Earn a Black Belt
260 weeks · 3 milestones
Train consistently in a martial art to earn a black belt from a certified instructor.
Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Earn an intermediate belt rank in the martial art being pursued — a blue belt (BJJ), green or blue belt (judo, karate, taekwondo), or equivalent rank in any discipline with a formalised belt system. The 'blue belt or equivalent' milestone establishes that the student has moved beyond the beginner white/yellow stage and has a foundational understanding of the discipline. In BJJ, this is the blue belt from the martial-arts path. In karate and taekwondo, the equivalent is typically green or blue belt (4th to 7th kyu/gup). In judo, the equivalent is 5th to 3rd kyu. The exact belt and its significance within the specific art should be named in the proof. The same documentation standard applies as the sport-bjj-blue-belt outcome: a photograph wearing the awarded belt with instructor confirmation of the promotion date.
Proof required
Submit: a photograph wearing the awarded intermediate belt, and a note from the instructor confirming the belt name, the discipline, the date of award, and the gym or dojo name.
What gets checked
- Belt is clearly an intermediate rank — not a beginner rank (white or yellow in most arts) and not a black belt; the belt should represent 1–2 years of consistent training, not 1–2 months
- Discipline is named — the proof should specify which martial art (BJJ, judo, karate, taekwondo, kickboxing, kung fu, etc.); the milestone is discipline-agnostic but the discipline determines what the equivalent belt means
- Instructor confirmation includes the belt name and rank within the discipline's system — 'blue belt' in BJJ and 'blue belt' in karate are different ranks with different timelines; the note should situate the award within the discipline's belt system
Resources
Enroll free to unlock learning resources →Mastery
World Karate Federation — Standards
Free — national federations define what each belt rank requires; knowing the official requirements for the next belt prevents misunderstanding of when promotion is expected
Unlocks after completing Foundation + Depth