Introduction
Ever hear someone indicate they’re a “1st dan black belt”? Or “4th degree black belt”? It’s technically wrong for some people, and redundant for others, making the phrases tough to understand.
The obvious difference is, the dan is the thing you hang on the wall (the certificate), and the belt is the thing you hang on your waist. The not-so-obvious distinction has to do with who bestowed the things. The instructor bestows the belt, but an organization bestows the dan. Let’s step back a little bit and talk about qualifications.
You’re in the office, and a colleague comes in to say “My son and I tested for our black belts last night. We earned them!” His son is 10. You think to yourself, “Can your son beat you up?” Instead, you congratulate him (and his son) on their achievements, and the rest of the day you furiously do research to see what it takes to get a black belt – maybe you can too?
The Certificate
The organization (in Taekwondo for example, Kukkiwon) bestows the dan certification. Dans are also called degrees, so, like “1st dan” is the same as “1st degree“. We often say “1st degree black belt”, but that’s kind of a misnomer.
(And although it’s not particularly important, when we say “dan”, we pronounce it like “don”. Not like “Dan” our next door neighbor, but rather like “Don” our next door neighbor. (Language is a horrible method of communication, no?))
So Kukkiwon, the keeper of a Taekwondo style, is responsible for issuing dan (or degree) certificates. Only they can do that in the Kukkiwon style. But the instructor bestows the belt to the student. Kukkiwon doesn’t give a hoot about the color of the belt the student wears. And as I will explain, not all holders of dan certificates can wear a black belt, and not all black belts have certificates. In other words, one does not imply the other, although, it is usually the case that if you have one, you also have the other.
Requirements
Kukkiwon has special rules about earning a dan certificate: no one under 15 can be 1st dan. (I’ll get to it in a moment, but, for those under 15, they are not allowed to possess the certification of “dan“; instead, they may possess the certification of “poom“, which just means “junior”.) One must perform well in several areas: breaking, forms, and sparring. You need not win a sparring match, and you need not break a certain amount of boards, tiles, or bricks. You just need to show competency.
As to sparring, you typically spar against someone at your approximate experience, gender, and physique. So, men spar men, women spar women, boys spar boys, and girls spar girls. It’s not unusual for cross-gender or cross-weight sparring (eg, boys v girls, men v girls, or 5th dan v candidate for 1st dan, etc). That’s not particularly important; the important thing is for the candidate to show competency, not get their face wiped on the floor.
When you have that mismatch – the cross-sparring – that’s where perception gets the better of lay people – people who don’t know how things work in the dojang. The 10 year old black belt sparred with an adult who did not go full force on him. The feeling then is, did the boy get cheated? Was that the adult’s only sparring experience for the test? These are legitimate questions, and can be a concern as far as the quality of the testing goes. But the point is otherwise the performance of the candidate.
It’s All Relative
The performance is relative. Officially, in Kukkiwon, you have to score a minimum of 60 out of 100 in each area of sparring, breaking, and forms. The 10 year old is not going to score well against an adult, of course – nor should he, nor would anyone expect him to. In the world of Kukkiwon, and WT, everything is about sport. And in sport, in official competitions, there is a rigid set of rules: young kids can only spar young kids. Teens spar teens. Adults spar adults. And seniors spar seniors. Same with gender.
As a result, a 10 year old’s performance against another similarly-aged competitor will have different expectations for performance than two adults sparring. For that reason, a 10-year old’s 60% score will be different than an adult’s 60% score. The prize? Well, that’s where things get confusing.
In Kukkiwon, I mentioned that under-15 cannot earn 1st dan. They earn what’s called poom, which is a Korean word which means junior. An under-15 will earn pooms, where 15 and older earn dans.
The Belt
But Kukkiwon has no stipulation about that thing that hangs around the waist. Under-15 cannot wear a black belt in sanctioned WT competitions (that’s a WT rule, not Kukkiwon), but they are free to wear them, per their instructor’s permission, in the privacy of their dojang. So the guy who comes into the office announcing he and his son passed their black belt tests is explained like this: He earned his 1st dan and received his black belt. His son earned his 1st poom and received his black belt. When they compete, he can wear his black belt, but his son will have to wear a poom belt (which is a black/red belt split along the length), unless it’s not an official WT event, in which case, his son can also wear a black belt if the instructor allows.
Requirements
The instructor is testing the student for two things: the certificate and the belt, and both are always done in the same test. The instructor will include the requirements set forth by Kukkiwon’s certificate requirements, as well as the instructor’s own requirements for earning black belt. As long as the least common denominator includes Kukkiwon, everything’s kosher. In fact, an instructor need not have any requirements to earn black belt, as long as the student passes the test for the certification. This is also kosher. But often, an instructor wants to include special elements for the testing, so, musical or creative forms, weapons, self-defense, fancy breaking, etc, are all common to see. Let’s face it, the Kukkiwon requirements are fairly boring – and easy to accomplish.
The requirements, by the way, between poom and dan are exactly the same.
Results
I hear this all the time from others (usually from different styles of martial arts). They’ll say, “Ok, so your son didn’t really earn his black belt, did he?” My neutral response is this: He tested for poom certification and for black belt. One test, two prizes. On paper, he has a poom certificate. In competition, he wears a poom belt. But in the dojang, he wears a black belt.”
Remember, there is one bar for everyone earning dan and poom. The instructor sets their own bars for anyone wearing a black belt, because it is the instructor who bestows the belt – not the organization.
Don’t blame the colleague, he and his son only followed the rules. They did what they were told. He may not even realize his son is not a full-dan, or may not even know what a dan/degree is. Many people don’t, surprisingly. You’d think they spend a few years learning how to kick and punch, and somewhere in all that they learn how the dan structure works. Shady instructors will hide these details, too.
Cost
It only cost $75 to register with Kukkiwon and get officially recognized, so why do some students pay $500, $1000, or even $1500 for their 1st dan tests? Answer: shady instructors. Some of these shysters will not even register their students with Kukkiwon, pocketing another $75. These students get totally cheated: if they move to a different school, then because they don’t have certification from Kukkiwon, they will have to start over, or at least, maybe have to re-test for their dan grade. Those who are 2nd, 3rd or higher will have it even harder, because, Kukkiwon mandates a certain amount of time to pass as an active student before moving to the next dan. So I guess word to the wise, when you earn your “black belt”, and you don’t get a certificate, double check: it might mean you’re not registered with Kukkiwon.
Other Style Requirements
What if your school is not affiliated with Kukkiwon? Maybe it’s affiliated with other organizations, like Chung Do Kwon, ATA, ITF, or TAG-B, or a myriad other organizations and Taekwondo styles. This isn’t unusual. These organizations similarly have their rules and standards, and they also have their share of shady instructors. For them, though, it’s less common to see “poom” grades, and so in some, it’s common to see young children competing as 1st (or 2nd, etc) dan competitors – even wearing the black belt. It all depends on the rules of the organization.
Language Is A Stupid Form Of Communicating
Some other things worth mentioning. Saying someone is a black belt can garner snarky comments from others, usually lay people or those from more traditional styles. Ugh. Really, as I said, language is a stupid form of communication, and I find myself using the phrase “he’s a 4th degree black belt”, which is far easier to say than this: “he’s wearing a black belt and was bestowed 4th dan by his organization”. Most people understand what is meant, despite the commentary suggesting otherwise.
Also, to be “ranked” is the same as “being certified”. If you hold a legitimate certificate indicating you are 4th dan, then, you are “ranked at 4th dan”, or “your rank is 4th dan”. Rank and certification are synonymous here, and again, “rank” is easier to say and write than “certified”.
Conclusion
So I said all that to say this: dan/degree is not the same as black belt. Context is always important. Adults wearing black belts are almost always ranked at some dan/degree, and those who are ranked at some dan/degree nearly always wear black belts. About the only time an adult who is ranked and doesn’t wear a black belt are the probationary ones: new adult students to a dojang who is ranked (because the organizational hierarchy bestowed the rank), but needs to show skill according to the instructor’s criteria in order to wear the black belt.
But children wearing black belts… that depends on the organization. Individual schools not affiliated with an organization are free to bestow both belt and dan, while affiliated schools only bestow belts while their organization hierarchy bestows the certification.
