The United States Judo Association (USJA) is an independent, national amateur sports organization, originally founded in 1954  The USJA is also a Charter Group "A"
member of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Judo

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

, Inc. (USJA) which is the National Governing Body

Sport governing body

A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...

 (NGB)
the USJA has the right to administer a national promotion system, and to give awards nationally to qualified Judo ranking members. The USJA has established a national ranking system for their Junior (4–16 years of age) members and their senior( +17 years of age) members to promote good sportsmanship as well to motivate participants to obtain, to gain the next level in their Judo career.

The USJA Ranking System

Juniors

Junior members of the USJA are of 16 years of age or younger. The USJA provides 12 Junior ranks, these 12 ranks give the Junior players incentive to progress as well as enough levels for Junior players to advance at a steady rate without having to wait too long to advance to the next level, thus keeping the Junior players incentives high. The 12 Junior ranks are listed in the table below with their corresponding rank identification, minimum age, time in grade and promotion points. Promotion points can be gained many different ways, which vary from going to class on a regular base, participating in tournaments and help their club out, but to be able to progress into the next level the Junior members have to pass a knowledge and practical test, which is to judge them and see if they are ready to go into the next level.

USJA Junior Judo Rank System

Rank	Identification	Minimum Age	Time-In-Grade	Promotion Point
Junior 1st Degree	Yellow Belt plus 1st Degree Patch	4	2 Months	4
Junior 2nd Degree	Yellow Belt plus 2nd Degree Patch	5	2 Months	5
Junior 3rd Degree	Orange Belt plus 3rd Degree Patch	6	2 Months	6
Junior 4th Degree	Orange Belt plus 4th Degree Patch	7	2 Months	7
Junior 5th Degree	Green Belt plus 5th Degree Patch	8	3 Months	8
Junior 6th Degree	Green Belt plus 6th Degree Patch	9	3 Months	9
Junior 7th Degree	Blue Belt plus 7th Degree Patch	10	3 Months	10
Junior 8th Degree	Blue Belt plus 8th Degree Patch	11	3 Months	11
Junior 9th Degree	Purple Belt plus 9th Degree Patch	12	4 Months	12
Junior 10th Degree	Purple Belt plus 10th Degree Patch	13	4 Months	13
Junior 11th Degree	Brown Belt plus 11th Degree Patch	14	4 Months	14
Junior 12th Degree	Brown Belt plus 12th Degree Patch	15	4 Months	15

Seniors

The USJA senior ranking system is different than the Junior ranking system, but the Senior ranking system is identical to the ranking system used in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The system has six student and ten advance section grades. The USJA holds the authority to promote members up through the Judo

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

 ranks, the players who are eligible to potentially be promoted must be at least 17 years of age or older, have their proper identification, minimum time and promotion points, which are listed in the table blow

USJA Senior Judo Rank System

Rank	Identification	Minimum Time	Points
6th Class Rank (Rokkyu)	Yellow Belt plus Rokkyu Patch	3 Months	6 Points
5th Class Rank (Gokyu)	Orange Belt plus Gokyu Patch	5 Months	9 Points
4th Class Rank (Yonkyu)	Green Belt plus Yonkyu Patch	6 Months	12 Points
3rd Class Rank (Sankyu)	Brown Belt plus Sankyu Patch	8 Months	16 Points
2nd Class Rank (Nikyu)	Brown Belt plus Nikyu Patch	10 Months	20 Points
1st Class Rank (Ikkyu)	Brown Belt plus Ikkyu Patch	10 Months	23 Points
1stDegree (Shodan)	Black Belt plus Shodan Patch	1 Years	30 Points
2nd Degree (Nidan)	Black Belt plus Nidan Patch	3 Years	65 Points
3rdDegree (Sandan)	Black Belt plus Sandan Patch	4 Years	130 Points
4th Degree (Yodan)	Black Belt plus Yodan Patch	5 Years	210 Points
5th Degree (Godan)	Black Belt plus Godan Patch	7 Years	300 Points
6thDegree (Rokudan)	Red and White Belt plus Rokudan Patch	8 Years	410 Points
7th Degree (Shichidan)	Red and White Belt plus Shichidan Patch	9 Years	550 Points
8th Degree (Hachidan)	Red and White Belt plus Hachidan Patch	11Years	700 Points
9th Degree (Kudan)	Red Belt plus Kudan Patch	+11 Years	+700 points
10th Degree (Judan)	Red Belt plus Judan Patch	+11 Years	+700 points

National Rank Standardization

The national rank standardization was established by the USJA to have equality across the nation, so all USJA members have equal opportunity to be able to advance to the next level. A USJA Judo player or a Judoka Judoka#Judoka (practitioner)
in one part of the country can be expected to have equal skills and knowledge to a person holding the same
rank in another part of the country. The USJA rank system holds a national standardization at six levels of advancement:

1.
All students must meet certain minimum requirements to become eligible for promotion. They must pass an exam and be recommended for promotion
by their coach. In general, any USJA coach can recommend a Judoka for the next level

2.
All promotion recommendations must be submitted to the USJA National Headquarters on the proper recommendation for
promotion form with the appropriate fee. All junior and senior promotions through the rank of (up to and including) Sandan are
reviewed by the USJA National Headquarters to ensure that all minimum promotion requirements have been met.

3.
Promotion recommendations for 4th degree black belt and up are further reviewed by the USJA promotion board. This
committee also ensures all minimum requirements have been met, and further investigates the Judoka who are being promoted to see if all their requirements have been met and are ok by the committee members of the USJA promotion board

4.
Candidates for the rank of 2nd degree must also be examined and passed by a certified examiner who is a member of the USJA
national board of examiners and candidates for the rank of 3rd degree must be examined and passed by two such Certified

5.
Candidates for the rank of 4th degree and up must go through the USJA certified examiner program and must themselves be
certified as USJA Examiners. All promotions for 4th degree and up must also be reviewed and approved by the USJA
national promotion board. This board traditionally meets three times per year at the site of the Senior Nationals (April),
USJA Junior Nationals (July), and the U.S. International Invitational (October).

6.
All promotions to the rank of 7th degree black belt and higher, must be additionally approved by the USJA Board of
Directors.
All persons recommended for promotion must be current members of the USJA and must belong to a USJA Chartered Club (five or
more registered members with the USJA). The USJA Board of Directors also recommends that all black belts be USJA Life Members
and all 4th degree black belts and above be Patron LMs.http://www.usja-judo.org/Docs2004/National%20Judo%20Rank%20System.pdf

See also

• Judo techniques, full list of judo techniques
• The Canon Of Judo
  The Canon Of Judo
  The Canon of Judo is a book was originally published in 1956, and written by Kodokan 10th dan, Kyuzo Mifune . The book covers almost all of the Kodokan recognized techniques, adds variations and new techniques, although Do-Jime is barely mentioned . The book also describes fifteen Kata developed by...
  
  , a book by Kyuzo Mifune
  Kyuzo Mifune
  has been categorized as one of the greatest exponents of the art of judo after the founder, Kanō Jigorō. He is considered by many to be the greatest judo technician ever, after Kanō.-Early life:...
  
   (1960)
• The Principle of Ju
• World Judo Championships
  World Judo Championships
  The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international judo competition, along with the Olympic judo competition. The championships are held once every year by the International Judo Federation, and qualified judoka compete in their respective categories as representatives of their...
  
  
• Judo at the Summer Olympics
  Judo at the Summer Olympics
  Judo was first included in the Summer Olympic Games at the 1964 Games in Tokyo, Japan. After not being included in 1968, judo has been an Olympic sport in each Olympiad since then. Only male judoka participated until the 1988 Summer Olympics, when women participated as a demonstration sport...
  
  
• List of judoka
• List of celebrity judoka
• List of Olympic medalists in judo
• Paralympic judo
  Paralympic Judo
  Paralympic judo is an adaptation of the Japanese martial art of judo for visually impaired competitors. The rules of the sport are only slightly different from regular judo competitions...
  
  

External links

• United States Judo Association – includes majority of U.S. Judo Clubs (approx. 1000 clubs)