The Belt System

Respect for belt rank means something but

respect for the person inside means more.

When you first walk into a dojang, you notice that the students are wearing belts of various colors. You may wonder what is the significance of the different color belts. The belt colors signify the approximate Taekwondo skill levels of the wearers.

In the dojang, there is no age, gender, cultural, or racial barriers; all students begin their training at the lowest skill level, the white belt. Each student then trains and progresses at his or her own rate in accordance to his or her own desire and ability. During this training process, students develop proficiency at performing Taekwondo techniques, while also developing the physical characteristics of strength, stamina, quickness, flexibility, coordination, and balance. They develop the important mental characteristics of patience, humility, self-control, perseverance, concentration, and respect. They also gain knowledge about Taekwondo and its origin. As students develop these skills and learn their poomse (forms) they are awarded colored belts to signify their level of knowledge and proficiency. 

A specific colored belt is awarded to a student based upon his or her meeting the minimum requirements for the belt and for his or her demonstration of skills during a test that are substantially improved from his or her last belt test. Belts are awarded to students based on improvement of their own personal skills. For this reason, belts give only a rough estimate of a student's Taekwondo skills.  One red belt student may display extraordinary skills in comparison to another red belt student. It may appear that the lesser skilled red belt does not deserve the red belt, when in actuality, he or she trained an extraordinary number of hours and showed great progress to earn the belt in comparison to the more skilled red belt who was able to easily learn the skills in short time.  Rank is determined by many factors, having a true "Taekwondo spirit" is foremost among them.

Anyone who is willing to make the commitment of time and effort may learn Taekwondo and advance through the belt system. For some, advancement may take longer than for others due time conflicts with other phases of life, money problems, physical differences, physical or mental disabilities, or injuries. However, since belt advancement is awarded on personal improvement, anyone who preservers may reach the black belt level. The secret to earning a Taekwondo black belt is simple—commitment.  A person who trains consistently at least three days a week should be able to earn their Black Belt in three years.

Colored belts signify the position/rank of each student in the dojang hierarchy. The higher the belt/rank, the more respect is deserved. After years of studying and training, a student may the top of the belt/rank hierarchy, the black belt level. Since rank is awarded based on tenure, performing certain minimum skills, and on making substantial personal improvement, it is a more a social and psychological status than it is an indicator of fighting ability. A higher rank many times indicates the person has higher tenure in the dojang/organization, not necessarily that the person has a higher skill level than the lower ranks. Skill level does not always equate to rank. Just because a young red belt may be able to consistently beat an older 6th degree, it does not demean the 6th degree nor raise the red belt's esteem.

The practice of Taekwondo requires strict order and discipline, which comes from respect of the seniority of the belt system. The more respect a student has for the significance of the belt system, the more serious he or she may become in his or her Taekwondo training.

COLOR BELTS AT SMITH TAEKWONDO CENTER

Every Taekwondo school has taken the original belt system and modified it to meet the needs of their specific school.  At Smith Taekwondo, our belt system is  white, yellow, purple, orange, green, blue, senior blue, brown, senior brown, red, red/black and black.

White signifies innocence, like that of a beginning student who has no previous knowledge of Taekwondo.

 Yellow signifies the seedling reaching toward the sun and striving to take root as the Taekwondo foundation is laid.  

Orange signifies the earth from which a plant sprouts and takes root from the Taekwondo foundation.

Green signifies the plant's growth as the Taekwondo skill begins to develop.

Blue signifies the heaven towards which the plant matures into a towering tree as training in Taekwondo progresses.

Brown signifies the maturing plant that still seeks nourishment but is getting stronger.

Red signifies the changing of the plant as it reaches a new cycle.

Black signifies the plant has come full circle and will begin its growth and development again.

KUKKIWON BLACK BELT CERTIFICATION

The Kukkiwon is the World Taekwondo Headquarters.  It is the Kukkiwon which researches, conducts instructor seminars and serves as the conduit for Dan and Poom promotion and certification.  The Kukkiwon decides what the requirements for promotion are and if things such as poomse interpretation is involved then the Kukkiwon has the final say.  When one is promoted to Dan/Poom rank, one receives a Kukkiwon certificate.  Not all Black Belts are certified by the Kukkiwon.

As of September 2001, the global Taekwondo population was estimated at about 50 million.  Worldwide there are only 59,594 Kukkiwon Black Belts holding the rank of 4th Dan or higher and of those only 7,471 are outside of Korea.  Think about those numbers.  If you are fortunate enough to be affiliated with a Taekwondo program that has certified Kukkiwon Black Belts you are among a select group and if your Instructor is a Kukkiwon certified 4th Dan or higher Black Belt then you are indeed fortunate.                                                                                                                            

All of the Black Belts at Smith Taekwondo are Kukkiwon certified.  As such, each Black Belt receives The Certificate of Qualification shown at left.  Only those Taekwondo Masters who successfully complete  the 40 hour course and score over 70% on all physical and  written exams, as prescribed in the official Kukkiwon Taekwondo Academy's  Instructors manual are authorized to test and certify Black Belts.  The manual is  available only for Kukkiwon Taekwondo Academy's Instructors course participants who hold a Kukkiwon issued Black Belt degree of 4th Dan or above.   Master Smith has successfully completed all of the above requirements and has received both the Kukkiwon plaque and certification and currently holds the rank of 5th Dan.  Therefore, he is authorized to bestow Kukkiwon Dan certifications and can, if necessary, withdraw an individual's Kukkiwon certification should he decide that their behavior no longer reflects what is expected of one of his Black Belts.