Kendo Rank

Kendo Rank
There are no outward signs of rank such as a “belt” as in other kinds of martial arts. Kendo follows the ranking system as follows:

Kyu
Kyu is the entry level. Students are graded from 6th to 1st. 1st-kyu is the highest. They are called ro-kyu (6), go-kyu (5), yon-kyu (4), san-kyu (3), ni-kyu (2), i-kyu (1) respectively.

Dan
Follow by successfully passed the i-kyu test, more advanced grades are loosely identified as “black belt” in general, from 1st-dan to 10th-dan. 10th-dan is the highest rank. They are sho-dan (1), ni-dan (2), san-dan (3), yon-dan (4), go-dan (5), roku-dan (6), nana-dan (7), hachi-dan (8), kyu-dan (9), ju-dan (10).

In the real life, there is no one to judge tests for kyu-dan and ju-dan levels and therefore, hachi-dan (8) is the highest obtainable rank nowadays.