Judo federations have promoted another eleven who are not recognized (at that level of rank) by the Kodokan. On July 28, 2011, the promotion board of USA Judo awarded Keiko Fukuda the rank of 10th "dan", who was the first woman to be promoted to judo's highest level, albeit not a Kodokan-recognized rank. Although "dan" ranks tend to be consistent between national organizations there is more variation in the "kyū" grades, with some countries having more "kyū" grades. Although initially "kyū" grade belt colours were uniformly white, today a variety of colours are used. The first black belts to denote a
Judo were called ; and only those of 4th "dan" or higher were called "judoka". (The suffix , when added to a noun, means a person with expertise or special knowledge on that subject). A judo teacher is called . The word "sensei" comes from "sen" or "saki" (before) and "sei" (life) – i.e. one who has preceded you. In Western dojo, it is common to call an instructor of any "dan" grade "sensei". Traditionally, that title was reserved for instructors of 4th "dan" and above. Judo practitioners traditionally wear white uniforms called or . sometimes abbreviated in the west as