Taekwondo Belt Colors

Most of the time, the colored belt around a Taekwondo martial artist's waist seems to hold many presumptions for people. Those who see someone with a yellow belt, think that the bearer of the belt lacks ability. This is not true.

On the same note, many believe that a black belt is the ultimate in martial art achievement. In reality, it is just another step in the learning process.

Taekwondo belt colors were only implemented after the martial arts developed.

There is even a myth behind the origin of the colored Taekwondo belts. Some say that originally, students would begin with a white belt, as is common today, but they are not given new colored belts.

Students were not permitted to wash their belts. And so as they trained, the belts would get darker and darker from perspiration and soon it would become black showing everyone how hard they worked.

The most popularly accepted one is that the Judo founder Professor Jigoro Kano, had implemented a belt system derived from a ranking system used in Japanese schools. The colors are a way of allowing an individual to see how they progress, step by step, and give them something to work hard towards.

When someone progresses up in the ranks, they begin to realize that it is not the belt they are striving for, but the knowledge which they have gained to achieve the belt.

Many martial arts have different belt rankings and some do not use belts at all.
The following descriptions of the belts are the meanings behind the colors and how they represent development in the student.

1. White.

White is the traditional color of the Korean dobok. New students wear this as their first belt.
This color represents honor, purity, virtue, and innocence. White signifies innocence as that of a beginning student who has no previous knowledge of taekwondo.

2. Yellow.

Yellow is the second belt color of taekwondo. It is the color of honor, wealth, royalty and well-being.

Yellow signifies the Earth from which a plant sprouts and takes root as the Tae Kwon Do foundation is being laid.

3. Green.

Green is the third belt color in martial arts. The first of the intermediate colors, it is here that practitioners will realize how much there is to learn and how far there is to go.

Green signifies the plant's growth as taekwondo skill begins to develop.

4. Blue.

Blue is the fourth belt color.

Blue denotes authority, truth, loyalty, and mystery. It also symbolizes quality.

To wear a blue belt is to start to learn the vast history, philosophy and mysteries of taekwondo.

Blue signifies the Heaven, towards which the plant matures into a towering tree as training in taekwondo progresses.

5. Red.

Red is the last color belt before black belt.

Red evokes excitement, anger, and intensity. Red orders attention. There is great joy and passion in red.

It signifies danger, teaches the student to exercise control and warning the opponent to stay away.

6. Black.

Black is the color most people link with martial arts.

To a non-martial artist, to have a black belt is to have mastered the art.

To a student, it symbolizes just beginning true learning of the art.

Black is the color of wisdom, silence and eternity. To have a black belt is to have the sum of all knowledge from prior belt levels, and to move on to new levels.

Black is the opposite of white, therefore, signifying the maturity and proficiency in taekwondo. It also indicates the wearer's immunity to darkness and fear.

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Belt Colors of Taekwondo

The Belt Colors Of Taekwondo

The belts and their colors that are used with Taekwondo aren't just a random assortment of colors that are used to separate the ranks in the martial art.  In Taekwondo, each belt color has a meaning that symbolizes advancement and increasing knowledge.

The colors of the belts found in Taekwondo vary, as they represent the advancement of rank, as well as the growth of the student.  It can take a long time for students to move up the ranks, all depending on their knowledge and how quite they adapt to the techniques and forms of the art.

Below, are the colors and belts of Taekwondo, along with their meaning.

White belt
A white belt is the symbol of birth and purity, or the beginning for the martial artist.  Students that wear white belts are just starting out, searching for the knowledge to continue Taekwondo.

Yellow belt
A yellow belt is the first ray of light that shines on the student, giving them new strength to the Taekwondo martial art.  The meaning of the yellow belt is Heaven or Keon. Students that have yellow belts have taken a great step in learning, and have opened their mind to new techniques.

Orange belt
The meaning of orange belt is Joyfulness or Tae. When you have earned your orange belt, you are nearing the end of the very beginner stage of Taekwondo moving into an intermediate stage.

Green belt
A green belt is the symbol of growth, or a seed as it sprouts from the ground and begins to grow into a plant.  The meaning of green belt is Fire or Rin. Students with green belts are continuing along the path of Taekwondo, learning to develop further and redefine every technique they have been taught. At this point, the green belt martial artists have been studying for approximately one year and are becoming leaders in their dojo or gym.



Purple belt
The meaning of purple belt is Thunder or Jin. Now that the martial artist is solid in their basics, different aspects of Taekwondo, such as sparring are now introduced.


Light Blue belt
A blue belt represents a blue sky, with the plant continuing to grow upwards, heading for the sky.  Students with blue belts continue to move higher in ranks, as the plant continues to grow taller.  The meaning of light blue belt is Wind or Seon. Students at this stage will also be given additional knowledge of Taekwondo so that their mind and body can continue to grow and develop.


Dark Blue belt
The meaning of Dark Blue belt is Water or Gam.  Water is a necessity to life, but it can also be very destructive. We must respect water. As the martial artist moves up in ranking, they are respected by the martial artists below them.

Brown belt
The meaning of Brown belt is Mountain or Gam.  The journey to achieving a black belt is sometimes an uphill challenge. Martial Artists at this point are defining their skills in preparation to becoming a black belt.

Red belt
The red belt is the heat of the sun, with the plant continuing the path upwards toward the sun.  Students that possess red belts are higher in rank, as they have acquired a lot of the knowledge in the art of Taekwondo.  Red belts also tell the students to be cautious, as they gain more knowledge and their physical techniques increase.  The meaning of red belt is Earth or Gon.

Deputy belt
A Deputy belt is a red and black belt. It symbolizes Creativity. During this belt rank, students train and hone their skills to become a black belt shortly. A black belt is a master of the basics, and it is during this time that those basics, while already learned, are reviewed and mastered.


Black belt
A black belt is the best of the best.  It is called Koryo and the Koryo poomsae is learned. It symbolizes the darkness that is out there beyond the light of the sun.  Once the student is given a black belt and begins to train other students, he will teach all that has been taught to him.  Black belts recognize the best students, as they continue to teach others the art of Taekwondo, and continue the never ending cycle of training.



For a martial artist progressing through the ranks, each belt is a big accomplishment. Each belt color rank has it's own challenges and difficulties for each martial artist. As your martial artist promotes to each belt rank color, celebrate their achievement with a unique martial arts gift, card or token of appreciation for what they have done. A complete collection of customizable martial arts gifts, congratulations cards, t-shirts, hoodies, ornaments,tote bags, keychains and more are available at Lora Severson Photography. All belt rank colors are represented. Lora Severson is the mom in a Taekwondo black belt family and will be earning her 2nd degree black belt very soon.

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A Close Look at Martial Arts Belts

With most types of martial arts, the color of the belt that you have signifies your rank within your style of martial arts; although they have no universal means or ranking within the martial arts world. More or less, they tell others how much you know about your specific martial art.

The use of belt colors in martial arts is an old practice, dating back hundreds of years. Belts and their use in martial arts all started by a man known as Jigoro Kano, who created the martial arts style known as Kodokan Judo. Kano started out by using only white and black belts to signify rank within his style of martial arts. His reason for using belt, was to specify which students could compete in different activities. For example, those with white belts couldn't compete in the same activities as those with black belts.

Shortly after Kano introduced his idea of using belts, other belt colors were introduced to the world of martial arts. Over the years, it became a great way of telling what experience a student had in his style - just by the look of his belt. Other styles began to use this system as well over the years, including Karate, Taekwondo and several others.

The only problem with using belts to signify ranking, is the fact that one school may have different requirements from another school. Even though they both may teach the same style of martial arts, their ranking system and requirements to earn a certain ranking may be totally different. This can cause confusion in ranks, especially if a black belt from one school isn't as versed in the style as a black belt from another school. While most school adhere to the same criteria, there are some schools that choose to incorporate their own unique style as well.

Although most martial arts styles use belt to signify rank, there are some martial arts such as Shootfighting that don't use belts at all. The styles that choose not to use belts don't use a ranking system either. They are more or less for self defense purposes. Pitfighting is another style that doesn't use belts either. These styles are great to learn for protecting yourself - although they differ from the traditional sense of martial arts.

All thing aside, belts are an innovation to martial arts. They give students something to aim for and a reason to keep practicing. Most students that study martial arts aim for getting a black belt, which is the most prestigious belt in martial arts. A black belt takes years of practice to obtain, as the student will promote and move through many lower ranked belts before getting the opportunity to earn the black belt.

Lora Severson is a first degree black belt in Taekwondo. She will be earning her second degree this year. She is also a photographer and offers a complete line of Martial Arts Gifts, Cards, Posters, T-Shirts and Apparel. All belt rank colors are represented and are suitable for karate, taekwondo, kung fu or judo.

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