ANDERSON BUSHI-KAI Red Hill Dojo

The Belt ranking system in Anderson Bushi Kai (ABK), is the Kyu/Dan ranking system that many practitioners of Japanese martial arts will be readily familiar with. Moving down the ladder from 10th Kyu to 1st Kyu and then moving up the Dan ranking from Shodan or "1st Dan" to 8th, 9th or 10th Dan.

The grading requirements for ABK encompass the elements of mind, body and spirit with the goal to unite these three elements. As a result, all of these elements are tested at each and every grading. As a student progresses though the ranks, each grading they undertake requires a bit more physical fitness, a bit more focus and a bit more dedication. As the intensity of the gradings only increases incrementally each time, by the time a student looks back they will be surprised just how far they have come and how their confidence, physicality and attitude have improved.

All students start out wearing a White Belt, this symbolises pure untrained potential. As a student progresses in their training and becomes more accomplished the belt for each grading becomes darker and darker all the way up to Black Belt.

It is thought that traditionally the white sash/belt that practitioners wore gradually became darker over the years with sweat and grime and blood etc and this concept was the basis for the modern belt ranking systems.

All students develop at different speeds due to their own individual circumstances. Some natural athletes with high dedication may achieve Shodan in under two years while another may take several years. As long as you are growing and learning all the time it doesn’t matter.

Go to this page to see videos of all the Grade Kata’s and the basic strikes, Blocks and stances etc.

Click Here to learn how to tie your Gi and your Belt (or scroll to bottom of this page)

belt ranking and learning

9th Kyu (White Belt Blue Bar)

At this rank students will have a basic understanding of kicking, punching and how to stand, while the grade Kata, The Five Attack Yaksuko, gives the beginner a practical Self Defence pattern that they can use if threatened in real life.

8th Kyu (Blue Belt)

9th Kyu (White Belt Blue Bar)

At this rank students will increase their understanding of kicking and punching and the grade Kata, The Punch Routine, teaches them how to attack with combinations of punches.

7th Kyu (Blue Belt Green Bar)

9th Kyu (White Belt Blue Bar)

7th Kyu (Blue Belt Green Bar)

At this rank students will increase their understanding of kicking and punching and the grade Kata, The Kick Routine, teaches them how to attack with combinations of kicks.

6th Kyu (Green Belt)

4th Kyu (Green Belt Double Brown Bar)

7th Kyu (Blue Belt Green Bar)

At this rank students will learn how to block attacks against themselves and the grade Kata, Ido Kihon Waza, teaches them how to step back and defend strongly.

5th Kyu (Green Belt Brown Bar)

4th Kyu (Green Belt Double Brown Bar)

At this rank students will increase their understanding of kicking and punching and the grade Kata, Zuki Gei Waza (Combination Punch Kick Routine), teaches them how to attack with combinations of kicks and punches together.

4th Kyu (Green Belt Double Brown Bar)

At this rank students are learning defences against grabs and the grade Kata, Nahunchin (Iron Horse), teaches them how defend themselves from multiple angles (up to 180o) with a wall behind them.

3rd Kyu (Brown Belt)

1st Kyu (Brown Belt Double Black Bar)

2nd Kyu (Brown Belt Black Bar)

Brown Belt is the stepping off point where students are showing their dedication and are on the journey towards Black Belt, while the grade Kata, Gekasai, teaches them to use multiple angles, stances, strikes and blocks together.

2nd Kyu (Brown Belt Black Bar)

1st Kyu (Brown Belt Double Black Bar)

2nd Kyu (Brown Belt Black Bar)

At this rank students are demonstrating multiple aspects of attack and defence and focus and attitude while the grade Kata, Sanchin, teaches them how control their breathing and generate power and strength from within.

1st Kyu (Brown Belt Double Black Bar)

Again at this rank students are demonstrating multiple aspects of attack and defence and focus and attitude however the grade Kata, Tensho, teaches them how to use relaxed flowing moves to generate energy.

Black Belt and beyond

The next grading is the Shodan-Ho Black Belt. The Black Belt grading may be thought of as being in two parts. The first is the physical, focusing on fitness and endurance and empty hand techniques.
The second (Full Shodan first Dan) is more mental and uses the wooden Bo Staff. These two gradings are usually at least six months apart as a practitioner matures into being a Black Belt.

The Shodan gradings, and beyond, bring the two halves of the Yin/Yang together as the practitioner is now combining both hard and soft techniques and attitudes together in each grade Kata, and more than that, each grade Kata has a particular principle/concept that applies to its performance that goes beyond just the physical moves, and deepens the understanding of the ‘energetic’ principles that the higher rank Kata’s embody (the synergy of Physical, Mental and Spiritual).

Shodan-Ho (Probationary 1st Dan)

At this grading the practitioner knows and demonstrates how to defend themselves (and their loved ones) having become proficient in the weapons of the body (hands, feet, knees, elbows etc) and they start to delve into the “meditation” (deeper understanding) of the grade Kata. The meditation for Seinchin Kata is “to pull in and fight” it is about not giving up your ground while still defending against multiple angles of attack.

Shodan (Full 1st Dan)

Shodan-Ho (Probationary 1st Dan)

Having learned how to project their ‘Ki’ energy into their kicks and punches etc the practitioner now demonstrates how to project beyond their physical body by using the Wooden Bo Staff against an opponent, while the meditation of the grade Kata Saifa is about ‘Broken Balance’, that is using controlled dead weight to disable their opponent.

Nidan (2nd Dan)

Shodan-Ho (Probationary 1st Dan)

Sandan (3rd Dan)

This is the endurance grading of almost non-stop pad work and sparring. It is designed to push a practitioner past where the mind thinks they can’t go and shows them the body has reserves they didn’t know they had. The meditation of the grade Kata Sanserau is about defeating multiple larger opponents by going out and coming back to a ‘centre’ space that you don’t let go of. At Nidan the practitioner now has ‘Blood Tags’ (their name and ABK written in Japanese) embroidered on the ends of their Black belt in red. (name on the left and ABK on the right)

Sandan (3rd Dan)

Yondan (4th Dan)

Sandan (3rd Dan)

At this level the practitioner must move out of the totally physical mindset that has got them to this point (as exemplified in the previous Nidan Endurance Grading) and really delve into situational awareness. They develop the ability to be completely relaxed in ordinary situations but be able instantly ‘switch on’ if threatened, and when the danger is passed to ‘switch off’ again and resume normal life. The meditation of the grade Kata Seisan explores the strategies of handling multiple larger opponents who are right on top of them.

Yondan (4th Dan)

Fourth Dan is another big step away from the Physicality of the earlier gradings. The practitioner is required to demonstrate ability with three weapons (one of them the Katana/Samurai Sword) and to be able to confidently project their energy/persona through the weapons, while the meditation of the grade Kata Shisochin is about the projection and generation of energy through and beyond short explosive techniques.

Godan (5th Dan)

Yondan (4th Dan)

Seipai

How to wear your GI (uniform) & tie your belt

i. Put the jacket on.

ii. Tie the tag on the end of the right side to the tag in the middle of the left side.

iii Tie the tag on the end of the left side to the tag in the middle of the right side.

(The left side of the jacket always covers the right side)

Now tie your belt.

iv. First kneel down onto your right knee, then Fold the belt exactly in half to find the centre

v. Unfold the belt again and place the centre of the belt at your navel.

vi. Wrap the belt around your stomach, making sure that both sides of the belt are even. Wrap the two ends around behind your waist and back to the front.

(As you bring the ends of the belt around to your back, switch hands so you’re now holding the opposite ends, then bring the two ends back around to your front. This part can be a little tricky, especially if you’re just starting out)

vii. Take the right end and fold it over the centre, laying it on the belt over your stomach, then do the same thing to the left end so that they’re crossed over each other directly over your belly button with the left side on top.

viii. Tuck the end that’s on top, underneath all the layers of the belt from the bottom, then pull it up towards the right, directly against your stomach to create a small knot. But not so tight that you can’t move around or breathe.

ix. Take the end of the belt that’s hanging down from underneath and loop it towards the right.

x. Take the end that you previously tucked underneath and pulled up, and tuck it over, then up and through the other (looped) side.

xi. Then simply pull both ends with a quick “snap” to tighten the knot.

xii. Make sure the ends are hanging evenly. If your belt is too tight, you can adjust it by loosening the last knot you just made. Make sure your final knot sits directly in line with your belly button.

Note: the simple maxim to remember is “Left over right, right over left”