Rank in Judo first five are colored black, 6th, 7th, and 8th "dan" have alternating red and white panels (dandara), and for 9th, 10th "dan" and above, the belts are solid red. In judo's promotion system as originally finalized by Kanō around 1926 there was no maximal dan rank, and judoka holding 10th dan would normally wear a red belt, but also could wear a white belt, the same color as the lowest kyū rank. However, since the highest dan rank reached in judo for a living person or conferred posthumously remains 10th dan, any judo dan rank higher than 10th dan is
Judo in the United States Judo in the United States There are three main organizations that govern judo in the United States. The United States Judo Federation (USJF) started in 1952. The concentration of the USJF is on the east and west coasts, but also in Chicago and Hawaii. The United States Judo Association (USJA) was founded in 1968 as an extension of the Armed Forces Judo Association (AFJA) when it broke off from the USJF to focus on a more Americanized structure. The USJA is mostly concentrated in California and Florida, but also popular in the Midwest and Southeast. The United States Judo, Inc.