Red Belt

Danger & Control

Meaning of the Red Belt - Red Belt signifies danger, warning the student to exercise control and the opponent to stay away.

You’ve done it! You’ve been awarded a red belt, that coveted level just before Black Belt. What does it mean to you? You are now considered an advanced student, ready to refine and polish the basic techniques you have already learned. You have demonstrated that you have power with your board breaks.  You must now realize the importance of controlling yourself and your techniques to prevent injury to others.

You may now strike to the head with your hand techniques in tournaments. All basic techniques are now available in your sparring sets. It is time to focus on improving your existing skills. You must also learn patience since this is usually a lengthy process. You will no longer be able to test each time, nor is it very easy to advance more than one stripe at a time.

 At red belt, you will learn three new patterns:

      • 1. Hyun Sil
      • 2. Hwa Rang
      • 3. Choong Moo

Hyun Sil is the third discipline pattern in the Choong Sil series. Hyun Sil means actualization, or the development of a strong work ethic.  To advance to Black Belt requires dedication, perseverance and hard work. As you refine your technique, many of the changes may seem small, but each one is important.

 The Hwa Rang were a group of elite young men who trained not only in martial arts, but also in painting, calligraphy and other arts during the Silla dynasty. Most of the future leaders of the country developed through the Hwa Rang.  General Choi Hong Hi trained the elite 29th Infantry Division during the Korean War in special martial arts techniques. They became the equivalent of our Special Forces. Following the war, General Choi organized the various kwons (schools of martial arts) into a new system of martial arts known as taekwondo. 

General Choi later formed the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) which exists today and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.  The ITF is one of three primary international taekwondo federations. The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)  was formed by and is still the official arm of the Korean government.  It, too, is international in scope and has thousands of members worldwide. Several years ago, Grandmaster Park Jung Te left the ITF where he was General Choi’s Secretary-General and formed the Global Taekwondo Federation (GTF). General Choi’s and Grandmaster Park’s deaths have recently caused great changes in these organizations. We use the pattern system developed by General Choi (the Chang Han system) as well as practice our own “discipline” patterns. There are a total of 29 patterns in the CTF system.  By the time you are ready to test for your recommended black belt, you will be required to know the first 12 of them.

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