25+ years of Tang Soo Do instruction · Royersford & Birdsboro, PA
Rank
The belt system
In Tang Soo Do, belt colours follow the seasons — a deliberate reminder that growth has a natural pace and cannot be rushed.
Winter
Hidden potential; emptiness before the first lesson
Early spring
Awareness of that potential, and the desire to develop it
Spring
Growth, advancement, life and peace
Summer
Ripening; active energy, yang
Autumn
Harvest; passive energy, maturity and success
Tang Soo Do originally used only white, green, red and blue belts. Orange was added in 1975 to give students a clearer sense of progress in their first year.
Progression
How rank actually moves here
Ranks below black belt are called Gup ranks and count downwards — 9th Gup is a new white belt, 1st Gup is an advanced red belt on the edge of black. Black belt ranks are called Dan and count upwards.
Quarterly
Colour belt testing is held in March, June, September and December.
Twice a year
Black belt testing is held in June and December only.
3.5 – 4 years
A typical timeline to black belt for a student training at least twice a week.
~2 weeks
Promotions are awarded after testing, once instructors have given their corrections.