All practitioners of Tae Kwon Do begin their training with the same objective in mind, to achieve the rank of black belt. Although the black belt is a symbol of advanced skill, its attainment does not mark the end of a journey, rather it is the beginning of advanced exploration toward the goal of physical perfection, moral certitude, and intellectual clarity.
It takes several years of dedicated training, blood, sweat, and yes, pain (the kind that lets you know you're alive) to become a first degree black belt. But the reward for those who are able to endure is increased physical and mental ability, extraordinary focus and discipline, giving one the ability to break pine boards with both hand and foot, and perform air-born punches and kicks landing with complete control. As impressive as these feats of skill may be, if you continue training past the rank of first dan (in Tae Kwon Do, there are ten levels of black belt, each one is known as a dan) you will discover there are even greater rewards and opportunities to be realized.
The Philosophy Of The Belt System
Early pioneers of TKD (Tae Kwon Do) did not use a belt to indicate rank, but merely as a practical means to hold one's clothing in place. But over a long period of time, as they practised their belts would become soiled and darkened. Eventually a darkened belt of a TKD practitioner began to symbolize someone who had practiced extensively, and was well versed and highly-skilled in the art.
In the modern era of TKD a black belt still symbolizes a practitioner of advanced skills. However, the black belt is part of an incorporated belt-ranking-system which not only outwardly indicates a practitioner's physical proficiency, but their mental and philosophical growth as well. The WTF (World Tae Kwon Do Federation) has standardized the progression of belts and recognizes five belts below the black belt: white, yellow, green, blue, red. The beginning students wear the white belt. The absence of color symbolizes innocence and purity as evident by a beginning student's lack of knowledge of TKD. Next the yellow belt represents the rising sun, the source of all life. At this stage the student begins to flourish and learn the basics of the art. The next belt is green, the color of well-rooted things growing upward toward the sky. During this stage the student starts to develop power. Next is the blue belt, the color of the sky, boundless and ever reaching. At this stage a student begins to stabilize their power and focuses on reaching their fullest potential. The color belt before reaching black is red, the color of blood which is the vital essence of life. Students at this level are refining and deepening their power and control. Finally, the black belt represents the color of all the belts combined. This stage represents technical mastery executed with calm dignity and sincerity.
It takes several years of dedicated training, blood, sweat, and yes, pain (the kind that lets you know you're alive) to become a first degree black belt. But the reward for those who are able to endure is increased physical and mental ability, extraordinary focus and discipline, giving one the ability to break pine boards with both hand and foot, and perform air-born punches and kicks landing with complete control. As impressive as these feats of skill may be, if you continue training past the rank of first dan (in Tae Kwon Do, there are ten levels of black belt, each one is known as a dan) you will discover there are even greater rewards and opportunities to be realized.
The Philosophy Of The Belt System
Early pioneers of TKD (Tae Kwon Do) did not use a belt to indicate rank, but merely as a practical means to hold one's clothing in place. But over a long period of time, as they practised their belts would become soiled and darkened. Eventually a darkened belt of a TKD practitioner began to symbolize someone who had practiced extensively, and was well versed and highly-skilled in the art.
In the modern era of TKD a black belt still symbolizes a practitioner of advanced skills. However, the black belt is part of an incorporated belt-ranking-system which not only outwardly indicates a practitioner's physical proficiency, but their mental and philosophical growth as well. The WTF (World Tae Kwon Do Federation) has standardized the progression of belts and recognizes five belts below the black belt: white, yellow, green, blue, red. The beginning students wear the white belt. The absence of color symbolizes innocence and purity as evident by a beginning student's lack of knowledge of TKD. Next the yellow belt represents the rising sun, the source of all life. At this stage the student begins to flourish and learn the basics of the art. The next belt is green, the color of well-rooted things growing upward toward the sky. During this stage the student starts to develop power. Next is the blue belt, the color of the sky, boundless and ever reaching. At this stage a student begins to stabilize their power and focuses on reaching their fullest potential. The color belt before reaching black is red, the color of blood which is the vital essence of life. Students at this level are refining and deepening their power and control. Finally, the black belt represents the color of all the belts combined. This stage represents technical mastery executed with calm dignity and sincerity.
Black is the color of the spectrum in which all colors blend into one.
Each One Teach One
Chokyonim (which means instructor) is the title given to a student who reaches the rank of first degree black belt or first dan (which is the minimal level of competency required to teach what he/she knows). At this point a student has a moral obligation to give back to TKD from which they have received by passing along the knowledge they have learned to other students following in their footsteps. Secondly, teaching helps to hone and consolidate a black belt's skills and understanding, bringing them more and more in accord with themselves in mind, body, and spirit. This understanding extends to all practitioners of the martial arts including the masters. In addition to reaching for a higher understanding, new black belts are expected to solidify their physical capabilities through constant training with the goal of increasing speed, precision, power, agility, stamina, and flexibility. The idea is to exhibit total will over the body, to achieve a state of perpetual readiness, able to attack or defend at any point and time along a 360 degree radius. Achieving near flawless execution of this kind will require many years of training, but time passes quickly for those who are dedicated.
You can tell the experience of a black belt practitioner by the shading of his/her belt, ash being the noblest.
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2 comments:
My ex-boyfriend did karate for a few years; he got to the purple belt. I wonder if he even knows what the colors symbolize...I will have to quiz him!
Purple belt is the same rank as a blue belt, he was practicing under a different belt system.
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