| rank | color | |
| none | white | |
| gokyu | yellow | |
| yonkyu | green | |
| sankyu | blue | |
| nikkyu | junior brown (solid brown belt) | |
| ikkyu | senior brown (brown with black stripe) | |
| dan ranks | black |
Youth and juniors have striped belts in between these colors; for those students we break down the required techniques more than in the adult classes. Students under the age of 18 are not eligible to earn black belts.
Students at each belt rank are required to know certain formal techniques and to demonstrate familiarity with the self-defense techniques we practice in every class, as well as with the Japanese and English terms we use. New formal and self-defense techniques are learned at each new rank. As you are promoted, the techniques which were previously new to you will become more familiar, and you should be more proficient at them. A gokyu should be more competent at techniques than a white belt. A yonkyu should be familiar with the new techniques and better at the ones previously learned, and so on.
Each belt rank test is cumulative: you will be required to show an increasing range of self-defense techniques (which comprise the majority of the test), as well as all the formal techniques you have learned up to that point.
The only test which is ever scheduled is your black belt test - for which you prepare intensively beforehand. The rest... well, you'll just find out about them when they happen. Learning to deal with situational stress is also part of the conditioning which you will undergo at Ju-Jitsu Dojo of Columbia. If you can survive the physical and psychological pressures of a safe and friendly training environment, you'll be much more ready to face the physical and psychological pressures of the street.
Belts in hanbo-jitsu are earned separately from those in combat Ju-Jitsu, and you can advance to black belt in that discipline as well. The hanbo-jitsu class is open to all adult students (ages 14+), regardless of belt rank in the hand-to-hand portion of the curriculum.