SYSTEM OF RANK...

I have heard many a person explain to myself what a true Black Belt is? What a Black Belt should stand for etc etc? Originally a Black Belt was a student who had trained more often than many in the class (Do Jang) and his/ her belt had just got dirty with all the training. Of course by training harder you would gain more knowledge and have a better understanding of your chosen art.

The ranking system as we know it today in Taekwon-Do is to represent the philosophical significance of the Taekwon-Do practitioner as well as to distinguish rank.

The colours below have not been arbitrarily chosen. They are, in fact, steeped in tradition. The colours of black, red and blue denoted the various levels of hierarchy during the koguryo and silla dynasties. (Areas in Korea)

Black belt First to Ninth - Degree

Red belt with black stripe 1st - Kup

Red belt 2nd - Kup

Blue belt with red stripe 3rd - Kup

Blue Belt 4th - Kup

Green belt with blue stripe 5th - Kup

Green belt 6th - Kup

Yellow belt with green stripe 7th - Kup

Yellow belt 8th - Kup

White belt with yellow stripe 9th - Kup

White belt 10th - Kup