Ranks and Belts (Golden Tae Kwon Do Family Center)

Ranks and Belts

Different belts symbolize the various stages of physical and spiritual development in martial arts. The following is a list of belts and their color interpretations

Grade	Color	Description
10^th Gup	White	A student who has no knowledge of the art but has begun the journey. White, being a non-color, expresses a VOID, NO ACTION.
9^th Gup	White w/ stripes	Student has learned the basics. 1) the student creed, 2) the basic form, and 3) “A leader is best …”
8^th Gup	Yellow	Development has slowly begun. Yellow represents CAUTION, careful and slow movements.
7^th Gup	Purple	The student receives his or her first dark color, representing the DESIRE TO LEARN and CONCENTRATION.
6^th Gup	Green	Student has begun to achieve a higher level of concentration, FOCUS and COORDINATION of technique.
5^th Gup	Blue	Student has begun to acquire SKILL and is developing CONFIDENCE.
4^th Gup	Brown	Student has begun to coordinate SKILL with CONFIDENCE.
3^rd Gup	Red	Student is now developing SPEED and techniques with FLOWING MOTION.
2^nd Gup	Red w/ stripes	Student is combining SPEED with STRENGTH resulting in power. He or she has no begun to work on ACCURACY.
1^st Gup	Deputy Black	Student has successfully combined POWER with ACCURACY. The black signifies MATURITY and NO FEAR, self confidence as well as self discipline has helped the student overcome him or herself.
Dan	Black	All has now come together in HARMONY. The student has obtained SELF-CONFIDENCE and MATURITY. The student has graduated to a DEGREE in the martial arts. There are nine degrees of black belt.