Senior Grades

The senior grades are split into Kyu and Dan grades. Those who hold kyu grades are collectively called the Mudansha (literally person without dan) and those who hold dan grades are collectively called the Yudansha (literally person who has dan).

Kyu

The 6 kyu grades apply to seniors from age 16 (and possibly juniors from age 14.)

GradeBelt Colour
6th kyuRed
5th kyuYellow
4th kyuOrange
3rd kyuGreen
2nd kyuBlue
1st kyuBrown

Updated British Judo Kyu Grade Syllabus Oct 2023

The theory content for all coloured belts, whether mon or kyu grades, is the same, so the following single page pictorial guides show everything you need to know :-

Red 6th kyu

Yellow 5th kyu

Orange 4th kyu

Green 3rd kyu

Blue 2nd kyu

Brown 1st kyu

Dan

There are 10 dan grades, with 1st through 5th dan being gained through either competitive or technical promotion and are awarded by the British Judo Association.

The ‘High Grades’, 6th dan and above, are awarded by the British Judo Association (6th), the European Judo Union (7th) and the International Judo Federation (8th, 9th and 10th).

GradeBelt ColourJapanese Name
1st danBlackShodan
2nd danBlackNidan
3rd danBlackSandan
4th danBlackYondan
5th danBlackGodan
6th danRed and white blocksRokudan
7th danRed and white blocksShichidan
8th danRed and white blocksHachidan
9th danRedKudan
10th danRedJudan

Dan Grading Requirements.pdf

Dan Grade Promotion Syllabus.pdf

Competitive Dan Grade Theory Sheet.pdf

Technical Dan Grade Theory Sheet.pdf

Technical Dan Grade Guidelines.pdf

Guidelines for Kata.pdf