First: there is no universal Wing Chun ranking
Many martial arts share a familiar coloured-belt ladder. Wing Chun does not. Ranking varies by lineage and organisation, sometimes a great deal. Other Wing Chun lineages, including other branches that also trace back to Ip Man, use entirely different ranking structures, and some have no formal rank system at all.
So when you see a sash colour on a Wing Chun practitioner, the colour on its own tells you very little. You need to know which lineage’s system it belongs to. Everything below describes Traditional Wing Chun (TWC), the line of Grandmaster William Cheung, a direct student of Ip Man. If you train in another line, ask your teacher how your school grades. Their answer is the one that applies to you.
Sashes, not belts
Traditional Wing Chun ranks students with sashes rather than belts. You will often hear them called belts anyway, as in “purple belt”, and that is fine: it is the same rank. The system was built around this lineage’s own curriculum rather than borrowed from Japanese martial arts, so each rank corresponds to a defined, demonstrable stage of the actual system, not to time served.
The Traditional Wing Chun sash system
| Rank | Level | What it marks |
|---|---|---|
| Black sash | Levels 1–9 | Every student begins with a plain black sash. Each of the first nine levels adds a gold bar, tracking progress through stances, structure, the empty-hand forms and Chi Sao fundamentals. |
| Gold sash | Level 10 | Instructor Level. The practitioner has developed enough command of the system to begin teaching. Continued development past Level 10 is marked with additional bars on the gold sash rather than new numbered levels. |
| Red sash | After further years | Earned after further years of full-time training and teaching. A rank above standard instructorship, reflecting extensive teaching experience layered on continued personal skill. |
| Purple sash | Master Level | The top of the system. Reserved for practitioners who have devoted the majority of their martial arts lives to Traditional Wing Chun, marking technical mastery and the responsibility of preserving and passing on the complete system. |
Black sash, Levels 1 to 9
This is where everyone starts, and where most of your early years of training happen. The nine black sash levels build the physical and structural foundation that everything later depends on: your stance, your structure, the empty-hand forms beginning with Sil Lim Tao, and the fundamentals of Chi Sao. Each completed level earns another gold bar on the black sash, so you and your teacher can see your progress at a glance.
Gold sash, Level 10: Instructor Level
Reaching Level 10 earns a solid gold sash. This is a major milestone. It marks the point where you have enough command of the system to begin teaching others. The gold sash is roughly comparable in significance to a black belt in other martial arts, with one important difference: it is not the top. Further development past Level 10 is shown with additional bars on the gold sash.
Red sash
After further years of full-time training and teaching, an instructor can progress to the red sash. It reflects a rank above standard instructorship: extensive teaching experience on top of continued personal development.
Purple sash: Master Level
The purple sash sits at the top of the system. It is reserved for practitioners who have devoted the majority of their martial arts lives to Traditional Wing Chun. It marks not only technical mastery but the responsibility of preserving the complete system and passing it on intact. You will see it on Grandmaster William Cheung, and it is the rank held by Master Brian Lewadny and by me. Reaching it takes well over a decade of training and teaching.
I wrote a full post on what the purple sash means and who holds it: what a purple sash means in Traditional Wing Chun. The complete ranking breakdown is in the Wing Chun ranking system on my blog.
Why every rank has to be earned in order
In this system a student is not moved to the next level until they have genuinely absorbed what the current one requires. That is what separates it from a belt mill. Skipping ahead would produce instructors, and eventually masters, who never solidified the basics they are responsible for teaching.
It is also why the steps from gold sash to red sash, and from red sash to purple sash, take years rather than months. Teaching is part of the requirement. A red or purple sash has to prove they can pass the system on accurately, not just perform it well themselves.
My own path through the ranks
I trained from 2005 to 2019 at the Canadian Wing Chun Kung Fu Academy in Calgary under Master Brian Lewadny, and completed Levels 7 to 10 in private training between 2019 and 2025. I hold the purple sash, Master Level, and I teach Traditional Wing Chun as it was passed down to me by Master Brian Lewadny, who learned it from Grandmaster William Cheung. I have also been recognised by Grandmaster David Cheung, himself a purple sash master; you can read about him in Grandmaster David Cheung, purple sash master level.
How other lineages grade
Outside Traditional Wing Chun, you will meet a wide range of approaches. Some schools use their own colours or symbols, some use numbered grades or titles, and some have no formal grading at all and simply teach the next stage when the teacher judges a student is ready. None of these is automatically better or worse. A sash colour in one school can mean something completely different in another.
That is why I tell students to look past the colour. What matters is whether a rank is traceable to a real, documented line of instruction, and whether the school can tell you exactly what each level requires. My post on why lineage matters and the lineages guide go further into this.
Questions to ask any school about ranks
- Which lineage does your ranking system belong to?
- What exactly must I demonstrate to pass each level? Is it written down?
- Who assesses gradings, and do they give feedback when a student is not ready?
- Can I move on before I have absorbed the current level? (A good answer is no.)
- At what level do students begin teaching, and how are instructors supervised?
Compare the answers using what makes a good Wing Chun course.
How to prepare for a grading
Whatever system you train in, the way to prepare is the same: make your basics honest. Gradings in the early levels test what the black sash levels are built on, so put your time there.
- Know your forms from memory, slowly. If you can only perform a form at speed, you do not know it yet. Run it slowly and check your structure in every section.
- Check your stance on video. Film yourself from the front and side. In Traditional Wing Chun the feet are not turned in; follow your teacher’s instructions for width and weight. The beginner mistakes lesson lists what to look for.
- Drill the techniques by name. Make sure you can show Tan Sao, Bong Sao, Fook Sao, Pak Sao and the others your level requires, and explain what each is for. See Wing Chun hand techniques.
- Practise daily rather than cramming. A short, regular session beats a long one the night before. The daily practice routine gives you a template.
- Ask for feedback early. A teacher who sees a problem weeks before grading can help you fix it in time.
Should you care about rank?
A rank is useful as a map: it tells you where you are and what comes next. It becomes a problem when it turns into the goal. The students who progress best are the ones who care about the skill and let the sash follow. If you are wondering how long the journey takes, my post how long does it take to learn Wing Chun is a realistic guide, and how to become a Wing Chun instructor covers the teaching path.
If you want a structured path with assessment, my online course is organised into 10 levels with a graded exam at each one.
Frequently asked questions
Does Wing Chun use belts or sashes?
Traditional Wing Chun uses sashes rather than belts, although many people call them belts. Other Wing Chun lineages use different systems, and some have no formal ranks at all, so always ask which system a school follows.
What is the highest rank in Traditional Wing Chun?
The purple sash, which marks Master Level. It sits above the black sash levels, the gold sash of Instructor Level and the red sash, and it is reserved for practitioners who have devoted the majority of their martial arts lives to Traditional Wing Chun.
How many levels are there in Traditional Wing Chun?
There are nine numbered black sash levels, each marked by an added gold bar, and then Level 10, which earns a solid gold sash. Beyond Level 10, progress is marked by further bars on the gold sash, then the red sash, and finally the purple sash, rather than by more numbered levels.
Is the gold sash like a black belt?
It is roughly comparable in significance, because Level 10 marks Instructor Level, the point where a practitioner can begin teaching. Unlike a black belt in many arts, it is not the top of the system: the red sash and purple sash come after it.
How long does it take to reach Master Level?
In Traditional Wing Chun, reaching the purple sash takes well over a decade of consistent training and teaching. The nine black sash levels alone typically take several years, and the red and purple sashes require many more years of teaching on top of personal skill.
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