In Nanzan Kenpo there are two different kinds of grading systems that are utilized. For children, kyu/colored belts are used. Students begin as a white belt, then progress to yellow, orange, blue, green, green 1st stripe, green 2nd stripe, green 3rd stripe and finally brown. It is a straight forward system. Each belt up until green takes about 3 to 5 months to obtain depending on the child. From there it can take 5 to 6 months to obtain each rank. There are no BLACK BELT ranks for children 12 years old and under. There is never a guarantee that a child will pass the grading examine so it can take a child longer to achieve their brown belt.
For adult students the colored grading is different. We start at white belt and move to a white belt with a black stripe. From there it moves to blue belt and then to blue belt with a black stripe. Beyond that, Nanzan Kenpo utilizes the Menkyo licensing system that was used before kyu and dan rankings. A black belt is used for the rank of Shodensho, First Level, then to a purple belt with a black stripe is used for the rank of Chudensho, Middle Level, and lastly a red belt with a black stripe or a black belt with a red border is used for the last rank of Okudensho.
For each adult rank there is no time in grade requirement. Each rank is achieved when the student is ready and not before. Some students will naturally progress faster than others. If a student is coming from another system with a black belt already and is very talented that student could be granted a Shodensho in as little as two years. If not, a student can expect to receive a Shodensho in 4 to 5 years of training.