Rank Check: the crew's guide to Taekwondo belts

1. 10th geup

White Belt

Seed under snow. Nothing has grown yet, and that is the point.

2. 9th–8th geup

Yellow Belt

Your first form, your first real stances, your first correction loop.

3. 7th–6th geup

Green Belt

Two more forms, the side kick, and your first contact with a partner.

4. 5th–4th geup

Blue Belt

Spinning kicks, real sparring, and the halfway point of the whole journey.

5. 3rd–2nd geup

Red Belt

You can hurt someone now. Red is a warning label pointed at you.

6. 1st geup

Red-Black Belt

Nothing new to learn. Everything to fix.

7. 1st dan / 1st poom

1st Dan Belt

Black is every colour absorbed. It also means you are now a beginner again.

8. 2nd–9th dan

Dan 2–9 Belt

Nine more forms, decades of waiting time, and a slow shift from doing to teaching.

9. All ranks

Glossary Belt

Every word a testing panel is likely to ask you, in one place.

10. Everything

Final Exam Belt

Twenty-five questions across all nine pages. Then a printable one-page summary.