Thursday, October 30, 2008

WHITE, YELLOW, ORANGE, GREEN


My older daughter completed her belt test last week in Tae Kwon Do and
successfully passed from an Orange belt to the next level of Green Belt. The
man she is sparring with is another student in the class.







The colored belts are a system to determine where a student resides in their studies. 
Much like being called a Freshman, Sophomore, Jr. or Sr. It merely represents where 
you are at the moment.

The colors themselves are progressive and associated with philosophical meaning:

White Belt:

The lack of color signifies purity and innocence. The novice has no knowledge of 
tae kwon do.

Yellow Belt:

The color of the rising sun. Seeds in the ground begin to germinate and grow. 
Basic tae kwon do techniques begin to be learned.

Orange Belt:

The sun deepens in color and rises higher in the sky. It gives energy to new 
growth. Techniques start to take form.

Green Belt:

The color of growing things that all can see. Power begins to develop.
 
Blue / Purple Belt:

The color of the sky which growing things reach for. Physical and mental 
power starts to stabilize.

Brown Belt:

The color of the ground where growing things are rooted firmly. Stability 
of physical and mental power is apparent.

Red / Bodan Belt:

The color of blood, the essential life force. Maturity, honor and respect 
are exhibited as character begins to perfect.
 
Black Belt:

Black is the combination of all color. The final stage where technique is 
mastered within the humble and serene beauty of the plant.


Pretty cool, huh?


3 comments:

Becky said...

That IS cool! I knew there must be some meaning to them. Congrats to your daughter. I am hoping at least one of my kids will have an interest in martial arts.

The Stricklands said...

Congratulations! Years ago my older boys and I took taekwondo together. I actually won a big trophy at a tournament in Dallas (because there weren't many women competing in my age group). That might be my only sport trophy! Mason took for several months and loved it. Now he is a soccer boy :)

How is your quilt coming?

Laura ~Peach~ said...

Congratulations young lady! Very cool on the belt meanings I always wondered what they ment!