For most disciplines, a martial arts belt is an important part of the uniform. The belt does far more than hold up your pants. Don’t get me wrong, it does do just that as well as hold the top or jacket in place if needed. However, some belts are used as weapons to choke or disarm an opponent. Also, more important than the purely functional aspect of the belt, it has a far deeper and more significant purpose.
The other purpose is to signify rank. Almost all schools and traditions agree that the White Belt is for beginners and the Black Belt is for the master. Other than that, belt colors and markings can have more meanings than you could possibly imagine. Normally, students start out as a white belt and work their way up to the much coveted black belt. Some think the idea of the white/black belt came from ancient practitioners who started with a white belt and through training ended up with a black belt. That is also why some martial arts schools do not want you to wash your belt.
Each tradition will have its own idea as to the color progression and significance of that color. While wearing the traditional karate uniform, one school that I attended for a short period of time, used the following idea for their belt progression:
White – New beginning. Without blemish. Pure
Yellow- Action. Beginning of movements.
Green- Life. The concepts of Martial arts starts to take life in the student.
Red- Heat. Refining their skills in the heat of training
Black- Mastery. Full development and maturity.
Most martial arts disciplines agree that the black belt is really just the beginning of understanding the art. Once a black belt is reached, the student has a true understanding of the meaning and fundamentals, but is only just starting their quest for mastery. As a matter of fact, mastery may never be achieved, but it is something to be strived for. As has been discussed, whether it is a belt of sash, one of the most basic pieces of almost all martial arts uniforms is the belt. Its use and meaning is quite important to the world to practitioners of almost every discipline.