Student Guide
Everything you need to know about training at The Dojo — our philosophy, ranking system, and graduation procedures.
Everything you need to know about training at The Dojo — our philosophy, ranking system, and graduation procedures.
The Dojo Martial Arts is an independent dojo, free from dogmatic organizations and martial arts politics. The Dojo is a self-defense school located in Mason, Ohio, founded in 2006.
The Dojo is highly respected in all disciplines and styles of martial arts, maintaining decades-long friendships with all traditions, teachers, practitioners, and styles.
Our ranking system is based upon merit — not money, favor, or time. Each rank achieved at The Dojo is earned through sweat, study, and determination. The Dojo is not a "belt factory." Each student progresses at their own individual pace. If one endures, martial arts can literally be a lifelong and highly rewarding educational career.
Anywhere from 4-6 years is around average. This depends on several factors: total accumulated class hours, knowledge of core basics and techniques, maturity, quality of movement, and personal growth.
Kyu (級) means "Grade" — used for the colored belt grades, ranked 15 through 1.
Dan (段) means "Step" or "Stage" — used for the Black Belt degrees, ranked 1 through 10.
According to Sensei Norcross: "It is no small task to earn a Black Belt here at The Dojo. That rank is quite an achievement! However, all my teachers used to say to us — 'your shodan just means that you know some of the basics. Now we can all get to work on the harder, secret material that will forge a truly actualized human being.'"
Sensei says: After the Black Belt, we start to walk…and make the art our own.
Quitting anything in life is usually caused by fear, nervousness, laziness, and lack of self-esteem. These all come from that internal enemy called self-doubt — and self-doubt is precisely what one fights to overcome every day at the dojo.
Our ranking system follows traditional Japanese martial arts structure: 15 Kyu (colored belt) grades for beginners and intermediate students, followed by 10 Dan (black belt) degrees for advanced practitioners and instructors.
15
White Belt
ju-go-kyu
14
Yellow Belt
ju-yon-kyu
13
Yellow / Black
ju-san-kyu
12
Blue / White
ju-ni-kyu
11
Blue
ju-ik-kyu
10
Blue / Black
ju-kyu
9
Red / White
kyu-kyu
8
Red
hachi-kyu
7
Red / Black
nana-kyu
6
Green / White
rok-kyu
5
Green
go-kyu
4
Green / Black
yon-kyu
3
Brown / White
san-kyu
2
Brown
ni-kyu
1
Brown / Black
ik-kyu
For advanced practitioners and instructors. Earning the first Dan typically requires 4-6 years; each higher degree is a multi-year journey.
1st
Shodan
min. 4-6 years
2nd
Ni Dan
min. 2-3 years at 1st Dan
3rd
San Dan — Bushi Title Earned
min. 2-3 years at 2nd Dan
4th
Yon Dan — Renshi I (Warrior Name Earned)
3 years at 3rd Dan
5th
Go Dan — Renshi II
3-4 years at 4th Dan
6th
Roku Dan — Renshi III
3-4 years at 5th Dan
7th
Nana Dan — Kyoshi I
3-4 years at 6th Dan
8th
Hachi Dan — Kyoshi II
3-4 years at 7th Dan
9th
Ku Dan — Hanshi
3-4 years at 8th Dan
10th
Ju Dan
3-4 years at 9th Dan
"Only one or two out of every 100 students reaches Black Belt — and of those, only 1 out of every 1,000 achieves the 2nd Dan."
— Mas Oyama (1923–1994), founder of Kyokushin Karate