Below you will find links to PDF files containing the requirements for each kyu in Kishaba Juku. All students, regardless of prior training in other martial arts styles, begin with a white belt in our dojo. There are then eight kyu ranks that can be attained before finally testing for sho-dan, or black belt. Promotions are determined by the student’s instructor with feedback from other Kishaba-juku instructors. Students are expected to be training consistently (at least twice a week) with determined effort and clear improvement.

Rank	Belt	Requirements	Min Time Since Last Promotion	Min Time Training
Ni-dan		PDF	2 Years	5 Years
Sho-dan*		PDF	6 Months	3 Years 6 Months
I-kyu		PDF	4 Months	2 Years 8 Months
Ni-kyu		PDF	4 Months	2 Years 4 Months
San-kyu		PDF	4 Months	2 Years
Yon-kyu		PDF	4 Months	1 Year 8 Months
Go-kyu		PDF	4 Months	1 Year 4 Months
Ro-kyu		PDF	5 Months	1 Year
Shichi-kyu		PDF	4 Months	7 Months
Hachi-kyu		PDF	3 Months	3 Months

*Note: A student must be at least 16 years old to attain Sho-dan. If not, the belt has a white stripe and a reevaluation is done after the student has reached 16.