Gōdō Martial Arts operates on traditional values, these include grade progression. We do not inflate the grades by increasing the number of belts. This adds no value to the martial artist and only serves to increase revenue in the form of gradings.
We operate on a 10 belt (Kyu) system:
1st Dan or ‘Shodan’ can be depicted with one gold or red bar at the end of the black belt.
Junior 1st Dan or ‘Shodan-Ho’ is a provisional grade and depicted by the addition of one white bar to the end of the black belt.
Each subsequent Dan grade can apply a further bar to the end of the black belt.
