Celebrate a New Belt in Karate (or Other Martial Arts!)

Whether they choose karate, taekwondo, or another form of training, martial arts can help kids learn focus and stillness, gain self-respect and confidence, become self-disciplined, and improve their listening skills, among other benefits. The colored belts worn by participants are a ranking system that shows a martial arts student’s progress.

Students begin with white belts and eventually move up to yellow, followed by orange, green, and so on, until some achieve the honor of wearing a black belt. Every belt color is significant and represents an achievement worthy of recognition. When your child moves up to the next color, show your pride and enthusiasm with one or more of these unique ideas:

Training Equipment

If you feel that a gift is in order, consider giving your child something that will help them train at home. Items such as kick pads, targets, leg stretchers, or punching bags can give your child an advantage, making it easier to practice, stretch, and work out regularly, not just on the days they have classes. Consider areas where they struggle the most, think about a new routine they are learning, or ask them what they would love to become better at, and look for equipment that can help them improve in those areas.

Belt Display

Whether your child is earning their first belt or has already moved up the ranks by a few colors, giving them a rack or other display for their previous belts is an ideal way to show your pride and motivate them to keep working hard. Options range from wooden wall racks personalized with your child’s name, to glass or acrylic cylinders in which they can stack their coiled belts to cases that have additional spots for awards and medals. Seeing the fruits of their efforts exhibited in your home will remind them that dedication, practice, and perseverance do pay off over time.

Photo Cake

Moving up in belts is not a piece of cake, but celebrating the occasion sure can be. Snap a photo of your child wearing their “gi” or uniform, complete with the new belt color. Take the picture to your favorite bakery (most supermarket bakers can use a printed photo or a pic saved to a flash drive) and ask them to make a sheet cake with an edible photo topper. Add a meaningful message or let the image speak for itself. Everyone will be pleased to dig into a slice of cake showing off your child’s awesome abilities.

Decorating Color Scheme

Dress up your home with balloons, streamers, and other simple but festive decorations. Decking the house in white and the color of the belt your child is moving up to is an easy and affordable way to show your pride and help them feel special. If you don’t want to decorate the whole place, you can opt to focus on your kid’s bedroom. Twist together crepe paper streamers in the two colors and stretch them across the door so that they can triumphantly bust through the doorway. Covering the floor with inflated, color-coordinated balloons is another fun way to say “Way to go!”

Capture the Moment

Of course, you’ll want to take some pictures of your child moving up in belts, but there are loads of other photo ops you will not want to miss as well. Try to catch a shot of your child with the entire class and with their instructor. Get some cool action shots of them performing kicks, twists, and chops. Recording video will let you all relive the memories of this significant event. When you are done, create a scrapbook or use a tool such as Google Photos [hyperlink] on your iOS or Android device to piece together pics and video clips and make a cool montage video set to music. (May we suggest Eye of the Tiger?)

Kids’ Books

You can never go wrong by giving your children books, and when they have a topic that they’re passionate about, they’ll really appreciate reading them. Dozens of kids’ books on martial arts are available for every age and reading level. Here are a few worth checking out:

• Julie Black Belt by Oliver Chin
• Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny by John Himmelman
• JoJo’s Flying Sidekick  by Brian Pinkney
• Taekwondo Kids: From White Belt to Yellow/Green Belt by Wolfgang Rumpf
• The Martial Arts Book by Laura Scandiffio
• The Kids’ Karate Workbook: A Take-Home Training Guide for Young Martial Artists by Didi Goodman

Celebrating your child moving up in karate belts is a wonderful way to recognize their hard work and dedication. Remember that the honor and the belt itself is a profound reward, so you do not need to shower your child with gifts. Instead, find simple but meaningful ways to show how proud and happy you are about this momentous milestone.

How do you plan on celebrating your karate kid moving up the ranks? Share your fun ideas with us!