Karate isn't BJJ. BJJ isn't taekwondo. Generic rank tracking treats them all the same and gets all three a little wrong. Here is how to configure criteria that actually match your style.
The shared shape
Every style we work with shares a small set of fields that drive eligibility:
- Class count or attendance threshold since last promotion.
- Time-in-rank minimum (longer at higher ranks).
- Curriculum skill checklist signoffs.
- Instructor signoff (single or dual).
- Test fee paid, waiver current.
The differences are in the values and how they progress across the ladder. The same five fields, configured per style, do most of the work.
Karate and TKD: color belts with steady gates
Color belt systems vary by school but share a pattern. Lower ranks promote faster (8 to 16 weeks) with shorter class counts. Mid-belts slow down to 4 to 6 months between promotions. Higher belts add stripe milestones and longer minimums. Black belt is usually 1 to 2 years from brown, with explicit curriculum requirements and (often) a written or testing event component.
Configuration tip: don't try to make every rank identical. The lowest-rank criteria should be easy enough that new students feel progress. The highest-rank criteria should be demanding enough that the belt means something.
BJJ: belts plus stripes
BJJ is the style most often handled badly by generic software. Belts (white, blue, purple, brown, black) progress slowly, often years apart at higher ranks. But stripes (1 to 4 per belt) are awarded more frequently and matter to students. Every stripe should be a first-class rank state with its own criteria.
Configuration tip: configure stripes as sub-ranks within the belt, each with their own (lower) time-in-rank gate. The IBJJF has minimum time-in-rank guidelines for the adult belt path; many schools mirror them.
Kickboxing and MMA: level pathways
Level-based systems are common in striking-only and MMA gyms. No belts; numbered or named tiers ("foundation," "intermediate," "advanced," "fight team"). Criteria are similar but tend to lean more heavily on conditioning, sparring readiness, and instructor judgment than on memorized forms.
Configuration tip: don't try to force belt-style ranks on a striking gym. Use the same underlying fields but relabel "belt" to "level" and skip color metaphors entirely.
Custom systems
Some schools have unique ladders. Two examples we've seen:
- A Krav Maga school with practitioner / fighter / expert tiers, each with three sub-levels and a written component.
- A weapons-focused school with a parallel rank track per weapon (staff, sword, fan) and a unified "school rank" that requires advancement in two of three weapon tracks.
Both are configurable with the same five-field model, plus the ability to add custom requirements per rank. The shape is universal even when the labels aren't.
If your system requires you to lie about your style to fit its model, that's a sign to change systems, not your style.
The signoff rule
Single signoff: one instructor's tap is enough. Faster, less politically tense, fine at small schools.
Dual signoff: two instructors' approval required. Slower, but creates a peer-review loop that protects standards and the head instructor from awkward conversations.
Head-instructor override: the head instructor can promote without other signoffs. Useful for special cases but worth using sparingly.
Most schools settle on dual signoff with head-instructor override after experimenting. The dual path keeps standards honest; the override keeps the head instructor in charge.
The exercise to do once
Take one belt or level. Write down the five fields and their values for your school. Be specific. "Several classes" isn't a value; "24 classes since last promotion" is. Once you've done one rank, do the next. By the end of the ladder you have a curriculum document that lives longer than any spreadsheet.
The exercise itself surfaces inconsistencies in how the school has been promoting people. That's the whole point.