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SEVERAL FORMALITIES have been incorporated into the curriculum of taekwondo, to encourage students to express respect for the art, their school, their senior practitioners, and their teacher. The first thing one notices in a taekwondo class is the uniform.

The Dobok

The dobok is the training uniform a taekwondo student wears during classes. It consists of loosely fitting pants, a loosely fitting top, and a belt.

The beginning student of taekwondo wears a white dobok. As the student of taekwondo is just beginning his journey through the art, he also wears a white belt with his dobok.

The novice taekwondo student is taught from the very beginning that he must respect his dobok. He must keep it clean and fold it appropriately after training.

Wearing the Dobok

Showing respect for the dobok demonstrates respect for the art of taekwondo, for one's school of taekwondo, and for one's instructor. For this reason, the taekwondo uniform should never be worn on the streets. A student should arrive at class with plenty of time to change from his normal street clothing into his dobok. By doing this, the student honors taekwondo by keeping this essential element of the art from inappropriate environmental exposure.

The dobok is designed to be the ideal garment to wear during taekwondo training, so the student is never allowed to make modifications to the uniform. Modifications even as trivial as rolling up the sleeves on a hot day are not allowed. It is understood that altering a dobok in any way expresses disrespect for taekwondo. Therefore, this is never done.

The Taekwondo Belt System

Taekwondo practitioners wear different colored belts to symbolize the level of expertise they have achieved in the art. There are nine steps and five colored belts in the promotional system of taekwondo. The belts are: white, yellow, blue, red, and black. Although these are the formalized belt colors of taekwondo, some schools have added additional colors as a motivational tool for the students.

The colors of the belts are symbolic of taekwondo's philosophic basis. At the root of this idea are the beginning and ending belts: white and black.

The student of taekwondo begins training as a white belt. He progresses through the rank system from ninth gup, or "grade," to first gup. This descending manner of ranking symbolizes that the taekwondo student is ascending toward black-belt status.

The white belt and the black belt symbolize um and yang. This ancient philosophic concept is more commonly known as the Chinese principles yin and yang.

The concept of um and yang describes the interlinking diversity of this universe. White symbolizes day, while black symbolizes night. White represents lightness, as black represents fullness. White is purity, whereas black is knowledge, and so on.

It is understood in the philosophy of um and yang that one element cannot exist without its counterpart. Thus, the entire universe is based upon a system of duality. In terms of taekwondo, this represents the fact that the student learns from the instructor, while the instructor's function depends upon the student.

The three remaining belts have primary colors: yellow, blue, and red. These represent a student's progression from the realm of naivete to the deeper dimensions of knowledge.

Wearing the Taekwondo Belt

The taekwondo belt is tied in a very specific manner. It loops around the body two times and then is tied in front in a triangle-shape knot. The wearing of the belt and the tying of the knot, which binds it to your body, are symbolic gestures and should never be taken lightly. Tying your belt in this predetermined fashion represents that you are focusing your mind and your body, organizing your thoughts, and readying yourself to enter into taekwondo training. The triangle-shape knot represents oneness of purpose.

Understanding the

Taekwondo Black Belt

Depending upon the school and the governing body, it can take anywhere from one and a half years to four years to earn a first dan, or "degree," black belt in taekwondo. One must be at least sixteen years old to obtain the taekwondo black belt; younger students who have studied taekwondo for the necessary amount of time and have demonstrated proficiency in the art are awarded the junior black belt. Whereas the adult taekwondo black-belt holder possesses a dan ranking, a junior black belt is referred to by the Korean term pum.

It is essential to understand that simply achieving a first dan black belt in taekwondo does not make one a master of the art. In fact, those who are awarded the first through third dan black-belt rankings are considered to be only advanced students of taekwondo. It is not until a taekwondo practitioner reaches the fourth dan level that he or she is considered an instructor. One is not considered a master of taekwondo, Sabumnim, until one reaches the fifth dan level.