Shito-Ryu is among the world’s most famous martial arts, with its roots in west Japan. The Shito Ryu is a blend of names from the two critical historical karate masters.
This sub-karate form is mainly called the blended martial art form as it features adopted katas and styles.
Due to this, Shito Ryu blends two forms of hard and soft, external and internal martial arts compiled and presented as martial arts.
Additionally, Shito-Ryu’s strong stands mirror the ancient style of Shuri-te, whereas it inherits circular movements from the Nahate style.
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Shito-Ryu Karate Belt holder Ranking
Like any other form of karate, Shito-Ryu practitioners are entitled to belt holders. The belt ranking is awarded systematically to students according to their capabilities to grasp Shito-Ryu karate techniques.
In other words, in Shito-Ryu Karate, students graduate from one level to another. These levels are meant to learn specific techniques.
For instance, if the student grasps a particular style or level of Shito-Ryu, he is awarded and moves to the next training level until they train all techniques in this martial art.
The awarding is all about giving unique belts to students. These belts are of different colors, ranging from white to black.
The belts could have unique decorations or designs that denote a particular rank. For example, the same color belts may contain some strips that appear at particular times to denote a student’s progress in training.
Once the practitioners reach the top level, each will be awarded a black belt in Shito-Ryu. Such awards are mainly done at the institute level.
The black belt is termed as highly proficient in the basic principles and techniques of Shito-Ryu. Such honor has been associated with training in this martial art for years.
Belt holder ranking in Shito-Ryu karate begins from level 9th Kyu. It is a beginner level and means familiarizing what it means with Shito-Ryu karate.
Shito-Ryu Karate Belt system order
9th Kyo
This is the first level and lowest belt to be graded in Shito-Ryu karate. For the practitioner to be awarded this grade, they must participate in the grading system by undergoing a minimum of 3 weeks of training.
The practitioner should be able to perform taikyoku Jodan karata. Once the students qualify, they will be awarded a white belt striped with a yellow tip.
8th Kyo
8th Kyo is the second level awarding in Shito-Ryu karate training. After being able to perform taikyoku Jodan Karata, Practitioners will proceed to the next level of training.
This 2nd level will require trainers to undergo a minimum of two months of training. By the end of this training, the practitioner should be able to perform taikyoku Chudan karate.
Having been able to perform taikyoku Chudan, the practitioner will be awarded a Yellow belt.
7th Kyo
This is the third level and requires Shito-Ryu karate practitioners to train for not less than four months and have passed through the 9th and 8th Kyo levels.
At the end of this level of training, the practitioner should be able to perform taikyoku Gedan karate, and they will be awarded an Orange belt.
6th Kyo
The practitioner at this level will train for not less than nine months. The training skills taught here are Gekisai Ichi.
After grasping and being able to perform Gekisai Ichi skills, the practitioner will be awarded a green colored belt.
To reach this level, practitioners should perform previous techniques while making moves in stances.
5th Kyo
Shito-Ryu karate students will be awarded a blue belt if they can perform Gekisai Ni karata or skills. Such skills are arranged to be trained for not less than fifteen months.
The requirements include mastery of moves like Kihon, zenkutsu dachi, kokutsu dachi, Kiba dachi and kicks, and one-step sparring.
4th Kyo
After the 5th Kyo level, the practitioner will graduate to the 4th Kyo level. This level will take the student not less than two years of training.
The practitioner will be able to perform Saifa karata or skills and then be awarded a purple belt.
3rd Kyo
The student in the 3rd Kyo level will be awarded a brown belt after being able to perform Gekisai Ichi combined with Saifa.
This level of training goes not less than 2.5 years. The minimum training period for a practitioner from the 4th kyu is three months.
Practitioners should perform kata using the right tempo, power transmission, and continuation. At this level, practitioners should master Kumite and use it accurately in offense while demonstrating effective counterattack and defense.
2nd Kyo
In this grading, a practitioner should train for a minimum of three years training about the combination of Gekisai Ichi, Ni, and Saifa. The student will then be awarded a brown plus black tip belt.
1st Kyo
1st Kyo is the second-highest training level for the practitioner to master Gekisai Ichi + Ni/Saifa skills. This grading requires the student to train for not less than 3.5 years. The student will be awarded brown and two black tip belts.
Shodan
Shodan is the highest grading where trainees must have undergone a minimum of four years of training in Shito-Ryu karate.
At this grading, the student should be able to perform Sanchin Karate Skills; then, they will be entitled to black belt holders.
The student should also be aging at a minimum of 13 years to qualify for this grading. The first-degree black belt is not the only goal for training but is just the beginning of the entire study.
It is what shows that one is ready to learn more about martial arts as it teaches just the basics.
Conclusion
Shito-Ryu Karate is a popular form of martial art that is commonly learned in the karate series. While learning it is easy, it needs focus and dedication.
This karate style features easy techniques and stances even for newbies. It has a variety of forms, but its basic ones are five.
