Promotions by year
| Blue belt | Purple belt | Brown belt | Black belt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1971 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1977 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1978 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1981 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1982 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1983 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1985 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1986 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1989 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1991 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1993 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1994 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 1995 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 1996 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| 1997 | 34 | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| 1998 | 62 | 12 | 5 | 3 |
| 1999 | 36 | 21 | 6 | 2 |
| 2000 | 74 | 25 | 10 | 2 |
| 2001 | 88 | 23 | 14 | 3 |
| 2002 | 82 | 35 | 16 | 7 |
| 2003 | 124 | 66 | 11 | 13 |
| 2004 | 140 | 65 | 21 | 21 |
| 2005 | 162 | 81 | 35 | 11 |
| 2006 | 232 | 98 | 54 | 17 |
| 2007 | 253 | 112 | 49 | 25 |
| 2008 | 395 | 160 | 69 | 35 |
| 2009 | 397 | 189 | 93 | 49 |
| 2010 | 572 | 265 | 130 | 60 |
| 2011 | 613 | 261 | 137 | 73 |
| 2012 | 658 | 416 | 170 | 105 |
| 2013 | 666 | 481 | 211 | 133 |
| 2014 | 703 | 525 | 282 | 136 |
| 2015 | 789 | 640 | 340 | 178 |
| 2016 | 859 | 638 | 449 | 232 |
| 2017 | 1011 | 716 | 582 | 275 |
| 2018 | 1263 | 803 | 590 | 397 |
| 2019 | 1600 | 971 | 707 | 569 |
| 2020 | 1117 | 671 | 453 | 289 |
| 2021 | 1204 | 855 | 584 | 491 |
| 2022 | 1387 | 959 | 710 | 603 |
| 2023 | 1177 | 966 | 658 | 574 |
| 2024 | 902 | 711 | 597 | 451 |
| 2025 | 524 | 505 | 384 | 408 |
| 2026 | 278 | 238 | 215 | 223 |
Global promotions by month
Average age at promotion
Which day are belts given?
Saturday sees 2.6 times as many promotions as an average weekday
How long between stripes?
Months to each stripe. The first stripe on a new belt always takes the longest.
Black belt degrees
About 3 years between each of the first degrees, longer after that
