The term black belt has become widely known as a way to describe an expert in martial arts where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a high degree of competence, and often associated with a teaching grade though frequently not the highest grade or the "expert" of public perception. It is also a relatively recent invention, dating from the 19th century,...
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The term black belt has become widely known as a way to describe an expert in martial arts where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a high degree of competence, and often associated with a teaching grade though frequently not the highest grade or the "expert" of public perception. It is also a relatively recent invention, dating from the 19th century, rather than an ancient custom.
The systematic use of belt color to denote rank was first used by Kano Jigoro, the founder of judo, who first devised the colored belt system using obi, and awarded the first black belts to denote a Dan rank in the 1880s. Initially the wide obi was used; as practitioners trained in kimono, only white and black obi were used. It was not until the early 1900s, after the introduction of the judogi, that an expanded colored belt system of awarding rank was created. Other martial arts later adopted the custom or...
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