"Belt color is just a system that can help motivate a karate beginner. Later, students tell me that they do not want a more advanced belt because they do not feel they deserve it. Sometimes I ask them to take an exam and they avoid it because they have reached the stage of "I know nothing" and this is the essence of karate: It is an endless search through karate techniques. I want them to search and practice until they die, indefinitely. I myself have many areas of uncertainty"

Sensei Hidetaka Nishiyama (1928 - 2008) - Founder of Traditional Karate