would allow) on one side.

My next Karate schools used plain black, no stripes. Those who were Renshi or greater, would get their names embroidered on one side (in Katakana), and the name of the system embroidered (in Kanji) on the other, and those same individuals had the option of using different colored (red and white) belts during formal events.

My current school uses no stripes, but you are allowed to have your name embroidered (in Katakana) on one side, and the system name (in Kanji) on the other side. One yudansha's belt is indistinguishable from another's, except for the name. That, and the amount of wear and tear...

[Brother John]

Plain black, with stripes if rank requires. 1 Dan, no stripe.
I'm with Claflin on this one.
Not a big fan of the "Name" on the belt. Motto? Ok. Name of the system? Ok...
not the name. If the people in my dojo/gym don't know my name.....then I'm doing something wrong (as I believe, to one degree or the other Every Shodan is an instructor). Why would I need my name on it??? Never made sense to me.
But to each his own.

I'm even drawn about each Black Belt needing to wear their stripes. I've heard arguments for and against it. I think I lean toward wearing them, but I respect those who chose not to for philosophical reasons. (humility...etc.) But I do feel that the head instructor of a school/dojo should wear their rank.

Your Brother
John

[Kacey]

I have several belts, all gifts from my instructor - the one I usually wear has rank stripes, as that is the standard for our association. One is plain (a spare - you never know when you might stupidly misplace your belt when cleaning out your gym bag... at least, I don't know... so I keep a plain one in my locker), and one has my name and rank embroidered on one end, and TKD in Korean on the other - a "dress" belt, if you will, used primarily for large-scale functions where there people around who don't know each other - mostly tournaments and seminars that include people from other organizations - the embroidery on the belt is larger and easier to read than most name tags :)

[Cirdan]

I am no BB, however most of my instructors in karate and JJ wear plain black belts. A few have their name and/or style embroirdered in gold. Rank stripes, either narrow golden ones or red tape, are used by one or two. The JJ 5th dans sometimes use red/black belts.

Personally I see no need for this and if I ever make it to black belt I will use a plain one.
Like a gi with too many patches it draws the attention away from where it should be, the art.

[ginshun]

I am personally not a black belt either, but I think that putting names and stripes and kanji and whtever on a belt makes it look pretty hokey.

I'd go with just plain black, no writing or stripes of any kind.

[Brother John]

Personally I see no need for this and if I ever make it to black belt I will use a plain one.
Like a gi with too many patches it draws the attention away from where it should be, the art.
I know folks who agree with this view. I understand it too. BUT: If you take into mind that your rank was an honor bestowed on you by your instructor....then wear the rank they give you.
simple I guess.

Like I said, I guess I could go either way.

Your Brother
John

[fnorfurfoot]

Black belts in my system have red stripes on both ends of the belt. No embroidered names. But that is just preference. There is no rule against having something written on the belt. Going through the ranks we used to sew stripes made out of velvet (black for the brown belts and red for the black). When I opened my own school I bought myself a new belt and had the stripes embroidered on the tips. I personally think that it looks better. When I would go back to my instructor's school there were a number of Black Belts who had red electrical tape on their belts. That annoyed me. Have some pride in your belt.

[Cirdan]

I know folks who agree with this view. I understand it too. BUT: If you take into mind that your rank was an honor bestowed on you by your instructor....then wear the rank they give you.
simple I guess.


I am not quite sure I understand what you mean..
In the dojo I will of course wear whatever is required, but extras on black belts tend to be optional if allowed.

[IcemanSK]

My preference is for my name embroidered in Korean on 1 end & the art on the other. I'm not a fan of stripes. But my instructor has us wear name in English & rank stripes on one end & the art in Korean on the other. It's even fancier for masters & grandmasters. I honor my instructor & his choice of belt & uniform.

[Flying Crane]

plain black, no matter what the level. No stripes, no embroidery, nothing.

[trueaspirer]

My bb has my name in english and the dan stripes on one side, while the other side has the name of the association in english and korean on the other with the other set of stripes.

[Kenpodoc]

I prefer plain black, no name, no stripes. I wear 2 red stripes formally out of respect to my instructor. The Black and stripes also gets me better partners at seminars. My uniform of choice is loose pants, a Tee shirt and no belt.

Jeff

[Jimi]

When I used to wear a belt more frequently, I wore a plain black belt. When I acheived 3rd (Sandan) Dan, the belt was presented to me already embroidered with my name on one end and tae kwon do w/ 3 stripes on the other. The belt that I recieved as a gift from Henry Sotelo had some sort of kanji on one side ( I belive it stands for karate)w/ a small round patch w/ a Kenpo K on it stitched to the belt. There are 2 red and white ribbons (white then red then white again for each ribbon) stitched to the same end of the belt. Nothing on the other end. A strange note to that is that one of the ribbons is placed over 1 of the 2 kanji on the belt, I could see the underside of the kanjis stitching, but can not make it out without removing the ribbon. I find that strange. I agree to a point with some that a name need not be on the belt, but at times I can see the need to identify ownership, as some people will steal a belt rank and claim it as their own.

[still learning]

Hello, Because we belong to a large organizations...our Professor set the rules of the belts worn.

For all black belt 1st degree and up..the belts have chinese lettering, with a one stripe. Ever time you advance you get a new belt and another stripe added. Fouth degrees also get a thin red band on the top and bottom of the whole belts,chinese lettering,and 4 stripes or more.

Our 8th degrees and up the belts are red and white blocks on the whole belts(like in Judo style).

Every school will have there own rules. Indepentents can do what ever they want too.

So it is rare to see worm out belts in our schools...new belts everytime. There is a time periods for testing (3-5 years or more before testing). Your Instructors makes the recommendations and the Professor has to agree for testing. All persons testing for there Black Belts must be done with the Professor present. BB test are giving twice a year. .......Aloha

[stone_dragone]

Partial exerpt from my handbook...

Yudansha may wear rank stripes or not, at their discretion

Shodan Black with 1 blood stripe
Nidan Black with 2 blood stripes
Sandan Black with 3 blood stripes
Yodan Black/Red/White, white on top or all black w/ 4 blood stripes 4 years
Godan Black/Red/White, red on top or all black w/5 blood stripes
Rokudan Red and White banded
Nanadan Red and White banded

Hachidan Red and Black banded
Kudan Red and Black banded
Judan All Red with Black trim

my 2 cents

[Paul B]

All black. I know my name and my rank and what Art I study..that's all that need to know.:)

If I received one as a gift it would probably go in the closet to reside in neglect along with all of my certs.

[stone_dragone]

Partial exerpt from my handbook..


Yudansha may wear rank stripes or not, at their discretion



I wrote this over half a year ago, but I thought I'd share something that I have noticed recently.

I used to wear stripes on my belt, but decided shortly before writing the above post and ammending my handbook to forego wearing stripes personally. This decision came after numerous conversations on this forum.

I have noticed that when I did wear stripes, my focus shifted frequently to my next promotion and not on what I was training at the time (even when I was teaching, sadly). Now, however, since I have stopped wearing stripes, my attention never goes to the thing tied around my waist and entirely to my training.

This subject came up when someone inquired about my rank and I had to think about it for a few seconds (as opposed to "well I'm this and I'll test for this in X-years/months").

Subsequently, I have noticed much improvement since becoming aware of the previous negative focus.

Has anyone else experienced a shift of this nature?

[Brandon Fisher]

I have never worn rank on my black belts only my style and name in kanji and katakana. I think that has a lot to do with my feeling about rank.

[IWishToLearn]

I have several black belts, the one I usually wear is the one from my instructors I received with my last promotion.

I'm known for not wearing any rank while I'm teaching, wearing my black belt, sometimes I'll even wear a white belt to teach. It really makes me no difference what the color of the belt is. I've "borrowed" Doc Chap'el's idea of making all belt ranks viewed as honorary. I liken it to a philosophy somebody on this forum has in their sig that states: A belt covers 2" of your ass - it's up to you to cover the rest.

[DavidCC]

My teacher's belt has his name in English on one side, and Kanji for the name of the style on the other end. on sortof the side of his hip are 5 black-on-black stripes that represent 5th degree.

So, the stripes are there but they are not there...

It's not the typical belt for our style. hard to say what it is since we only have a few above 1st. Currently active we have 2 1sts, a 2nd, a 5th and of course Prof. Geary at tenth.

Shodan has name, style.

Nidan has name, style, and 2 red stripes at the tip. Too busy IMHO.

I'm not sure what Prof. Geary wears. Probaly something dipped in gold ROFL

[chrismay101]

At my dojang the black belts have there name, rank and organisation (ITF) for us maybe even style can't be certain don't korean all in gold.

I think that all this may sound alot but it does show they are proud of there rank style and organisation. all this is optional. but in the end each to there own.

[RBaddorf]

In our organization the style is on one end in kanji, and the organization on the other in katakana. Other than that, 1-3 dan are black, 4-6 are black side out, red side in, and 7-9 is red side out, black side in. No stripes. So looking at someone on the floor at a camp or seminar, you know only if they are a black belt, master or grand master from their belt.

[Brandon Fisher]

In our organization the style is on one end in kanji, and the organization on the other in katakana. Other than that, 1-3 dan are black, 4-6 are black side out, red side in, and 7-9 is red side out, black side in. No stripes. So looking at someone on the floor at a camp or seminar, you know only if they are a black belt, master or grand master from their belt.
Are you with Dillman Karate International. If so I also wondered about the black belt rankings with those belts.

[RBaddorf]

Are you with Dillman Karate International. If so I also wondered about the black belt rankings with those belts.
Yes I am. The 4-6 have the kanji and katakana in black on the red side, and the 7-9 have it in red on the black side.

[Brandon Fisher]

Yes I am. The 4-6 have the kanji and katakana in black on the red side, and the 7-9 have it in red on the black side.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[tom fox]

I wear one given to me by a student several years ago. I has my name on one side and stripes on both.
Tom Fox

[Miles]

We have belts with name embroidered on one side and "Miles Taekwondo" on other side in Hangul-no stripes. But, for 2nd dan and above, we just wear plain black.

Miles

[cali_tkdbruin]

I'm a TKD practitioner, and at my dojang our belts have our name in Hangul script on one end, and the name of our dojang and our rank (gold bars) embroided on the other end. I believe the practice of embroiding your particulars is fairly common in the Taekwondo world of martial arts.

To me a black belt with or without the extras such as rank isn't that important to me as much now as when I started training. I really don't need to wear my BB, all of my training partners and fellow students know my accomplishments and experience. I'm no master that's for sure, but to me my black belt is just an accessory to my dobok. The real black belt is inside of you, in your heart. JMHO

[Kyoshi71]

I actually do not like what my system does. We use red stripes for every rank up to Yondan, at which point the person wears a Renshi belt white side up.

I kind of like what the Okinawans do. Name on one side, system on the other side, same belt for all ranks (most people). Renshi certification, one rank bar. Kyoshi certification, two rank bars. Hanshi certification, three rank bars.

[Brandon Fisher]

I like the single stripe denoting the teaching certification also but not all okinawan systems do that. It is very common in Matsubashi Shorin Ryu, Okinawan Kempo and Goju Ryu (not even really goju ryu as much) but many Kobayashi and Matsumura Shorin Ryu organizations use the panel belt and the red belt. However I have not seen the renshi belt used that much as of yet in my research except in the western world.

[Kyoshi71]

I like the single stripe denoting the teaching certification also but not all okinawan systems do that. It is very common in Matsubashi Shorin Ryu, Okinawan Kempo and Goju Ryu (not even really goju ryu as much) but many Kobayashi and Matsumura Shorin Ryu organizations use the panel belt and the red belt. However I have not seen the renshi belt used that much as of yet in my research except in the western world.


You havent seen the Renshi belt outside the western world because we are the only dopes who use it!! Possibly, according to Gojuryu Network, Japanese Goju use it with the black side out? Not too sure. As for the red & white paneled belt, I also think its primary purpose is for special events rather than an every day obi.

[Brandon Fisher]

You havent seen the Renshi belt outside the western world because we are the only dopes who use it!! Possibly, according to Gojuryu Network, Japanese Goju use it with the black side out? Not too sure. As for the red & white paneled belt, I also think its primary purpose is for special events rather than an every day obi.
The special events is true in some cases some organizations do use it in everyday training. However it did start out being used only for special events.

[kuntawguro]

I personally do not like writing on belts or excessive advertisments on uniforms- TO ME it looks tacky. I have seen so many uniforms decked out like military dress uniforms that it just looks tacky.

[RBaddorf]

When I was in Japan, my Chito-Ryu instructor Katoh Sensei wore the red and white panal belt as a 7th Dan. He wore it daily.