Tae kwon do belt colors are a system of
rank below black belt.

Your tae kwon do belt symbolizes advancement through the ranks.

The beginner starts with no-belt or a white belt depending on the particular school. Through a series of instruction and testing, you move up in rank and your belt color changes with you.

There is a reason that students below black belt wear a colored tae kwon do belt.

Tae kwon do philosophy reflects on the absolutes of nature and physics. To everything there is a cycle: creation, growth and death. Think of the flower that grows from a seed in the ground, continues to grow until fully mature. It leaves behind its own seeds and decays back into the ground.

Each belt color symbolizes a cycle within your training.

Click the black belt image for a list of colored belts and the meaning of each color

When martial artists first began to wear their tae kwon do belt, there was only 1 color: White. Every student began with a white belt.

Over the course of many years of training, that belt became darker with sweat, dirt and blood until eventually it was black in color.

As decades go by, the wear and tear on the belt would cause it to fray, the fibers breaking apart. Eventually, the black belt becomes white again, symbolizing the full circle of knowledge the artist has experienced.

Next time you are with a Tae kwon do Master who has decades of experience, look closely at their belt and you will see the knowledge it contains.

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