s
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Tang Soo Do is an ancient martial art originating from South Korea. It is very similar to Tae Kwan Do, although much older. The belt system for Tang Soo Do goes like this:
|
|
White Yellow Orange Orange with one green stripe Green Green with one red stripe Green with two red stripes Red Red with one dark blue stripe Red with two dark blue stripes Red with three dark blue stripes Red with four dark blue stripes 1st degree black belt (Cho Dan) black belt with no stripes 2nd degree black belt (E Dan) black belt with two white stripes 3rd degree black belt (Sam Dan) black belt with three white stripes 4th-7th degree black belts (Sa Dan, O Dan, Sa Bum Nim) Black belt with a red stripe running through the center.
|
|
You test for your next belt every three months until you get your red belt. Then you test every six months until you get your black belt. After you get your black belt, you wait two years to get your 2nd degree. Then you wait three years to get your 3rd degree, then four years for your 3rd degree and so on and so forth. |
 |
Tang Soo Do is only to be used for self-defense and exercise. One of the sayings is ‘Il Kyock Pil Sal,” meaning “one technique to finish.” That means you should be able to finish a fight with one kick, punch or block and walk away.
|
|
Tang Soo Do teaches martial arts through a combination of basics, forms, free sparring, one-step sparring and long distance techniques.
|
 |
 |
Basics are basic moves such as blocks, kicks, punches, elbow attacks and other such things.
|
|
Forms are a combination of moves that create imaginary fights against imaginary opponents. The moves aren’t just basics. You learn a lot of ways to get out of sticky situations through the more complicated moves in forms.
|
 |
 |
Free Sparring is what most people think about when karate comes up. Two opponents fight each other and try to land hits on the front part of the torso. Due to safety issues, free sparring is no contact for junior belts and only light contact for red belts and above.
|
 |
One-step and long-distance sparring are ‘planned sparring.’ The teacher tells one person to do one thing and other how counteract that. In one step sparring, one person steps and punches while the other defends himself by doing a pre-assigned combination of moves. In long-distance, two people start very far apart. Then one person does a series of kicks and punches until they reach the other person, who is standing still. One-step sparring is usually taught to adults and long distance is usually taught to kids, since adults generally have better self control than children. In one-step sparring, the partners are usually standing about an arm’s length apart. In long-distance, the partners are standing about five steps apart. |
 |