Rank moves through ten kyu grades to black belt, tested formally three to four times a year against a published syllabus of kihon, kata and self-defense drills. A stripe is never sold and a belt is never given for attendance - a student who is not ready for the next grade is told so, plainly, and tests again next cycle. Most students reach black belt in three to five years of consistent training, not months.
Etiquette is taught as content, not decoration. Students bow onto and off the mat because it marks the space as different from the parking lot outside. The uniform is folded a specific way and never dragged on the floor, because how you treat your gi is how you treat your training. Students address instructors by rank, and the line-up at the start of class exists so everyone can see where they stand next to everyone else - literally and otherwise.
Contact is staged and never assumed. Children never spar. Sparring for teens and adults begins at green belt, in required head gear, gloves and a mouthguard, under direct instructor supervision, and stays light-contact in class by default. Competition is optional, entered only by students an instructor has cleared, and is a separate event from anything that happens on a normal class night.
