When a student achieves a certain level of proficiency, it is traditional to reward them with a colored belt and a 'grade'. The Hoboken Kyudokan grading syllabus consists of a mix of basic techniques, kata, free fighting and kata applications (known as 'bunkai').

The grades are separate into two distinct types; 'Kyu' meaning child representing a student's development through ten stages and 'Dan' meaning man representing that fact that the student has mastered the basics of Goju Ryu and can now begin to fully explore the martial art.


The grades and belt colors are as follows:

10th Kyu - White
9th Kyu- Red
8th Kyu- Yellow
7th Kyu- Orange
6th Kyu- Green
5th Kyu- Blue
4th Kyu- Purple
3rd Kyu- Brown
2nd Kyu- Brown with 1 black stripe
1st Kyu- Brown with 2 black stripes
1st Dan- Black