For most disciplines, a Martial Arts Belt is an important part of martial arts equipment. The belt does far more than hold up your pants. Don't get me wrong, it does do just that. If the discipline uses a top or jacket, it will hold that as well. Some belts are used as weapons to choke or disarm an opponent. However, more important than the purely functional aspect of the belt, it has a far deeper and more significant purpose.

The belt is more importantly used to show a student's level of achievement. There are very few disciplines that do not use the white belt to signify a novice and a black belt to identify a master. This is where most agreements end. I have been to numerous schools and not one of them agrees upon meaning or the progression of colors, beyond white and black. Some schools even use multi=colored, or partially colored belts to show achievement.

Each tradition will have its own idea as to the color progression and significance of that color. While wearing the traditional karate uniform, one school that I attended for a short period of time, used the following idea for their belt progression:

White - Birth. Absence of all colors. Uncolored by anything.

Yellow- Sun. A life giving force and the beginning of growth and change.

Green- Growth. Student is taking form with the new knowledge

Red- Heat. Refining their skills in the heat of training

Black- A new beginning. The combination of all the colors. The student has achieved a level in which they can train themselves and others.

Most martial arts disciplines agree that the black belt is really just the beginning of understanding the art. Once a black belt is reached, the student has a true understanding of the meaning and fundamentals, but is only just truly starting their quest for mastery. As a matter of fact, mastery may never be achieved, but it is something to be strived for. As has been discussed, whether it is a belt of sash, one of the most basic of all martial arts supplies is the belt. Its use and meaning is quite important to the world to practitioners of almost every discipline.

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