In many types of martial arts, the Japanese system of graduation of the level of skill is adopted to better motivate students. Usually, in order to visually understand the degree of mastery of a particular student, you can just look at his belt. Aikido has not used a color belt system for a long time. To adopt color gradation, borrowing it from judo, was first proposed by French experts in this martial art.
general information
Aikido is a Japanese modern martial art created by Morihei Ueshiba based on the ancient Japanese martial art Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu and other martial arts. Adopting the experience of his teachers who taught various styles of wrestling, Ueshiba gradually developed his vision of martial art. In 1922, he opens his own room, where he begins to teach aikido, trying to combine the spiritual and physical principles. The name most often translates from Japanese as "the path to merging with life energy." Aikido technique is based on the use of the energy of the attacking enemy and ends in a throw or a painful grip.
As in all other national martial arts, adherents are divided into two large groups, students and masters, depending on their skill level. The degree system for students consists of 6 or 10 kyu, for masters - of ten dan. In traditional aikido, color belts were absent, only white and black.
System
In the homeland of martial art, all holders of student degrees were called uniforms, which translates from Japanese as "one who has no dan." Those who managed to reach the first masterful stage and received the first dan are called sedans, from Japanese - “the one who has the first dan”. All the others who received the black belt of Aikido (holders of 2-10 dan) are called yudansa, which means "he who has a dan."
Such exotic terms are usually rarely used, more often, as in many other martial arts, the terms senpai and shihan are used. Senpai is usually the owner of the first or second dan, that is, a person who has extensive experience in martial arts. Sometimes it was called the most experienced student in the group, who could conduct preparatory exercises for novice students, replacing the master. Experienced fighters who received 7 dan and above are called "shihan", and masters above 8 dan can also be called the title of "hansi". In traditional aikido, the higher ones from 8 to 10 are assigned only to direct students of the founder of martial arts, Ueshiba Morihei.
What are the degrees
All masters, holders of dan, regardless of degree, wear a black belt, in aikido they also get the right to wear traditional Japanese hakkama clothes (skirt-pants). Previously, students wore only white belts, now many schools have introduced a system of color belts, borrowed from judo.
For example, at the Real Aikido school, belts go from yellow to black, and the founder himself, Lyubomir Vracharevichech, also has the title of grandmaster. Accordingly, student degrees go from 5 to 1 kyu, and dan - from 1 to 10. This is the most common system, where 5 or 6 kyu, in some styles there are 10 kyu. This is usually due to the presence of children's groups or other specifics.
How is the graduation
Workshops and student ranks have as their goal moral support and encouragement of students. For trainees, this is a symbol that a certain degree of skill has been achieved and a specific level of knowledge has been mastered. "Kyu" is translated from Japanese as "degree" or "rank". Beginner students have the most maximum kyu, that is, 10 or 6, depending on the school.
The highest student level is 1 kyu, for which you can already get 1 dan. Dans, on the contrary, go upward, 1 dan is the very first masterful rank, and 10 dan is the highest (usually only the founders of the style have it).
What belts are
Some followers of aikido consider the system of using colored belts to be harmful. Since they, in their opinion, contribute to the fact that entertainment becomes more important than the effectiveness of martial art. Moreover, they are used mainly by children and adolescents, as well as in sports tournaments.
In modern martial arts, even experienced instructors can get confused in the variety of color belts and stripes. Correspondence of kyu and belt in aikido can be different. In some aikido schools, the brown belt is 1-2 grades, while in others, red is also distinguished. Therefore, it is important to know that the darker the belt, the higher the skill. Younger kyu begin with a white belt, followed by yellow, orange, green and blue.