What are the karate belts order?

Sibling Questions are helpful.

White (kids add stripes sometimes in Judo – do they do that in Karate?)
then Yellow
Orange
Green
Blue
Red
Brown
Black – Dan 1–9

I’m not sure of the order here on the states, but here’s how my Sensei (teacher/instructor) explained it: there is only one belt, and out of respect and honour one never washes it! You can wash your suit and anything else you wear to practice… but never your belt!
And over the years and years of learning the belt changes colours indicating the time and effort one has placed in learning the Art.
So if you can think of the (natural) progression from white to black it will help you remember…

It depends on the style. For Hapkido it is white, orange, yellow, green, blue, red, black.

In the old days the white belt was simply dyed to a new color. This repeated dying process dictates the type of belt color and the order of the colors!. The standard belt color system is white, yellow, green, brown, and black. In some Karate school and styles, the color order is white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, black.
karate belt colors

Due to the dying process, it is practical to increasingly use darker colors. All of this came about shortly after the second world war, when Japan was a very poor country, and dying the belts to a new color was a cheap way to have a visible, simple and effective ranking system.

The dying of the belts became part of the Karate tradition and was also adapted in other countries. In Australia, Sensei Terry Lyon of Lyon-Karate.com reports that in the early 70s, Australian Karate students also dyed their belts to their new color.

http://www.all-karate.com/125/history-of-karate-belt-colors

that link also talks about Bagardbilla’s response and how that might have little truth to it.

Karate belts

Can vary between the different types of karate( Shito Ryu, Wado Ryu, Goju Ryu, & Shotokan) The type of Karate that I am doing is Wado Ryu. The belts are:

-White belt (ungraded)(10th Kyu)(9th Kyu)

-Red belt (8th Kyu)

-Purple belt (7th Kyu)

-Green belt (6th Kyu)(5th Kyu)

- Brown belt (4th Kyu)(3rd Kyu)(2nd Kyu)

-Black belt (1st Kyu)

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_colors_of_Karate_belts_in_order_from_white_the_lowest_to_black_the_highest

looks like its all based on the style

@Bagardbilla Re. The “White-Belt-Getting-Dirtier” Theory:

Another explanation for the colored belts, that appears more like a Karate myth than reality, is the notion that the belts simply went from white to black because the original Karate founders never washed their belts. They started off with white belts and after years of training ended up with black belts. The proponents of this theory assert that the belt, which was initially white, gets gradually dirtier and dirtier and so goes from white to yellow to green to brown to black in that way.

Many people argue that this theory is cute but has little truth. The dirtiest belt will never go black, and although the color change from white to yellow to brown can easily be imagined, other colors like green would be harder to achieve, unless the belt is host to a culture of particularly nasty and colorful bacteria, not unlike those that live in the back of my fridge. (Not to worry, I finally cleaned out the green goo. One day, from the corner of my eye, I saw it move. Now THAT was too much).

Repeated sweat and dirt from the typically wooden floors can indeed make the whole Gi become yellow and eventually brown. However, it is pretty tough to actually get a significant amount of sweat into the belt, which is more evidence against the “White-Belt-Getting-Dirtier” theory.

Lifted from here

White and then Black.

The colours in between were introduced relatively recently to increase the perception of progress.

I would not worry so much about your belt’s color. It could be black and you would still get your butt kicked. It is all in the skill of the practitioner. I have seen yellow belt mop the floor with black belts. It must be very embarrassing. ; )