10th Kup 9th Kup
White signifies innocence, as that of a beginning student who has no previous knowledge of Tae Kwon-Do.
8th Kup 7th Kup
Yellow signifies earth from which a plant takes root and sprouts as Tae Kwon-Do foundation is laid.
6th Kup 5th Kup
Green signifies a plants growth as Tae Kwon-Do skill begins to develop.
4th Kup 3rd Kup
Blue signifies the heaven, towards which the plant matures into a towering tree as training in Tae Kwon-Do progresses.
2nd Kup 1st Kup
Red signifies danger, cautioning the student to exercise control and warning the opponent to stay away.
Boosabum
1st to 3rd Degree - Assistant Instructor where necessary
1st Degree 2nd Degree 3rd Degree
Opposite of white, therefore, signifying the maturity and proficiency in Tae Kwon-Do. It also indicates the wearers imperviousness to darkness and fear.
Sabum
4th to 6th Degree - Instructor
4th Degree 5th Degree 6th Degree
Sahyun
7th & 8th Degree - Master
7th Degree 8th Degree
VII VIII
Grand Master
9th Degree
IX
Origin of the Belt
Before Jigoro Kano invented Judo, there was no Degree (Dan) ranking system. Kano invented it when he awarded "shodan" to two of his senior students (Saito and Tomita) in 1883. Even then, there was no external differentiation between yudansha (dan ranks) and mudansha (those students who had not yet attained dan ranking). Kano apparently began the custom of having his yudansha wear black obis in 1886. These obis weren't the belts worn by today's martial artists - Kano hadn't invented the judogi (uniform) yet, and his students were still practicing in kimono. They were the wide obi still worn with formal kimono. In 1907, Kano introduced the modern gi and its modern obi, but he still only used white and black.
Karateka in Okinawa didn't use any sort of special uniform at all in the old days. The Dan ranking system, and the modern karategi (modified judogi) were first adopted by Funakoshi in an effort to encourage karate's acceptance by the Japanese. He awarded the first "shodan" ranks given in karate to Tokuda, Otsuka, Akiba, Shimizu, Hirose, Gima and Kasuya on April 10, 1924. The adoption of the dan system and a standard uniform based on the judogi were two of the four conditions which the Dai-Nippon Butokukai required before recognizing karate as a "real" martial art. Most martial arts today have a belt ranking/colour system adopted from the Japanese.
