The karate belt path for Kolhapur parents

A parent in Kolhapur often asks this before the second month. When does the belt change, and who decides?

SK Martial Arts & Fitness Academy has published part of the answer. The rest is unconfirmed. If the pages do not state a date, a fee, or a name, it stays unconfirmed.

What the pages agree on

The homepage and the brochure start from the same place. Training runs from the first bow to black belt, with kata and kumite on the mat. Rank follows real training, never a calendar sale. White is the courage to begin. Black is the vow to keep going.

The terms, updated 1 September 2026, say belt rank is earned through attendance, technique, and grading. It is not purchased. Uniforms, belts, and grading fees may be billed apart from class fees. No public page prints a rupee figure for a grading. That amount is unconfirmed until the centre states it.

A child under 18 is enrolled by a parent or guardian. The form is a request until the centre approves a place. Sportswear and bare feet are enough for a first visit. The gi and belt are explained after enrolment.

Which programme uses a belt

Age is the first choice. The site offers five ways onto the same mat.

• Little Champs, ages 4–6, is play, balance, listening, and simple patterns. The FAQ says children move into Kids Karate from age 7, and that the kids curriculum includes belt grading. The pages do not say a four-year-old sits the coloured-belt test. Whether Little Champs uses these ranks is unconfirmed.
• Kids Karate, ages 7–12, is the programme written as belt-by-belt training, with self-defence, focus, and classroom discipline.
• Teens & Adults, ages 13 and above, is called the full path to black belt: kata, kumite, and a structured grading path. Beginners are welcome.
• Girls & Women uses the same kata, kumite, and belt path. There is no women-only batch at the moment. Girls and women train in the regular programmes.
• Fitness & Self-Defence is for adults who want drills and conditioning without a competition career. Those pages never say this track uses the same belts. That is unconfirmed.

Two lists, not one

The brochure and the live belt path do not name the same ladder.

The brochure PDF prints seven names, in this order: white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, black. It also prints the figure 7 beside the words "Belt ranks".

The homepage loads colours from the academy's public data. On 26 October 2026 that feed listed ten top-level ranks. The order numbers do not run 1, 2, 3. Anything sitting in the gaps is unconfirmed, because the feed does not name it.

White Belt is order 1, with 0 months and 0 classes, and no previous experience required. Yellow Belt is order 8, with 3 months and 70 classes. Its note asks for 5 punches, 6 kicks, 13 stances, 4 blocks, 4 kata, and a line written "2 X kumite". It also uses "stho", "CO", and "Nife defence" without defining them. Those labels, and the titles of the four kata, are unconfirmed.

Orange Belt is order 11: 6 months and 180 classes. Green Belt is order 14: 9 months and 270 classes. Blue Belt is order 17: 12 months and 360 classes. Purple belt is order 20: 15 months and 450 classes. Brown belt is order 23: 18 months and 540 classes. Dark Brown is order 26: 22 months and 660 classes. Golden Brown is order 29: 36 months and 1000 classes, with no technique sheet on that entry. Black belt is order 30: 48 months and 1400 classes.

Purple, dark brown, and golden brown are in the live feed and absent from the brochure's seven. Both documents belong to the academy. Which list a grading in Kolhapur will use is a question for the sensei.

Those class counts sit beside the months, and the page never says whether one "class attended" is one session on the mat. That rule is unconfirmed.

Later notes mention kata and kumite. Dark brown and black also print the lines "nun chak" and "tomfa", with no glossary. Dan degrees after the black-belt entry are unconfirmed. The feed stops there.

Two style names

The terms say karate at SK Martial Arts is traditional Goju Ryu: kata, kihon, kumite, and dojo etiquette. Arrive on time, bow in, and follow the sensei.

The short description on the Kids Karate page says "Belt-by-belt Shotokan training". Shotokan is not in the terms. Goju Ryu is not on that kids page. The brochure names neither style.

A single style name is unconfirmed. A tournament belt, in India or abroad, is a different ladder until the academy says otherwise. Nothing on these pages maps a Kolhapur rank onto a national or world title.

Five centres, as listed that day

Each public batch is marked open to all levels. The brochure, and the terms from 1 September 2026, say timings change and a phone call confirms them. These are the times the site showed on 26 October 2026.

• Kasaba Bawada, Pinjar Galli, near Main Road, Shahu Colony: Evening Class, Monday to Saturday, 06:30 PM–08:00 PM.
• Jadhavwadi, Sidhivinayak Mandir Hall: Evening Class, Monday to Friday, 06:00 PM–07:00 PM.
• Rajarampuri, Jagruti Hall, 14 lane: Monday to Friday, 05:50 PM–07:00 PM.
• Rankala, Ingavle Hall, Shree Ram Park, Juna Shingnapur Road: Evening Batch, Monday to Friday, 06:00 PM–07:00 PM.
• Tarabai Park, Chandwani Hall, near the BSNL office: Monday to Friday, 06:00 PM–08:00 PM.

Santosh Kshirsagar is listed at 860 523 4333. Amol Kshirsagar is listed at 735 032 7503. The terms place the academy in front of Pinjar Galli, Kasaba Bawada, Kolhapur, 416006. The email there is info@skmaindia.com.

Before counting months, ask which list the next grading uses, what "classes attended" means, and which kata titles a yellow-belt test includes.