GUP SYSTEM

In Tang Soo Do, each practitioner is a perpetual learner. KJN Kee was learning and improving until the day he died. KJN Sgro continues to improve his Tang Soo Do, and to cross train and gain rank in other styles. In other words, no one has ever arrived, and the learning never stops. Teachers are students. And, students are teachers, too. Statistically, very few students who start out make it to black belt. But everyone who makes it to black belt will teach, at some level. 

In preparation for this, all students, as they gain experience and mastery over certain concepts and techniques, will be tasked with helping teach others. In this way, everyone will learn how to be both a good student and a good teacher.

To facilitate this process, to mark achievements, and to provide encouragement to developing students, Tang Soo Do uses the gup, or grade system, and the Dan, or degree system. Students at the color belt level are Gup students, starting at 10, and working their way up to 1. Following 1st Gup will be Cho Dan Bo, or black (midnight blue, traditionally) belt candidate. Once they have achieved their first Dan black belt, or first degree black belt, the Dan member will continue to test and grade up to 9th Dan. Again, to emphasize the lifelong nature of this journey, KJN Sgro, training since his teens, just this year, 2023, was promoted to 8th Dan.

For our purposes, we will focus on the Gup levels, on the philosophy of our color belts, and the testing requirements for each grade.

White Belt

The white belt is indicative of winter. There is a dormant seed that has been planted, and waits for the spring to grow. It isn’t a time barrenness, per se, but of potential. As the seed is planted, and could be the best producing plant in a vineyard, so the student is pure, unknown potential. What they will become, and make of their martial arts opportunity is yet to be discovered. 

The white belt is not yet 10th Gup. It is indicative of the entry level student

Yellow Belt

If the white belt signified hidden potential, then the yellow belt signifies discovered potential, like a miner finding gold. 

Testing for your yellow belt is at the instructor's discretion. Some students may be tested less formally, or promoted through to orange belt, based on time in grade, timing of the testing cycle, etc.

There are three levels of yellow Belt that a student can test for:

10th Gup- Yellow/White Belt

Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of “choon be jaseh”(ready stance), “chun gul jaseh”(front stance), and “kee ma jaseh” (horse stance)and “hu gul jaseh”(back stance) .

Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of “ha dan mahk kee”(low block), “ahp cha gi”(front kick) and “yup cha gi”(side kick).

Students will be expected to demonstrate Basic One-steps for the current cycle

No Hyung (form) is required for this test

10th Gup- Yellow/Black Belt

Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of “sang dan mahk kee”(high block), “choon dan kong kyuck”(center punch), and “dull ryo cha gi”(roundhouse kick).

Students will be expected to demonstrate Basic One-steps for the current cycle

Students will be expected to demonstrate “Kicho Hyung Il Bu” (Basic form number 1).

10th Gup- Yellow Belt 

Students will be expected to demonstrate Basic One-steps 5-6.

Students will be expected to demonstrate “Kicho Hyung Ee Bu” (Basic form number 2).

Orange Belt

The orange belt, along with the yellow, is a newer innovation, departing from the original model of White, Green, Red, Midnight Blue(black). The Gup belts in that scenario had a clear, seasonal progression. The white was winter, green was spring, and red was summer. The advent of these belts breaks that symmetry to some degree. Having said that, the orange could be said to be early spring, the planting season, where the student has enough basic knowledge to start working very hard. This level will be a lot of drilling of basic techniques, preparing to go beyond a beginner level to an intermediate level. 

There are three levels of orange belt that a student can test for:

9th Gup- Orange/White Belt

Students will be expected to demonstrate Basic One-steps for the current cycle

Students will be expected to demonstrate “Kicho Hyung Sam Bu”(Basic form number 3).

8th Gup- Orange/Black Belt 

Students will be expected to demonstrate Basic One-steps for the current cycle.

Students will be expected to demonstrate “Pyung Ahn Cho Dan”(Beginning Peaceful Confidence form)

7th Gup- Orange

Students will be expected to demonstrate Intermediate One-steps for the current cycle.

Students will be expected to demonstrate “Chil Sung Ee Rho”(Seven Star number 2)

Green Belt

The Green Belt returns to our seasonal metaphor, and signifies spring. Spring is the time of new growth, new life, and watering. As a green belt, you are officially an intermediate level student. You will begin to take a more active role in helping the lower ranking students, and you will have a lot to learn. You will cover the rest of the Pyung Ahn Hyungs at these levels, and be learning a lot more concepts, both physical and philosophical, now that you have become proficient in all of our basic movements and techniques.

6th Gup- Green/White Belt

Students will be expected to demonstrate Intermediate One-steps for the current cycle

Students will be expected to demonstrate “Pyung Ahn Ee Dan”(Peaceful Confidence Form 2)

5th Gup- Green/Black Belt 

Students will be expected to demonstrate Intermediate One-steps for the current cycle

Students will be expected to demonstrate “Pyung Ahn Sahm Dan”(Peaceful Confidence Form 3)

4th Gup- Green Belt

Students will be expected to demonstrate Intermediate One-steps for the current cycle

Students will be expected to demonstrate “Pyung Ahn Sah Dan”(Peaceful Confidence Form 4).