Colored belts have their origin in Judo, as does the training 'gi', or more correctly in Japanese, 'dōgi' or 'Keikogi'. In Kyokushin the order of the belts varies in some breakaway groups, but according to the Honbu of Oyama, the kyu ranks and belt colors are as follows:
| White | Mukyu |  |
| Orange | 10th Kyu |  |
| Orange with one blue stripe | 9th Kyu |  |
| Blue | 8th Kyu |  |
| Blue with one green stripe | 7th Kyu |  |
| Yellow | 6th Kyu |  |
| Yellow with one orange stripe | 5th Kyu |  |
| Green | 4th Kyu |  |
| Green with one brown stripe | 3rd Kyu |  |
| Brown | 2nd Kyu |  |
| Brown with one black stripe | 1st Kyu |  |
| Black with one gold stripe | Shodan (初段:しょだん) |  |
| Black with two gold stripes | Nidan (二段:にだん) |  |
| Black with three gold stripes | Sandan (三段:さんだん) |  |
| Black with four gold stripes | Yondan (四段:よんだん) |  |
| Black with five gold stripes | Godan (五段:ごだん) |  |
| Black with six gold stripes | Rokudan (六段:ろくだん) |  |
| Black with seven gold stripes | Shichidan (七段:しちだん) |  |
| Black with eight gold stripes | Hachidan (八段:はちだん) |  |
| Black with nine gold stripes | Kyūdan (九段:きゅうだん) |  |
| Black with ten gold stripes | Jūdan (十段:じゅうだん) |  |
Each colored belt had two levels, the second being represented by a stripe at the ends of the belt. The white belt however, does not represent any level and is only meant to hold the 'gi' in place. As such, the white belt is used by practitioners who are not yet graded. The belt system under Mas Oyama followed this order since the 1960s with the exception of the yellow (red) belt, which was incorporated only in the last year of his life, replacing the earlier used white belt with one and two red stripes for the same kyu grades.
Whilst some groups also use red belts for high dan grades, it is not the norm and Oyama himself did not follow this practice in his dojo or organization, always wearing a wholly black belt himself.
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