White belt

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In many martial arts, the white belt is worn by beginners. Keikogi often will come with a white belt packaged inside. Symbolically, a white belt is sometimes said to represent a tabula rasa, ready to acquire understanding of the art. In some styles, students wear white belts until they receive their first rank of black belt, while in others a range of color is used for different kyu grades (grades before black belt).

In Japanese arts, white belt-wearers are referred to as "mudansha".