Gradings in martial arts come from the idea that you are practicing a skill that you may need in order to save your life or protect the life of someone else. The term martial stems from a military background that almost all martial arts have.
TaeKwon-Do was developed as a skill to be taught to soldiers to help them survive in battle. You need to know what you are doing to survive. Similarly in Taekwon-Do , you need to be proficient before you can grade or be promoted to the next belt level.
“We should therefore take gradings as an opportunity to improve ourselves, and not view them as something to be feared”
Gradings were created as a way to ensure that Students had learned their skills correctly. The vast majority of Taekwon-Do is now taught to students for whom the idea that they might need to use their skills in a life-threating situation may seem very remote and has therefore become more of a pastime or hobby. Many students start young and they see it as a part of many activities they might do to enhance their lives outside of school. There is nothing wrong with this, but when you are able to understand the seriousness of learning and art for self-defense, you should adjust your attitude towards gradings accordingly.
You should grade to improve yourself and not to simply move up a rank and war a new belt and feel superior because that is not self-improvement.
You should grade because you know that you have fulfilled the requirements and criteria and you are looking for the next level of self-improvement and a bigger challenge.
If you have any questions, please contact us, if you are interested in joining the ACE TaeKwon-Do centre in Sunninghill, see which classes we have on offer, children, adults and black belt. To join, please visit our memberships page.
