Newcastle University Taekwondo Club


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Grading

Tae Kwon Do operates a system of belts to show an individuals grade. Coloured belts are known as Kup Grades, while black belts are known as Dan Grades. The colours of belts seems to vary between certain countries, but in the United Kingdom, the table below is generally the case.

For details about Newcastle Tae Kwon Do gradings, please see the Members section.

Grade	Belt Colour	Belt Meaning	Form Required	Form Meaning
10th Kup	White	Innocence.	-
9th Kup	White/Yellow Tag		-
8th Kup	Yellow	The earth in which the seed is planted	1. Il-jang	Innocence, the source of all things to come
7th Kup	Yellow/Green Tag		2. Ee-jang	Joyfulness, positive thoughts
6th Kup	Green	The plant grows	3. Sam-jang	Fire, enthusiasm
5th Kup	Green/Blue Tag		4. Sa-jang	Thunder, bravery and steadfastness
4th Kup	Blue	Reaching to the sky	5. Oh-jang	Wind, sudden change
3rd Kup	Blue/Red Tag		6. Yup-jang	Water, flowing absorption
2nd Kup	Red	Danger, to others and to yourself	7. Chil-jang	Immovable Mountain
1st Kup	Red/Black Tag		8. Pal-jang	Earth, from which all new things come
1st Dan	Black	Basic proficiency	Koryo	Determination, meaning, strength, power

Forms

All coloured belts must learn a series of forms, or taegeuks, as they are known in Korean. The requirements are as described in the table above. taegeuks are training patterns upon which a competence in Tae Kwon Do is built, and they embody all the principles of Tae Kwon Do. Their meanings are also described above.

There are of course many many other forms. Dan grades must also learn another form to succeed in passing each Dan grading.

Please see the Patterns section, where you can see them graphically step by step.