Kung Fu Belt System
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Whether through movies, comic books, or just through conversation, we've all heard of the coveted "black belt" in martial arts... but who understands the process it actually takes to achieve this great honour?
Who knows the different levels within the art of Kung Fu and what each colour signifies and requires of the student? We're going to take a moment to break all of that down for you right here. If you have a specific goal in mind then be sure to have a discussion with us and we will help map out your path and create a proper set of expectations and a timeline. |
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Beginner
Before anything, you are a beginner. In order to receive your White Belt you must train as a beginner for 3-5 hours, which can take just a few days or a couple of weeks. At this early stage of your training you will learn the basics: how to stand, block, kick, punch, and escape simple holds. Introductory movement and breathing techniques will also be taught. You will then perform your White Belt test which takes about half an hour. The most important part of your White Belt test and being a beginner is your attitude. If you have a good attitude, we’ll accept you as a student.
White Belt
As a White Belt you will begin to develop formidable skills. Your confidence, flexibility, strength, posture, and endurance will increase rapidly. By attending group classes, you will see how the beginner blocks and strikes you learned earlier can be applied in real world scenarios. After only a few hours of training, your fighting and self-defense skills will greatly surpass any untrained person. Even though some people are natural fighters, with hard work and the proper guidance you will eventually be able to overcome ANY untrained fighter.
You will learn the Dragon Form at this stage. It builds flexibility, strength, and helps coordinate your body and breathing together while laying the foundation for developing chi. As you make your way towards your Yellow Belt test you will learn the Side Kick, Back Kick, Cat Stances, The 7 Knife Hands, The 5 Horse Stances, and much more, helping you become a great fighter.
You will learn the Dragon Form at this stage. It builds flexibility, strength, and helps coordinate your body and breathing together while laying the foundation for developing chi. As you make your way towards your Yellow Belt test you will learn the Side Kick, Back Kick, Cat Stances, The 7 Knife Hands, The 5 Horse Stances, and much more, helping you become a great fighter.
Yellow Belt
Attaining your Yellow Belt signifies you have worked hard and persevered through the most important — and perhaps hardest — stage of your training. The beginning. For most students their Yellow Belt training is the most memorable training of their martial arts journey and also the most difficult. To this day some of our Black Belt students say their Yellow Belt test was the hardest one of their training, even though the Black Belt test is around eight hours long. Many of our advanced students believe Yellow is the most practical belt because they’re still using the techniques years later, albeit with better accuracy and form.
At this stage you will still have some basics to learn, but you’ve given yourself the solid foundation necessary to progress in the Art. Shortly after achieving their Yellow, some students choose to begin our Advanced Training program which accelerates their progression. As you make your way towards the Orange Belt test you will learn the Front Thrust Kick, The Roundhouse Kick, Spinning and Stiff Swinging Back Kicks, The Six Elbows, The Outside Forearm Block, Nourishing the Kidneys, and Lifting the Breath. And that’s just to name a few. You will also learn the Kempo 1 Form, one of the first combative forms in our system. Though it may seem simple, an advanced student can derive thousands of usable techniques from it.
At this stage you will still have some basics to learn, but you’ve given yourself the solid foundation necessary to progress in the Art. Shortly after achieving their Yellow, some students choose to begin our Advanced Training program which accelerates their progression. As you make your way towards the Orange Belt test you will learn the Front Thrust Kick, The Roundhouse Kick, Spinning and Stiff Swinging Back Kicks, The Six Elbows, The Outside Forearm Block, Nourishing the Kidneys, and Lifting the Breath. And that’s just to name a few. You will also learn the Kempo 1 Form, one of the first combative forms in our system. Though it may seem simple, an advanced student can derive thousands of usable techniques from it.
Orange Belt
You will have the most solid of foundations upon achieving your Orange Belt. You have now learned all the basic blocks, kicks, punches, stances, escapes, takedowns, theory, and other basic principles paving the way for Advanced Training.
As you progress towards the next level — Green Belt — you will learn more forms and advanced techniques, such as timing and deceptive movements. You will learn how to fake out your opponent and deal with high kicks, elbows, and ground attacks. You will also learn the Kempo 2 and Fighting Form 1.
As you progress towards the next level — Green Belt — you will learn more forms and advanced techniques, such as timing and deceptive movements. You will learn how to fake out your opponent and deal with high kicks, elbows, and ground attacks. You will also learn the Kempo 2 and Fighting Form 1.
Green Belt
It is a great achievement to earn your Green Belt. Though most students are focused on looking forward, it does a student good to look back and reflect upon everything they’ve accomplished up to this point. By the time you’re a Green Belt you will be quite an effective fighter. Even though students may have dreams of becoming a Black Belt by this point, they need to remember that their fighting skills are already formidable.
At this stage the student’s mental state becomes a greater focus and the journey within themselves begins. If your ego has not been sufficiently kept in check by now, your education will begin at this belt. Moving towards the next stage in your martial arts journey you will officially learn Stick Form, the 18 Shaolin Motions, Fighting Form 2, the Poison Hands, and many other deadly and advanced techniques.
At this stage the student’s mental state becomes a greater focus and the journey within themselves begins. If your ego has not been sufficiently kept in check by now, your education will begin at this belt. Moving towards the next stage in your martial arts journey you will officially learn Stick Form, the 18 Shaolin Motions, Fighting Form 2, the Poison Hands, and many other deadly and advanced techniques.
Blue Belt
Upon receiving your Blue Belt it will become apparent how much you have learned. The focus now begins to shift from learning new knowledge, to expanding and further deepening your understanding of the knowledge you’ve already accumulated. Though your teacher has been laying the foundation for this eventual moment since the very beginning, discovering that the traditional forms you’ve been learning have dozens of applications will be quite eye-opening.
With our school’s focus and philosophy centred heavily on self-defense, almost all of the applications of the forms you will be learning will start with someone attacking you. Since our forms contain both defensive and offensive motions, you will be expected to show the defensive first and the offensive after. As is the proper way of the Shaolin.
At this stage there is a lot of refinement that comes into effect. Form you thought you knew get re-run through by your teacher. You begin learning the Hung forms and the theory behind defending against multiple attackers. You will also learn the safe way to do sticky hands, arm and leg locks, and full body sweeps and takedowns.
It is at this point in your training where you start learning the counters to the counters. It opens up a world of possibility as you begin to learn the counters to the counters to the counters and so forth and so on.
With our school’s focus and philosophy centred heavily on self-defense, almost all of the applications of the forms you will be learning will start with someone attacking you. Since our forms contain both defensive and offensive motions, you will be expected to show the defensive first and the offensive after. As is the proper way of the Shaolin.
At this stage there is a lot of refinement that comes into effect. Form you thought you knew get re-run through by your teacher. You begin learning the Hung forms and the theory behind defending against multiple attackers. You will also learn the safe way to do sticky hands, arm and leg locks, and full body sweeps and takedowns.
It is at this point in your training where you start learning the counters to the counters. It opens up a world of possibility as you begin to learn the counters to the counters to the counters and so forth and so on.
Brown Belt
You’ve done it. You’ve successfully completed the Advanced Training program. Now your long journey to expert begins. Traditionally this is where the lessons cease, and you start to pass down your knowledge to others. You are now the teacher. We will still offer guidance, but it’s very important that you embrace this privilege and help continue the tradition of Kung Fu by passing down what you’ve learned.
Teaching can be a very enlightening experience. Your students may ask you questions you’ve never considered before, forcing you to become the student once again. When you teach a technique you become fully engaged in the action of the technique, making it much more beneficial than simply practicing. You become more aware of your own bad habits as you work to help others overcome theirs. That discovery allows you to fix things you yourself didn’t even know existed.
As you make your way towards a 2nd Degree Brown Belt you fully immerse yourself in the application side of things, making the forms you’ve learned truly come to life. All the work you’ve put in is really about to pay off as you start to see that infinity is just beyond the doorstep. You’ve constructed a rock solid martial arts foundation, and now you can begin to derive nearly infinite knowledge from it.
Teaching can be a very enlightening experience. Your students may ask you questions you’ve never considered before, forcing you to become the student once again. When you teach a technique you become fully engaged in the action of the technique, making it much more beneficial than simply practicing. You become more aware of your own bad habits as you work to help others overcome theirs. That discovery allows you to fix things you yourself didn’t even know existed.
As you make your way towards a 2nd Degree Brown Belt you fully immerse yourself in the application side of things, making the forms you’ve learned truly come to life. All the work you’ve put in is really about to pay off as you start to see that infinity is just beyond the doorstep. You’ve constructed a rock solid martial arts foundation, and now you can begin to derive nearly infinite knowledge from it.
2nd Degree Brown Belt
It will take you about a year or so of teaching and heavy practice before reaching this stage. Once you achieve your 2nd Degree Brown Belt you will finish out your remaining Shaolin Kung Fu forms, and the last bits of remaining knowledge will be bestowed upon you.
3rd Degree Brown Belt
You are basically a Black Belt in waiting. A long time can pass before taking your Black Belt test after receiving your first Brown Belt. You will be encouraged to refine your skills and practice them diligently. Most will spend every spare hour they have practicing in preparation for their upcoming Black Belt test.
Black Belt
You are officially an expert. Congratulations. However, this is not the end of your journey. It is only the beginning. Enjoy your celebratory tea, you’ve earned it. But training starts back up again tomorrow.
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Thank you all for your great interest in our Kung Fu Belt System! Whether you were asking Google "How many belts does Kung Fu have?" or "What are the levels of Kung Fu"or any number of other searches... you, like thousands of people, have found this page!
We get many questions and are always happy to help answer them. The great information on this page was compiled from our knowledge and built with the help of our marketing consultant. We can expand upon any of the points on this page if it would be of interest to our readers. If you would like us to expand upon the information or you have a specific question you would like answered... please fill out the form on this page and we'll get back to you as soon as we can! Now go master some Martial Arts :) |