For Martial Artists that their school/organization uses this kind of belt.?

Question

What is the purpose of a Camoflage belt?!?

is this merely another money making tactic? or is it more for student retention as an in-between belt rank?

Answer 1

Every belt has a philosophy that is important to the martial art.

ATA SONGAHM TAEKWONDO BELTS (RANKS)

White Belt
"Pure and without the knowledge of Songahm Taekwondo. As with the Pine Tree, the seed must now be planted and nourished to develop strong roots."
The student has no knowledge of Songahm Taekwondo and begins with a clean (pure) slate.
Purity is often signified by the color white.

Orange Belt
"The sun is beginning to rise. As with the morning's dawn, only the beauty of the sunrise is seen rather than the immense power."
The beginner student sees the beauty of the art of Taekwondo but has not yet experienced the power of the technique.
Orange is found among the many colors of the sunrise.

Yellow Belt
"The seed is beginning to see the sunlight."
The student begins to understand the basics of Taekwondo.
The sun appears to be yellow.

Camouflage (Camo) Belt
"The sapling is hidden amongst the taller pines and must now fight its way upward."
The student begins to realize his/her place in the world's largest martial art. The student must now begin to spar in order to promote in rank.
Camouflage (greens) is used to hide among the trees in the forest.

Green Belt
"The pine tree is beginning to develop and grow in strength."
The student's technique is developing power. The components of the basic techniques are beginning to work in unison.
As the pine tree develops, it sprouts green pine needles.

Purple Belt
"Coming to the mountain. The tree is in the mid-growth and now the path becomes steep."
The student has crossed over over into a higher level of SOngahm Taekwondo. The techniques, poom-sae (forms), and level of gyeo-roo-gi (sparring) becomes more difficult, creating a "mountain" that must be overcome.
Mountains are often depicted as being purple.

Blue Belt
"The tree reaches for the sky toward new heights."
Having passed the mid-way point, the student focuses his/her energy upward toward black belt.
The sky appears as blue

Brown Belt
"The tree is firmly rooted in the earth."
At this point the student has mastered the basics and developed deep roots in Taekwondo.
Brown is known as an earthy color, such as dirt.

Red Belt
"The sun is setting. The first phase of growth has been accomplished."
The first day (the period of time from white belt to red belt) of growth is coming to an end. The physical skill has been developed but lacks control; therefore, physical and mental discipline must now be achieved.
Variations of red are found among the many colors of the sunset.

Red/Black Belt
"The dawn of a new day. The sun breaks through the darkness."
The previous day has ended, giving way to a new dawn. The student must begin a new phase of training; that of being a black belt.
The red is the sun (in a sunrise) as it breaks through the black of night.

Black Belt
"The tree has reached maturity and has overcome the darkness... it must now 'plant seeds for the future.'"
The color black is created when all the colors of the light spectrum have been absorbed into an object. That object has "taken control" of the colors and retained them. If one color was to "escape", the object would no longer be black but would appear as that color. The student has mastered the nine geup (grades) of Taekwondo. He/she has "absorbed" all the knowledge of the color ranks and overcome or "mastered" that level or training.
The colors of the spectrum are bound together and are not reflected off an object, resulting in the absence of color which we call black.

Answer 2

The only time I have ever seen people wearing camoflage belts in my 22 years in the matiralrts was people wearing camoflage Gi's or Ninja suits. They were no more than a color coordinated fashion accessory.

Belts themselves, in all honesty only came into usage in the last 50 or 60 years, after the martial arts moved to the US after WWII with thier transition to being a Sport rather than as a practical fighting system. They were added to give american students a means of measuring themselves agians other students, and to have goals to work towards, since the idea of training for its own sake was such a foreign idea of american that they HAD to have some means of charting rogress other than the fact that they were learning new techniques.

Even today, many schools in Asia ONLY use belt systems for international competition, something, again the Americans started and in order for the Asian schools to compete they had to adopt the belt ranking system.

The system I learned still doesn't have a belt system. There are either students or masters, based on level of skill and amount of knowledge. We use comparatives when necessary, masters are considered to be Black Belts and the highest master is considered to be 10th degree, but in truth the rankings are unofficial.

I have never put much stock in belt rankings as most american schools have their own means of ranking and some don't even require more than time to get belts, regardless of how much they know. I suppose if someone wanted to create a complete a competely unique color system it would be just as valid as any other....which is whay the balck belt laws in most states are ridiculous, and why those that comr from systems that either don't use a ranking system at all, or that use a differnt system wher the black is not highest or even present are immunt to those laws.

Answer 3

I think this belt is a belt used in martial arts like karate. It is probally a money making tactic because if someone passes by a studio and stops and watches for a while and sees people in camoflage belts they would be interested and would want one and would join and the studio would get a lot of money for a piece of cloth.

Answer 4

In KungFu in China there is no belt system, A black belt is a white belt that never stopped trainning, after years of training the white belt is very dark, almost black. Like other people have answered the belt ranking system is an American thing for the most part, leave it to us ugly Americans to screw everything up.

Answer 5

US schools tend to have more different belts than their Asian ancesters. Partly this is to encourage students, especially kids, by giving them a tangible symbol of their progress. Partly it is as a way for the master to increase his income. I am quite certain that camo is not a traditional Asian belt color. In a traditional Korean school, there are 9 grades before black belt & 9 degrees of black belt. Some schools have multiple levels for some of the belts, usually signified by adding stripes, others have a different color for each rank.
I can't speak to practices in Japanese or Chinese schools, but if a Korean style (Tae Kwon Do, Tang Soo Do, Hap Ki Do) has more than 9 belts before black &/or someone claims to be 10th degree or higher black belt, run, don't walk to the nearest exit.

The reason for 9 is that 3 is a sacred #, heaven, earth & you. 3*3=9 so 9 is considered the perfect number.

Answer 6

For Martial Artists that their school/organization uses this kind of belt.?
What is the purpose of a Camoflage belt?!?

is this merely another money making tactic? or is it more for student retention as an in-between belt rank?

Answer 7

Yes, wash it - but only with like colors. Many belts are made with cheap dyes that will bleed in the wash and not only ruin everything else, but your belt will come out looking like crap. It's not unusual to see a kid come in one day with a pink, lavender, or light yellow uniform because s/he threw everything in the wash. I give "A" for effort, and look the other way when I see the uniform. What can you do? If you do wash it, I suggest in cold water, using dark-color soap - no bleach! I have heard time and again about the color myth, the edict against washing the belt, of the belt touching the floor... honestly, why can't people just use common sense? As long as you treat your uniform as respectfully as you do your own clothes, which includes washing it, you really aren't going to rile the wrath of any belt-gods.

Answer 8

I feel that it is another step in the reward system. I am not against belts as long as they are kept in prospective. They are representatives of skill and work level and are used to give structure to the class (from an outsiders point of view). In my opinion, Camouflage is not a color and should not be a belt.

Answer 9

http://www.boiseata.com/Belt_Ranks.htm

This will tell you what exactly it is suppose to mean. Basically it is just another belt they made up that you receive before your green belt. After many years of studying in the Martial Arts field I come to realize it is just another way of making money and a "Self Boasting" way to show that you are at a certain level in your training.

Answer 10

The camouflage belt is a pretty sure sign of being in a McDojo - at least according to Bullshido.net. I suggest checking that site out.