White Belt

White signifies innocence, as that of a beginning student who has no previous knowledge of Taekwon-Do. -Choi

White is the traditional color of the Korean dobok or the Japanese gi. New students wear this as their first belt. In pigments, it is the absence of color; in light, the sum of all colors. White is a color of deep symbolism. It represents honor, purity, virtue and innocence.  White is both the beginning and the end of the belt colors. To look at the well-worn “black” belt of one who had worked long and hard with that belt, it starts to turn white again where the black threads are worn away. White is the color that all knowledge is built upon, until, as when pigments are mixed, black is created. In true yin and yang fashion, for black to exist, there must be white.

Black Stripes for White Belt:

Students will earn 2 black stripes on their white belt before earning their first new belt.  There is no official testing for these stripes but each student is closely watched in class. Once they can properly perform that required techniques in class on a regular basis, then they have earned their stripe.  There is no set date and no announcement for this, but rather based off of every day class effort.

First Stripe:

This is earned by learning the first two basic stances; the riding stance and parallel ready stance.  The first three punches will also need to be learned; two knuckle punch, vertical punch and the back fist punch.  We also look at balance, focus and power.

Second Stripe:

This is earned by learning their first three basic kicks; instep kick, round house kick and side kick.  We also look at balance, focus, power and knowledge of which part of the foot does the striking for each kick.

What’s next:

Once the student has earned both stripes the will next attempt to earn the yellow striped belt.