Korea TaeKwon-Do Association Website Link:
Here, you will be able to read first-hand information about TaeKwon-Do,
and Philosophy of the belt (tti) and uniform (dobok) from an
actual Korean-Written perspective so you can take it and reflect
it upon your training, providing a much wider and more expansive base.
The cycle of
Training
The rank system is consists
of 'Gup' members, and 'Dan' members. Starting from 9 and going to
0, then going back to 9 again, is how we look at the journey of the
ranking system. It represents the cycle of life. It takes an
entire lifetime to truly understand the benefits of true martial arts.
Most people only look at the physical aspects and get too caught up in
the 'who can beat who' in a fight mentality. The most rewarding
thing about TaeKwon-Do especially in our dojang is the cycle of
training.
In the early 1970's, Grand
Master D. W. Kang began teaching in Tulsa and brought up some very
promising students. Throughout that time, anyone who had taken the
initiative to train in the martial arts and seek out a true master
sought out Grand Master Kang. Most any of the local TaeKwon-Do and
Karate schools here in Tulsa received much of their dominant knowledge
and training through Grand Master Kang.
Today, in the new
millennium, we are seeing many of the former students bringing their
children in to benefit from the untarnished, and traditional approach
that you can only find here. Most any other place you see today in
the martial arts industry has a mix of many martial arts that are
practiced with the intention mostly for 'winning in the ring', or
placing harm on other people. Our nation doesn't need more trendy
statements that fill the mind's of our young. It needs a healthy
dose of reality and real discipline that can only be demonstrated by
those who truly live it. With the pop culture and world of high
fashion, coupled with the ever-so-growing need to be associated with a
'clique' or a 'gang' and the increasing popularity of prescription
narcotic drugs, we are among the few who represent a responsibility to
help guide our 'on-edge' youth. We all want to feel strong, and we
all want to feel secure. Sometimes, that is replaced with a false
sense of friendship that leads us into gang-life. Sometimes, that
leads us into a path of painkillers, needles, and eventual death,
however; sometimes, it leads us to a place next to GOD with a destiny to
obey his will and a fulfilling a complete life that overflows with
abundance of generosity and compassion. Sometimes, we need to make
enough mistakes, which are the mistakes that help us see that destiny.
Everything we do up to that point in life is just practice for what we
were meant to do for real, in life.
Think of beginning your
training as
the outer edge of the circle. As you train, your progress around
the circle and make your journey inward, until you meet your final
destiny. When this happens, you place yourself on a track inside
the circle and repeat the process until you find the center. Doing
this over and over is called the cycle of training. Only an
individual of consistent discipline can produce the self-motivation necessary
to continue down this true path of self-development.
Black Belt Dan Membership (Degrees of
Black Belt)
Recommended Black
belt - Is just a temporary period where the student experiences all
of the benefits of being a black belt, only, isn't an official black
belt yet. The recommended black belt stage is a period of
recognition of many things, including the willingness to go on with his
training as a member of an 'elite club'.
1st Dan Black Belt
through 3rd Dan Black Belt - Assistant Instructor (cho-gyo-nim) or (kyo-sa-nim)
The assistant instructor is a work in progress. It is a time in
which they are to truly reflect what they know against an entire class
of beginners. It is also a time in which they are to make
adjustments in their repertoire and hone their teaching skills via their
mentor.
Kyo Sa Nim - Certified
Instructor A Dan member will test on his teaching skills and
knowledge before attaining this title. An instructor who has not
been tested on his commanding skills is not a real instructor yet.
4th Dan Black Belt -
Jr Master This is a stage in which the student
has become very skilled in their teaching skills. Justice,
compassion and leadership are and should be second nature to an
individual of this caliber.
Sa-bum-nim - Master Instructor
A Dan member will test on his mastery of public dignity and personal
integrity. This ability is not easily attained and is something
that is 'bred' into a Black Belt of High Dan Membership.
5th, 6th and 7th Dan
Black Belt - "Master" (Dae Sabum-nim) The master degrees of
Black Belt represent the kind of coordination and balance it takes to
skillfully approach all disciplines of the Martial Arts with grace and
beauty. The more well trained the individual, the more it reflects
and shows in his teachings and his students.
8th and 9th Dan Black
Belt - "Grandmaster" - (Do-sa-nim) or 'Boss" (kwan-jang-nim)
After a lifetime of participation and growth in the Martial Arts, the
individual has considered to have made a thorough journey in not only
teaching skills in the martial arts, but life as well. The
Grandmaster is one who has 'lived' the true life, and walked the true
path. The Grandmaster is one who has had his share of successes as
well as failures. Only by trial and error in combination with
'indomitable spirit' guided by wisdom can one truly achieve this title.
