The grading system in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu differs by comparison to other conventional martial arts that operate by presenting students with different colored belts with each grade acheived.
In the Bujinkan we operate on a system of Wappen (Patches) and Hoshi (Stars) to make it easy to understand at a quick glance what grade someone is. Most traditional schools of martial arts would present a student with a white belt and then through years of training in the Dojo it would eventually become a black belt, the concept of colored belts is a very western concept popularized by Karate, Judo and Jujutsu during its introduction into western culture.
The rank structure is outlined in the image below:
