Krav Maga is the official fighting system of the Israeli Defense Forces and of many U.S. law enforcement agencies. While the system is very efficient, the training needed to master it is long and intense. A Krav Maga belt ranking system is used in many schools in order to acknowledge students’ achievement as they make their way through training and to differentiate who is at what level or rank. However, this isn’t always the case. Some places do not use any belts to signify progress and some use patches or titles, like Practitioner or Master.
Belt Ranking by Color
If a belt is important to you, than you need to make sure that the school you choose implements the belt system. While the black belt is pretty much universally known as the highest rank in Krav Maga, depending on the school, many of the other belts used in a Krav Maga belt ranking system can vary.
At Krav Maga Worldwide, the belt rankings are as follows:
Level 1: Testing for Yellow Belt Level
Level 2: Testing for Orange Belt Level
Level 3: Testing for Green Belt Level
Level 4: Testing for Blue Belt Level
Level 5: Testing for Brown and Black Belt Level
Some schools use these belts, but also have many more within their system, such as white, purple, red, and red/black. Often, beginners are given a white belt to wear as they train to earn their yellow belt.
More Than Colors
The exact usage of belts and their colors are not the only things that vary in the Krav Maga belt ranking system. The requirements of the test itself and the amount of time before an invitation to test is extended can also vary. At Krav Maga Worldwide, the process to train for your yellow belt usually takes around four months, but at other schools it can take upwards of nine months of consistent training.
Making it to a brown belt with Krav Maga Worldwide usually takes about 40 months, but this process can take 60-90 months elsewhere. Again, this time frame can also depend on where you are personally as a student. If you are progressing quickly and training at a very high level, you might find yourself moving through the Krav Maga belt ranking system more rapidly. Some schools also monitor progress by putting stripes on belts and inviting students to test when they have received the required amount of stripes.
When choosing a school, make sure their Krav Maga belt ranking system aligns with your training needs. For more information about the Krav Maga Worldwide system, click here.
