Junior Grades

The junior grading system is split into Kai (5-7yrs) and Mon (8-15yrs) grades. Gradings are not competitive in any way and are a measure of a judoka’s experience, knowledge and understanding, as opposed to fighting ability. All junior grades can be tested within the club by suitably qualified coaches.

Kai

The 9 kai grades apply to juniors from ages 5 to 7. A kai grade belt is white with a coloured stripe along its length. Upon turning 8 years old, kai grades can transfer into the mon grading system at a higher level than they would do starting from scratch.

GradeBelt Colour
1st kaiWhite with red stripe
2nd kaiWhite with yellow stripe
3rd kaiWhite with orange stripe
4th kaiWhite with green stripe
5th kaiWhite with blue stripe
6th kaiWhite with purple stripe
7th kaiWhite with brown stripe
8th kaiWhite with black stripe
9th kaiRed with white stripe

1st to 3rd Kai Promotion Syllabus.pdf

4th to 6th Kai Promotion Syllabus.pdf

7th to 9th Kai Promotion Syllabus.pdf

Mon

The 18 mon grades apply to juniors from ages 8 to 15. There are 6 coloured belts and 3 grades within each colour. Coloured tabs at one end of the belt indicate the specific grade.

GradeBelt ColourNumber of Tabs
1st monRed1
2nd monRed2
3rd monRed3
4th monYellow1
5th monYellow2
6th monYellow3
7th monOrange1
8th monOrange2
9th monOrange3
10th monGreen1
11th monGreen2
12th monGreen3
13th monBlue1
14th monBlue2
15th monBlue3
16th monBrown1
17th monBrown2
18th monBrown3

Transfer from a mon to a kyu (adult) grade can happen from ages 14-16 and normally results in the same colour belt. The exception being brown belts who must achieve their 18th and final mon grade in order to be awarding their adult 1st kyu brown belt grade. This allows them to enter competitive Dan (black-belt) gradings, but a Dan grade can only be awarded from the age of 15.

Mon Grade Promotion Syllabus.pdf

The following posters neatly squeeze all the theory requirements for each belt colour into handy single page pictorial guides.