Does your school use a nominal geub, dan bo, or the like as a separate rank/belt?

[Daniel Sullivan]

Just a curiosity. I don't have an opinion of whether it is good or bad. The school where I trained the longest most recently had a nominal geub, denoted by a red belt with two black stripes. The school that I have associated with since then uses a pum belt with the red on top at first geub and then flips it over for dan bo.

When I trained in years past, there weren't that many belts at the schools I attended and no special probationary or dan bo belt. Now I have seen several schools that do have things along those lines.

I'm curious as to whether this is a local area thing or if it is commonplace. And if your school uses such a rank, is there a separate belt? And if so, what is it?

 

[MAist25]

Our 1st Kup rank is our Black Belt Candidate rank. It is a brown belt with 2 pieces of black electrical tape on each end of the belt. No new belt, nothing fancy.

 

[rlobrecht]

We have poom for black belt candidate. People testing for poom don't have any new material to learn, and don't learn any be material while poom.

Rick

 

[andyjeffries]

Our 1st Kup is a red belt with a black piece of ribbon sewed at each end. We are moving towards having a full length stripe running through the belt though. But the next step after 1st Kup is 1st Poom (half-red/half-black) or 1st Dan (whole-black). No preliminary dan or dan-bo sort of affair here..

 

[IcemanSK]

Our 1st gup is a brown belt with a black stripe through it. The next test is 1st Dan.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

We go from 1st gup to black belt (no dans/stripes) that you must hold for 1 year and then you can test for 1st dan. We regard the 'straight' black belt as probationary black belt.

 

[Dirty Dog]

We go from 1st geup to chidanbo, which is a poom belt with the red on top. That rank is held a minimum if 6 months, but a year or so is more common.


Sent from my iPhone using TapaTalk.

 

[oftheherd1]

Just for curiosity, what is the purpose of such belts? The only two schools I trained at had no such grading.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

We go from 1st geup to chidanbo, which is a poom belt with the red on top. That rank is held a minimum if 6 months, but a year or so is more common.

Don't you mean chodanbo?

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Just for curiosity, what is the purpose of such belts? The only two schools I trained at had no such grading.

I think that it is twofold:

1. Students who are preparing for ildan are issued a visual mark of insignia to indicate that they've learned all of the material and are past first geub.

2. It provides yet another belt to test for.

Like I said, I have no opinion of it; used as a teacher's tool, its fine. Used as a source of more income, I dislike it.

I've only trained for any length of time at one school that used it. One of his former instructors opened her own school and uses it. She indicated that the school she taught at prior to GM Kim's also used it. Several schools that I have visited use them as well.

Not sure if its more of a recent thing, as I'd never seen it before 2004.

 

[StudentCarl]

Where I train, first geup is a red belt with black stripe down the middle. After a minimum of six months, one may test for danbo, which is a plain black belt. It is described as a probationary black belt and the student receives a school black belt certificate. It signifies a grasp of the fundamentals, i.e. the geup curriculum. The danbo is eligible in six months to test for first dan if he she trains and performs as a black belt during that period. The first dan recipient is awarded Kukkiwon certification. The primary purpose of the danbo, as I understand it, is to encourage the junior black belt to demonstrate a commitment to continued training. Where I train, the ilgeup practices Taegeuk Pal Jang, the danbo practices Koryo, and the il dan practices Keumgang.

Carl

 

[Jaeimseu]

At my school back in the states we used a probationary/recommended/black belt candidate rank. In Korea we don't use it.

I also don't have any issue with a school using it or not using it. I wonder how many people use that sort of thing solely as a money maker.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Just for curiosity, what is the purpose of such belts? The only two schools I trained at had no such grading.

What is the purpose of any belt?

Don't you mean chodanbo?

Of course. I posted that from my iPad and the keys are smaller than I'm used to...

 

[rlobrecht]

I think that it is twofold:

1. Students who are preparing for ildan are issued a visual mark of insignia to indicate that they've learned all of the material and are past first geub.

2. It provides yet another belt to test for.

I think both reasons apply at the school I attend. We have a lot of children/pre-teen students, and a new belt is a great motivator.

Rick

 

[oftheherd1]

At my school back in the states we used a probationary/recommended/black belt candidate rank. In Korea we don't use it.

I also don't have any issue with a school using it or not using it. I wonder how many people use that sort of thing solely as a money maker.

At the only two schools I studied at, we had two gups at each of three lower belts, then four at the belt just before black. The TKD school had white, green, blue, and brown, the black. The Hapkido school was white, yellow, blue, red, then black. There were no grades of black, such as stripes or electrical tape.

I know when I first saw it used, maybe back in the 90s, I first thought it was just to keep people realizing they were progressing, and giving them a displayed rank for all in the school to see. Later, I noticed that at least some places seemed to use it as a money maker. Like you, I am not in favor of that. But if I were a school owner, and it was my only source of income, I might think differently, who knows?

 

[oftheherd1]

What is the purpose of any belt?

...

See my post above commenting on Jaeimseu's post. What indeed is the purpose of a belt? Or more specifically, What is the purpose of increasing the number of belts? I didn't mention it in the post above, but in the Hapkido I learned, we only tested (and paid) at the change of color of belt, not each gup.