Martial Arts Taekwondo

what are the belt levels for martial arts?

What are the belt levels for various martial arts? Krarate, Taekwondo, and any other martial arts that have belt levels.

There are many fanciful stories relating to the origin of the belt system. So one story goes: In the early days of martial arts, all students trained outside and, as now, wore a white belt. Because the belt was never washed as a symbol of hard work put forth into ones training (as is still today), the belts got dirty. Training on grass made the belts green, eventually they became dirty (brown), then very dirty (black). Fighting over time left blood on the belt, hence the red belt of masters and grandmasters. Great story, but only a story.
Early practitioners of martial arts in China, Okinawa and Japan, did not wear specified uniforms let alone a belt to hold it together. Before the introduction of the belt or ranks in martial arts, many of the traditional Japanese arts between 1600 and 1868 used a complicated Menkyo ranking system to license their students with a certificate or letter to practice and teach the skills of a specific art. These arts ranged from martial arts to calligraphy to the traditional tea ceremony.
During the 1880’s, Professor Jigoro Kano developed Judo. In his new martial art style, he borrowed the ranking system used by the Japanese public schools where belt ranks were used by different athletic groups, most notably for ranking swimmers. The use of belt ranking for the swimmers is deeply rooted in Japan's martial arts mystique. The origins of the swimmers belts came from the samurai who, in addition to their training, needed to know how to swim and fight with and without their armor – 3 different swimmer ranks. Thus, in Professor Kano’s first Judo school, the beginnings of the Kyu/Dan (pronounced: q/don) belt ranking system popular today started. Initially, only black or white belts were used to signify rank amongst his students. The belt colors were to recognize which students could take part in which activities. For example: “Best not to throw a student who doesn't have the proven ability to handle being thrown.”
The transfer of belt ranking from Judo to Karate came later. Belt colors were very simple in the early days. Students started out as white belts signifying purity and equality among beginners, next came a brown belt and then a black upon Dan ranking. This signified their readiness to begin serious training. The blue, yellow, orange, green, and purple belts that intermediate students wear are thought to have originated in Europe and were at some point imported into the United States martial arts systems during the 1950's. Today, most martial art styles have some form of recognition in belts. The number of belts available and the order of color depends on the karate style. Some things haven't changed; beginners generally start out as white belts followed by green, brown, and black. Colors in between may vary. Some systems don't use all of these colors, and others use colored tape to mark degrees of rank.
For whatever reason the wearing of colored belts evolved from, the wearing of the black belt still represents a significant achievement in both technical skill and in some cases competitive ability. Whatever color your belt is, wear it with pride, dignity and most of all honor, because it represents a long line of tradition, the lineage of the roots of your teacher and your school and your dedication and commitment to yourself and learning martial arts.