so i am looking to take up tae kwon do,... looking for a school south of atl, and i come across http://www.ohdokwan.com i stop by there today and sign up for a trial cross, and notice they only have 6 belt levels? i thought there was supposed to be at least 10 and i was told instead of all the belts they have like stripes... thanks for you input

so i am looking to take up tae kwon do,... looking for a school south of atl, and i come across http://www.ohdokwan.com i stop by there today and sign up for a trial cross, and notice they only have 6 belt levels? i thought there was supposed to be at least 10 and i was told instead of all the belts they have like stripes... thanks for you input

In times gone by, many TKD schools used a 6 (or fewer) belt system. Commercialism is one reason that 10 (or more) is the norm. So, in & of itself it doesn't make it a bad (or even questionable) school.

All my best!

When my dad took TKD back in the 70s they had 8 grades but only 5 belt colors not including black. It went White, Yellow, Green, Blue, Blue, Brown, Brown, Brown. Then Black Belt of course.

Sounds like a traditional belt system. There are still many TKD schools out there that still use it...our association did until about 4 years ago-now we change belt colors instead of adding stripes (the gups remain the same regardless of color).

Our school has a 5 colored belt system, but each has a low and a high rank (except white). Brown has 3 levels, actually.

So, don't be turned off by it. Its a legit system of ranking.

the 2nd 1 i looked into was on a 10 belt system, with like white yellow , yellow.green, green, green.blue etc.

When my dad took TKD back in the 70s they had 8 grades but only 5 belt colors not including black. It went White, Yellow, Green, Blue, Blue, Brown, Brown, Brown. Then Black Belt of course.

I took it in the 70's as well.

but it went white, yellow, green, blue, brown, black

Nowadays, I guess it is best to go with a school that has a strong org backing up. Preferably one certfified with the KuKiWon/ Although other orgs, like the ITF and ATA are also good.

I wouldn't say the amount of belts should immediately flag up the school as not being legit. If they had like 20 belts and expected you to pay lots for each one, then maybe that would suggest something. But having less belts doesn't mean that what they teach isn't authentic and good MA. Give the school a trial and see if you like it then let that dictate whether you sign up or not, not the amount of belts they have.

Good point DWx

therealashland, have you decided and started?

yeah @ RichardZ i chose the school with more belts ( not because of how many belts) but from talking with the instructors and seeing the students i felt the master shim was the better choice , the student's seemed to have a higher skill level, i like how the classes were ran, and what not,.. wish me luck! my 2nd group class is tomorrow i hope to get my green stripe soon,..cause i have these kicks down ( sidekick front kick and roundhouse)