The coloured Belt grades are the student Grades (referred to as Kyu Grades), and the Dan Grades are considered Expert Grades. This is not to say that the Dan Grades know all there is to know, there is a true saying in Ju Jitsu; "Once you attain your Black Belt, you will really start to learn Ju Jitsu.", this maxim has a lot of truth, in as much as once the student becomes an expert, it only then starts to become clear how much there is to learn.

This is not to say that the skills that the student will learn up to Brown Belt are insufficient, but rather that Ju Jitsu is almost limitless in it's scope for self defence, and combinations of defences and attacks. Of course it takes dedication and practice to achieve the coveted Black Belt. It is a monument to the Jikishin syllabus that so many have taken the path, and continued on to 2nd Dan, 3rd Dan, 4th Dan, and beyond. The syllabus is tough, but anything worthwhile getting, is worth working for.

Novice
Yellow Belt
Orange Belt
Green Belt
Blue Belt
Purple Belt
Brown Belt
1st Dan Black Belt (Shodan)

The senior syllabus has a number of minimum time scales for each belt, and these represent not only the time spent learning, but also the minimum number of training session attended in order to be eligible for grading. The attendances are eligible only at the club at which the student is registered. In this way the Instructor can monitor the progress of each student and assess whether the student has attained the standard expected to pass.

> Novice to Yellow belt: 2 months
> Yellow to OrangeBelt: 3 months
> Orange to Green Belt: 6 months
> Green to Blue Belt: 3 months
> Blue to Purple Belt: 3 months
> Purple to Brown Belt: 6 months
> Brown to Black Belt: 12 months
> 1st Dan to 2nd Dan: 2 years

All students training for the coveted black belt will have to learn katas relevant to the five weapons of Jikishin Ju Jitsu. These are: the Nunchaku, Sai, Bo staff, Tonfa and the infamous Katana sword. We also teach Kubotan striking techniques and defense against knives.