Black-belt belt

[JWLuiza]

I think you are right, ps1. In most Korean styles that use the red belt, it tends to be the belt before black (at least, in my experience).

You are correct from what I have experienced. Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do schools use a red stripe through the center of the black (or midnight blue) at master level and above (4th degree in TSD).

The folklore was that students covered their redbelts with black cloth that would wear through in the middle, exposing the red.... It probably just looked cool

[Sensei Tom OBrien]

french fri25 & norris197 sounds like you guys are getting ready to get your blackbelts. Good Luck.

Thanks,

Sensei Tom

[bushido_man96]

I think you are right, ps1. In most Korean styles that use the red belt, it tends to be the belt before black (at least, in my experience).

You are correct from what I have experienced. Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do schools use a red stripe through the center of the black (or midnight blue) at master level and above (4th degree in TSD).

The folklore was that students covered their redbelts with black cloth that would wear through in the middle, exposing the red.... It probably just looked cool

Folklore or not, it is interesting none the less. In one style I studied, the red belt came before the black, and symbolized "warning" or "danger." The philosophy behind this was that the student had all of the technical knowledge of the black belt, but not quite the control and discipline of the black belt.

[JWLuiza]

I think you are right, ps1. In most Korean styles that use the red belt, it tends to be the belt before black (at least, in my experience).

You are correct from what I have experienced. Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do schools use a red stripe through the center of the black (or midnight blue) at master level and above (4th degree in TSD).

The folklore was that students covered their redbelts with black cloth that would wear through in the middle, exposing the red.... It probably just looked cool

Folklore or not, it is interesting none the less. In one style I studied, the red belt came before the black, and symbolized "warning" or "danger." The philosophy behind this was that the student had all of the technical knowledge of the black belt, but not quite the control and discipline of the black belt.

I think the folklore gives some insight into the paradigm of the current practitioners...

I agree with the redbelt (1st gup) group being the most dangerous. At our tournament (yearly open tournament) it isn't the heavy weight men's black belt division that's the most dangerous (BRAG: I won the combined heavy/light heavy division just this past Saturday) it is the brown belt (first gup) division. Except this year, it was the men's blue belt.... So I turned to my friend and said:

"Blue is the new Brown"

And right after that, the nurse was called over for a broken nose.

[bushido_man96]

It is an interesting paradigm, isn't it, John?

[greenbelt_girl15]

In Cuong Nhu we have a plain black belt then red stripes.No gold or lettering until 6th dan.We have a story that symbolises what our belts stand for.To make a long story short... A white belt is like a seed,a green belt is like a young tree starting to grow, a brown belt is a tree with strong roots and tough bark, and a black belt is a phyically weathered and mature tree.Each red stripe in dan ranks indicate the fruit of the tree.At 6th dan you have a black and red belt with gold stripes indicating both the tree's rings, autumn indicating age and wisdom.And 7th dan is a mostly red belt with the wearers name in gold.

[NightOwl]

hmmm- but belts are still relatively new so how far back these traditions go may be suspect, especially when it comes to kung fu schools. Besides, there is nothing wrong with it just looking cool

[bushido_man96]

In Cuong Nhu we have a plain black belt then red stripes.No gold or lettering until 6th dan.We have a story that symbolises what our belts stand for.To make a long story short... A white belt is like a seed,a green belt is like a young tree starting to grow, a brown belt is a tree with strong roots and tough bark, and a black belt is a phyically weathered and mature tree.Each red stripe in dan ranks indicate the fruit of the tree.At 6th dan you have a black and red belt with gold stripes indicating both the tree's rings, autumn indicating age and wisdom.And 7th dan is a mostly red belt with the wearers name in gold.

In the ATA, they follow a story much like that, using the Pine Tree as the symbol.

hmmm- but belts are still relatively new so how far back these traditions go may be suspect, especially when it comes to kung fu schools. Besides, there is nothing wrong with it just looking cool

Very good point, NightOwl.

[Shotokan-kez]

I don't hold a black belt just yet, but when i do it'll be my name on one side and shotokan on the other, both in Japanese. Generally you can have what you like embroidered on your black belt.