In common with other martial arts, players in judo are differentiated in their progress through the sport by wearing different coloured belts which indicate their grade.

There are three different grading schemes in operation, depending on the age of the player. Progress from a lower to a higher grade is usally made by a combination of:

• demonstrating a sound theoretical knowledge of a range of judo techniques, and
• performance to a sufficiently high standard in a competitive arena.

Judo competitions are often banded, or restricted, according to players' grades.  The idea is that players of a similar grade will necessarily have similar abilities, and so competition will be as fair as possible.

However, unscrupulous coaches in some clubs will deliberately "hold back" a good junior player at a grade much lower than they are capable of in order to achieve success at grade-banded competitions.  This is a practice with potentially very serious consequences for the safety of players, and one which Hollesley Judo Club does not endorse.