Here at our martial arts school, our colored belt student’s progress is kept track of by a striping system. This system allows for instructors to keep track of what a student has learned in their martial arts classes to a standard and what they still need to learn at their rank. The system also serves as a great motivator for the students themselves. When reading “rank requirements,” an explanation of each particular stripe is given.

This page is designed to assist with what students are learning in their martial arts classes. It is not a replacement, and although it has all of our curriculum, there is no substitute for learning from an instructor in our martial arts classes. Use this student curriculum page when you have questions or are reviewing on your own.

Definition of Rank Stripes on belts

1. During a student’s time at our facility, earning rank “stripes” on their belt will be a major part of their growth. These stripes are for our colored belt students, not black belt students. They are not just earned through the consistent demonstration of material, but also through effort, maturity, and self control.

   The majority of belt ranks require 4 stripes in order to test. Black belt candidates (black and red colored) earn 6. The amount of time it takes for a student to earn a stripe can greatly vary, as everyone’s growth is different and not every student tests every-time an exam is available.

   The following is to assist and make clear the individual stripes:

   Black and Red stripes- These colored stripes represent the student’s achievement of acceptably learning material. This will cover footwork, basics, self defense, fighting combos, board breaking, weapons, or combative. This depends on the rank as many of these subjects are evaluated differently per rank. Please see your ranking curriculum for your exact requirements.

   Yellow stripe- At the start of a new testing cycle, students that did not test but have stripes from the previous cycle, will have their existing stripes swiped out for a yellow stripe. This stripe serves several purposes. It allows our staff to “reset” a student’s stripes for the new cycle without any loss of achievement. It also communicates to our staff that the student did not test, so that we can be mindful of the student’s growth specifically.

   White stripe- This stripe is used when a student already has a black or red stripe but is no longer demonstrating that material properly. This “warning” stripe is placed over the existing stripe and will be removed when the material is consistent again. If serves as both a warning and form of communication for the student, the family, and the staff. So no, this is not a stripe you want to achieve. However, it is a reminder to students the importance of consistency and tells our staff if a student needs extra attention in a particular area.

BLACK BELTS- Black belts do not earn stripes like colored belt students. Black belts are expected to track their material and be prepared on their own. When you see stripes on a black belt these represent a black belt “degree.”