Drysdale’s School Of Tae Kwon Do
The Ranking System Of Tae Kwon Do
The Ranking system in Tae
Kwon Do differs slightly from those of other styles. There are two main groups
of ranks: Gups (10th – 1st Gup) and Dans’ (degree holders
– I Dan to IX Dan). The even numbered ranks (10th, 8th, 6th,
4, and 2nd) are solid colored belts. Odd numbered ranks (9th
7th, 5th, 3rd, and 1st have a
stripe on each end of the belt or some schools now are going to the duo stripe
belts.
Grading or
examinations to show the student’s progress are held
generally every 3-4 months. As a student moves higher in rank the waiting
period increases up to six months or longer for examination or test.
First degree Black Belt through Third degree Black Belt are
considered "NOVICES," the 4th to 6th are "EXPERTS," 7th and
8th "MASTERS," and 9TH dan is GRAND MASTER.
With degrees, number nine
(9) is the highest, which is the highest SINGLE DIGIT number. But this is not
the only reason. The other reason is that three multiplied by itself produces
number nine. The numbers one and three have always been held in high esteem (In
Christian Belief – Three persons in One God – There is only One God – True of
the three major religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all share the same
God of Abraham)
The Chinese character representing three is called KHIEN and it is written as
three long horizontal lines.
__________
__________
__________
It is one of the four trigrams of the Korean flag. The upper line symbolizes
heaven, the middle line stands for mortals and the lower line symbolizes Earth.