Bujinkan Boca Dojo
Everything you know about martial arts is about to change!
Progression to Black Belt
The Bujinkan Ranking System
In the Bujinkan Dôjô, Obi (belts) are worn to provide a very broad based, or general idea of a person's skill level. Hatsumi Sensei has indicated that only three (3) colors of belts be used in the Bujinkan. Those colors are white, green (red for women), and black. Each color belt except for white has several different levels or steps. This three (3) color belt system is used exclusively in all Japanese Bujinkan Dôjô, but it is not standard in some Bujinkan Dôjô in the US and abroad.
Some non-Japanese Dôjô have, for one reason or another, decided to add additional colors to Hatsumi Sensei's system of promotions. Some have added a brown belt level to replace the traditional higher level green belt, and yet others have added a wide variety of colors. It is the belief of everyone at the Bujinkan Boca Dôjô that there is no reason for additional colors, for it simply further "segregates" people into rank based categories. Our real goal should be to make everyone friends and training partners or the highest quality, and not divide everyone into a nice need subgroups. Why should be add additional barriers (more belt colors) that separate students from each other. One should be striving to unite out students into a "close knit family". Of course some have argued that additional colors assist the "beginners" in knowing who to ask when they are having problems. This seems like a perfectly reasonable answer, but it has been found that beginners don't need a "belt beacon" to tell them who to seek with questions. They can usually figure this out in a very few classes. In our Dôjô the primary instructor is always on the training floor and available. Most of our green belts are capable enough to answer many questions, of course sometimes they just don't realize it :-).
A "white belt", or Mu Kyû (no Kyû, or rank) is simply someone whom has not yet been promoted in the Bujinkan system. Usually they are persons just starting their training. As a general rule persons are white belts for the first 2 or 3 months of their training, after which they are promoted to the first level of green belt.
A "green belt" indicates that one is basically a beginner and working to learn the core material of this art. There are nine (9) different levels of green belt. The lowest level is 9th Kyû (pronounced "Q") and the highest is 1st Kyû. Kyû means "class" in Japanese. As each student advances through the various levels of green belt they learn more and more of the fundamental principles that underlie all of the Bujinkan training. After passing through each of the Kyû levels one reaches the Dan, or black belt, level.
The first level of black belt is called Shodan and we feel that at this level one has finally grasped the "basic skills" of the Bujinkan, and is now ready to really begin their learning! Now is the time for one to take the vast skills and knowledge they have learned so far and begin to use those "basics" in more advanced levels. This is also the time to really mix the basics together into new skills, and to learn more advanced techniques too. Of course all of these things are taught while persons are in the green belt stages of their training, but by black belt these skills are really beginning to come together and their training really progresses even faster then before.
Contrary to many other styles of martial arts, in the Bujinkan, one's training has really just begun at the level of black belt. This does not mean that new black belts have not learned much up to this point, but at this point most students have now finally learned the "basics" well enough to really begin to grow in leaps and bounds. It's like a farmer preparing a field for planting, a lot of work has to go into the process of "preparing the soil" before even one seed can be planted.
There are fifteen (15) levels of black belt in the Bujinkan. After one achieves the level of Yon Dan (fourth Dan), Hatsumi Sensei is the only person within the Bujinkan that can promote someone to higher Dan levels. After passing the Godan (5th Dan) test (administered by JuGodan under Soke's supervision) he is the only person that can promote this student to higher levels of black belt. Recently, Hatsumi Sensei has also been promoting persons based on recommendations from Senior Instructors that are Judan (10th Dan) and higher. As the size of the Bujinkan increases it becomes harder and harder for Hatsumi Sensei to follow the progress of each and every mid to upper level black belt, so he has been seeking assistance from his Senior Instructors in this matter.
Hatsumi Sensei has also divided the Black belts into three (3) larger subcategories that are listed below.
| Ten | Chi | Jin |
| Shodan (1st) | Godan (5th) | Judan (10th) |
Bujinkan Badges (Patches)
In the Bujinkan, students are encouraged to wear the "Bujin" (Divine Warrior) patch on their Gi. There are actually four (4) different styles of this Bujin patch. The specific style of patch worn is determined by one's rank. A Kyû patch is worn by green belts. A Dan patch is worn by persons from Shodan to Yondan (1st through 4th level black belt). A Shidoshi patch is worn by persons from Godan to Kudan (5th through 9th Dan). And finally, the Shihan patch is worn by persons at Judan or above (10th through 15 Dan). Gold or silver stars are used in conjunction with the various patches to indicate of one's exact rank.
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1st Dan (no stars) | ||
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5th Dan (no stars) |
10th Dan (no stars) |
Hatsumi Sensei has stated that the Happô Hiken will be taught at Judan levels and above. The fifth Dan test shall only be administered by Sôke, although Hatsumi Sensei is now permitting a few of the highest ranking instructors to apply this test while under direct supervision. .