Items — kyu

While some martial arts ( budo ), such as iaido and aikido , refuse to mark rank with an outward sign, the vast majority of practitioners such as judo , karate , taekwondo , jiu-jitsu , etc. wears a band of colored cloth around the waist to illustrate their level of advancement in the practiced martial art. The wearing of belts could come, at the base, from the samurai who wore an obi (belt) to keep their sword at their waist. But this practice has evolved within the framework of a gradation system in order to illustrate learning markers testifying...