“…karate should have a standard system of testing as soon as possible. It is also the responsibility for those of us in karate to educate the public as to the significance of the karate black belt. ”

—Hidetaka Nishiyama 9th Dan

To provide a constantly updated register of Karate Dan grades for the 21st century we have created an internet version of the Karate Do Directory to register black belt holders and make their information available electronically, and from time to time, as a printed directory which will be provided to centers of learning, libraries, and government departments.


If your information changes, please re-submit your new details noting in the "confidential" section of the application form that you are updating an existing record.

Guidelines
• Candidates for registration must have undergone a formal course of training with a qualified teacher that included theory, philosophy, history, and technique.

• Grade must be appropriate for age of candidate.

• Applicants for grades above 5th Dan must provide the Karate Do Directory with grade certificates issued by a governing body or equivalent and a detailed record of training.

•Please provide all the information requested. If you do not wish certain parts of your data published please type it into the "confidential" area and it will be withheld.

• Do not use the titles "Renshi", Kyoshi", or "Hanshi" unless you can provide documentation issued by a governing body recognised by the JKF or Japanese Ministry of Education, Okinawa Rengokai, etc. Under normal circumstances these titles are not applied to instructors in Okinawan schools. (More about "Titles").

•Most grades of foundational styles will be receive a provisional registration quickly and without difficulty, and appear in the Karate Do Directory. However, the highest level of registration "Confirmed" can take a considerable time to achieve as it is necessary to prove a direct link with the founder of a style.

For example:
Morio Higaonna 9th Dan, (Hanshi Okinawan Rengokai) is a student of An'ichi Miyagi. Both have testified to this and ample documentary evidence exists to prove their statements. An'ichi Miyagi was a student of Chogun Miyagi from 1948-1953 a fact confirmed by Ken Miyagi (son of Chogun Miyagi) and Shuichi Aragaki, a student of Chogun sensei during the same period. Chojun Miyagi was a student of Kanryo Higaonna and ample historical, documentary and photographic evidence exists to prove this. Thus Morio Higaonna is directly linked to Chojun Miyagi the founder of Goju Ryu and his teacher Kanryo Higaonna and receives a"confirmed" rating.

Registration is simple, quick, free, and available to Dan grades of all major Japanese and Okinawa styles of karate. Click here to register.

Click here to register

Click here to search the directory