Advancing through the Ranks

Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Advancing through the Ranks
	Ji Do Kwan, like many martial arts, recognizes a student's progress by awarding rank. For the first several years of training, the student progresses through the Gup, eight levels of rank symbolized by a system of colored belts. Eventually a student may reach the Dan, representing a mastery of the basic techniques of an art, symbolized by the black belt. In the Ji Do Kwan school this journey usually takes about five years, although it may take a little less or much more time depending on a combination of a student's natural abilities and diligence in training.
The White Belt (8th Gup)	Many martial arts schools, including Ji Do Kwan, require new students to attend class for about a month before permitting them to wear a Dobok, the traditional white cotton uniform of Tae Kwon Do. This privilege is the first milestone in a beginner's training, and it recognizes the individual's commitment to follow the Way. The newly admitted student wears a belt of white, the color of innocence, to symbolize an "empty" state of being. He or she is like a blank piece of paper, or an empty porcelain cup waiting to be filled.
The Yellow Belt (7th Gup)	White belts learn several fundamental techniques and one form, and after a few months of hard work, they reach the rank of yellow belt (7th Gup). A yellow belt is still essentially a Tae Kwon Do beginner, but one who is comfortable with dojang etiquette and procedures and has begun to absorb the basic skills of the art.
The Green Belt (6th - 4th Gup)	After several more months, the Ji Do Kwan practitioner reaches the rank of 6th Gup, symbolized by a green belt. During the three levels of green belt, students are exposed to most of the basic techniques and skills of Tae Kwon Do. For many students, this period of rapid learning is the most exciting of their training. Others may feel overloaded, that they are learning too much too fast. Both are right--the pace is too much for a mind or body to contain, but there is plenty of time later to let these techniques and ideas become part of a student's being, to develop a solid base for a powerful spirit. Green belts may begin to show skill in the simplest techniques, but the real challenge of this rank is to develop a relaxed and open mind to receive knowledge during training.
The Brown Belt (3rd - 1st Gup)	Only time and practice can lead to mastery of the basic techniques of Tae Kwon Do. Although the Ji Do Kwan brown belt continues to learn new techniques, the motions and processes of the art become more familiar, and the flow of knowledge seems less intimidating. The intensity of training continues to increase, but the brown belt is better equipped to deal with the demands as he or she strives to perfect skills already learned and to smoothly incorporate new ones. The task of this level is to reconcile power and speed with precision, agility with stability, strength with humility. At this stage, a student has made significant progress along the Way--enough to understand just how much lies ahead.
Meaning of the Belt	Ji Do Kwan students wear a uniform of simple white cotton, adorned only by a belt and an embroidered patch symbolizing the school. The jacket and pants of the Dobok should be replaced when worn out and kept clean and white to show respect for the art. The belt, however, is considered a part of a student's identity and so must be treated with special care. Ji Do Kwan students never wash their belts, and so during years of training, the belt would darken by degrees from white to black. Instead of buying new belts when promoted, Ji Do Kwan students keep their old belts, changing the color with dye to symbolize and preserve this tradition.
	And so tudents keep the same belt until they reach the Dan, at which time they receive a black belt of thicker, heavier material. They keep this belt as long as they practice Tae Kwon Do, and as years pass, the fibers may begin to fray and fade with age. Thus the master's belt returns slowly to white, completing the cycle and symbolizing a gradual return to innocence as a practitioner reaches the highest state of the Way.