* Finweight: Under 118.8 pounds

* Flyweight: 118.8--127.6 pounds

* Bantamweight: 127.7--136.4 pounds

* Featherweight: 136.5--147.4 pounds

* Lightweight: 147.5--158.4 pounds

* Welterweight: 158.5--171.6 pounds

* Middleweight: 171.7--184.8 pounds

* Heavyweight: Over 184.8 pounds

Female * Finweight: Under 103.4 pounds

* Flyweight: 103.4-112.2 pounds

* Bantamweight: 112.3--121.0 pounds

* Featherweight: 121.1--129.8 pounds

* Lightweight: 129.9--138.6 pounds

* Welterweight: 138.7--147.4 pounds

* Middleweight: 147.5--158.4 pounds

* Heavyweight: Over 158.4 pounds

* Finweight: Under 99.0 pounds

* Flyweight: 99.1--105.8 pounds

* Bantamweight: 105.9--112.4 pounds

* Featherweight: 112.5--121.2 pounds

* Lightweight: 121.3--130.0 pounds

* Welterweight: 130.1--138.9 pounds

* Light Middleweight: 139.0--149.9 pounds

* Middleweight: 150.0-160.9 pounds

* Light Heavyweight: 161.0--172.0 pounds

* Heavyweight: Over 172.0 pounds

* Finweight: Under 92.5 pounds

* Flyweight: 92.5--97.0 pounds

* Bantamweight: 97.1--101.4 56 pounds

* Featherweight: 101.5--108.0 pounds

* Lightweight: 108.1--114.6 pounds

* Welterweight: 114.7--121.2 pounds

* Light Middleweight: 121.3--130.0 pounds

* Middleweight: 130.1--138.9 pounds

* Light Heavyweight: 139.0--149.9 pounds

* Heavyweight: Over 149.9 pounds

* Finweight: Under 54kg

* Flyweight: 54--58kg

* Bantamweight: 58--62kg

* Featherweight: 62--67kg

* Lightweight: 67--72kg `

* Welterweight: 72--78kg

* Middleweight: 78--84kg

* Heavyweight: Over 84kg

* Finweight: Under 47kg

* Flyweight: 47--51kg

* Bantamweight: 51--55kg

* Featherweight: 55--59kg

* Lightweight: 59--63kg

* Welterweight: 63--67kg

* Middleweight: 67--71kg

* Heavyweight: Over 71kg

* Finweight: Under 45kg

* Flyweight: 45--48kg

* Bantamweight: 48--51kg

* Featherweight: 51--55kg

* Lightweight: 55--59kg

* Welterweight: 59--63kg

* Light Middleweight: 63--68kg

* Middleweight: 68--73kg

* Light Heavyweight: 73--78kg

* Heavyweight: Over 78kg

* Finweight: Under 42kg

* Flyweight: 42--44kg

* Bantamweight: 44--46kg

* Featherweight: 46--49kg

* Lightweight: 49--52kg

* Welterweight: 52--55kg

* Light Middleweight: 55--59kg

* Middleweight: 59--63kg

* Light Heavyweight: 63--68kg

* Heavyweight: Over 68kg

Source:http://www.nsmataekwondo.com/weight%20divisions.htm

Colored belts represent a students progress toward black belt. Each belt represents a certain level of skill or a certain set of skills. Taekwondo does not have a uniform color order for student belts. Each school sets its own colors, color order and number of student grades. Each school also sets its own curriculum, so two students from different school with the same color belt might not know all the same kicks, blocks or forms. For example, in my school while studying for our yellow belt, we learned palm blocks, front stance, round house kick and side kick. Other schools might teach those skills at a different level, for a different belt.

All belt systems are based on the system developed by Kanō Jigorō, the Japanese founder of Judo. Kanō introduced Judo to Japan at the turn of the twentieth century. Originally, there were six student grades referred to by number. A student would begin at Grade 6 and work up to Grade 1, and then they would graduate to black belt. The black belts were divided into 9 ranks. A student would begin at Rank 1 and work up to Rank 9. Black belt ranks have been standardized, but student grades have not.

Poetically, the white belt symbolizes innocence. It's the first step on your taekwondo journey. The yellow belt represents the earth in which the roots of your taekwondo skills will grow. The green belt represents a plant growing from the earth as the student's taekwondo skills develop. The blue belt represents the sky or heaven toward which the student's taekwondo skills stretch. The red belt symbolizes danger. At this stage the student is very skilled in taekwondo. This skill could be dangerous if the student has not also learned self-control. A black belt represents maturity, a good level of skill in taekwondo, rejection of darkness and fear.

The lack of color signifies purity and innocence. The novice has no knowledge of tae kwon do.

The color of the rising sun. Seeds in the ground begin to germinate and grow. Basic tae kwon do techniques begin to be learned.

The color of the rising sun. Seeds in the ground begin to germinate and grow. Basic tae kwon do techniques begin to be learned.

The color of growing things that all can see. Power begins to develop.

The color of the sky which growing things reach for. Physical and mental power starts to stabilize.

The color of the ground where growing things are rooted firmly. Stability of physical and mental power is apparent.

The color of blood, the essential life force. Maturity, honor and respect are exhibited as character begins to perfect.

See the related link for belt ranks.
In Tae Kwon Do, the color of your belt represents your rank. White is the lowest rank, and black is the highest.

Many taekwondo practicioners will have different opinions as to which is most important. Here are some opinions:

1. kick
2. balance
3. concentration
4. focus
5. respect

The World Taekwondo Headquarters has only ever issued 6 official Kukkiwon 10th Dan. They were issued to the following men, all after death except for Dr. Sang Kee Paik and Dr. Un Yong Kim.

1. Yong Ki Pae (aka Young Ki Pae) (Jidokwan). Grandmaster Yong was the first student of Sang Sup Chun, founder of the Jidokwan. The Jidokwan (or Ji Do Kwan) is one of the original nine schools taekwondo. It was founded in what is now South Korea at the end of World War II. Its name translates as school of wisdom. Master Yong had the earliest relation with Cho Sun Yun Moo Kwan (aka Chosun Yun Moo Kwan) one of the few schools of Judo permitted in Korea during the Japanese occupation. He started his first training from the Soo Song Dong period.
2. Chong Soo Hong (Moo Duk Kwan),
3. Il Sup Chun (Jidokwan),
4. Nam Suk Lee (Chang Moo Kwan),
5. Sang Kee Paik (1929-2009) - Master Paik began studying martial arts in 1945. He emmigrated to the United States in 1969. In 1971, Master Paik was a pathologist working in the psychology department of the University of Wisconsin. He introduced the creative form competition in the 1990 United States Taekwondo Union National Championships which he hosted at the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin.
6. Un Yong Kim former president of the kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Federation and the Korea Taekwondo Association. Master Kim is largely responsible for the constuction of the kukkiwon gymnasium in 1972.

Grand Master Lee Woon Kook, head of the Chung Do Kwan (gym of the Blue Wave) was the first Grand Master to achieve the 10th Degree Black Belt in

Tae Kwon-Do

Ki Whang Kim was promoted to 10th Dan in 1971 by the Korean Taekwondo Association before the Kukkiwon came together.

6 years - To be eligible to go for your third danblack belt you should have been training for a minimum of six years, depending on how often you train and how hard you train. It should take approximately three years to achieve your first dan, but it could take longer. Traditionally, you must remain at first dan for one year before you can test for second dan. You must remain at second dan for two years before you can test for third dan (3 + 1 + 2 = 6). It remains at the discretion of your instructor and your master when you are eligible promotion. He or she will consider your physical ability as well as your mental control, focus and attitude.

One interesting exception to the waiting periods between dan promotions is the winning of world championship or an Olympic medal. Champions and medalists are often promoted one rank in recognition of their extraordinary accomplishments.

The history and origins of Taekwondo (aka: Tae Kwon Do, or Taekwon-Do), is very complex, and highly contested among Martial Art experts and historians.

Taekwondo was established as a modern curriculum of Martial Art in South Korea, and given its current name on April 11, 1955. However, the many sources that have culminated into the development of Taekwondo go far back into Korea's early beginnings. Although little is known about the earliest inhabitants of the Korean peninsula, it is likely that the first immigrants from northern China, brought with them fighting skills to protect themselves from enemy attacks. Part of Korea's history shows that it was common among the small primitive communities to gather stones in a pile for defense of their villages. The practice of stone throwing in combat continued into the late 19th century.

In Korea's early years, young men were trained in unarmed combat techniques to develop strength, speed, and survival skills. Developed during the period of the three rival Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje, the most popular of these techniques was subak. Not likely to have been a structured curriculum as we know today, subak was a combination of wrestling and hand strikes. In these early years, Koreans also developed a unique tactic of fighting by using kicks as primary weapon. This became labeled as Tae kkyeon (aka: tae kyon) which means "the method of stomping or kicking." This concept was unique to Korea, and remained a part of the culture, both as a formidable weapon of self defense, and as a sport contest of kicking, and survived to the present day.

Another major influence on today's Taekwondo is the philosophy and code developed for training the youth of Korea's nobility during the 7th century AD. Those young men who demonstrated strong natural aptitude were selected as trainees in a group called the Hwarang - - which means "Flowering men." While there is much controversy over the nature of this group, and the components of the training, it is believed that young boys were guided through their transitional growth as they "blossomed" into men. They were provided with skills that would result in becoming productive members of society or strong military leaders, depending on the individual. Their minds were cultivated in the liberal arts, philosophy, music, poetry, and academics, and they were challenged physically to become skilled fighters. It is believed that they studied unarmed combat (most likely the grappling and kicking of subak and Tae kkyeon), as well as equestrian sports, swordsmanship and archery, both on horseback and on foot.

In spite of Korea's rich history of ancient and traditional martial art, Korean martial art faded into obscurity during the later part of the Yi Dynasty, and into the modern Joseon Dynasty under Japanese rule in the late 19th century and early 20th century AD. Korean society became highly centralized under Korean Confucianism, and the martial art was regarded lowly in a society whose ideals were epitomized by its scholar-kings. Formal practices of traditional martial arts such as subak and tae kkyeon were reserved for sanctioned military training, and were used to fight off the Japanese invasion. However folk practice of tae kkyeon as a kicking game still persisted into the 20th century.

In 1910, Japan officially annexed Korea, and began to force Korean customs, language, and history out while replacing them with Japanese culture. This was a dark and difficult period for Koreans, as many crimes of imprisonment, murder, and rape were committed on the Korean men, women and children by Japanese soldiers. There was much rebellion and unrest. Some Korean men were forced into service in the Japanese military, and others moved to Japan to obtain a college education. During the 35 year oppression, Koreans were not allowed to practice their native Martial Art, so what little survived was practiced in secret. A few Koreans were allowed to study at Japanese Martial Art schools, and learned the skills of Judo, Aikido, and Karate. Other Koreans traveled into China, and learned native fighting systems there to include what would later be taught in Korea as Tang Su Do ("The way of Chinese Hand").

During that time a young Korean, Won Kuk Lee (in Korean - Yi, Won Kuk), learned some Tae kkyeon (kicking method) in the streets of Korea before moving to Japan to attend college. Another young boy name Hong Hi Choi (in Korean - Choi, Hong Hi), states that he learned some Tae kkyeon (Tae Kyon) from his Calligraphy teacher before going to attend High School and college in Japan. Both Lee, and Choi earned their Black Belts in Shotokan Karate under the renowned Karate Master Gichen Funakoshi.

Lee was a senior ranking Black Belt under Sensei Funakoshi, and began teaching his own unique methods as early as 1942. Upon returning to Korea in 1944, College Professor Won Kuk Lee gained permission from the Japanese government to teach the Korean system of Tang Soo Do (based on Chinese Hand fighting of the Tang Dynasty) for the first time in Korea at the Yung Shin School Gymnasium in Sa De Mun, Ok Chun Dong district in Seoul. He incorporated his own unique methods of teaching one-on-one and called his school "Chung Do Kwan" (school of the Blue Wave), officially established in Korea in 1944, see related links below.

After World War II ended (1945) several new Kwans opened up under various names, many of which were formed by Black Belt graduates of the Chung Do Kwan. The original five Kwans were: 1. Chung Do Kwan, founded in 1944 by Lee, Won Kuk (Lee had been teaching since 1942, but the official Kwan was opened in 1944 by permission of the occupying government of Japan), 2. Song Moo Kwan, founded May 2, 1946 by Ro, Byung Jick (Ro had previously taught self defense at an Archery School between March to July of 1944, but the official Kwan did not open until after the occupation), 3. Mu Duk Kwan, founded by Hwang Kee in 1946, 4. Kwon Bop Bu / Chang Mu Kwan, founded by Byung In Yoon in 1946, 5. Yun Moo Kwan / Jidokwan, founded by Sang Sup Chun in 1946.

Much later, there were four more main Kwans: 6. Han Moo Kwan, founded by Kyo Yoon Lee in 1954, 7. Oh Do Kwan, founded by Hong Hi Choi in 1955, 8. Kang Duk Won, founded by Chul Hee Park in 1956, 9. Jung Do Kwan, founded by Yong Woo Lee in 1956.

Some key figures important in the organization and development of Taekwondo as a modern Korean Martial Art included the first generation graduates of the Chung Do Kwan:

Duk Sung Son (3rd Kwanjang of the Chung Do Kwan - Founder of World Taekwondo Association)

Suh Chong Kang (Founder of Kyu Mu Kwan - Co-founder and 1st President of ATA: American Taekwondo Association)

Woon Kyu Uhm (current Chung Do Kwan Kwanjang and former Kukkiwon President)

Later Graduates of the Chung Do Kwan include:

Hae Man Park (Vice President, Taekwondo Chung Do Kwan)

Hyun Ok Shin (President, United Chung Do Kwan Association)

Tae Zee Park (President, Tae Park Taekwondo)

In Mook Kim (President, American ChungDoKwan Taekwondo Association)

Edward B. Sell (Founder, United States Chung Do Kwan Association in 1967)

Jhoon Rhee (First permanent Tae Kwon Do Instructor in America)

By the mid 1950's approximately 18 kwans had opened in Korea, each teaching a variety of Martial Art systems under various names. The original Kwan founders began an effort to unite all of the Kwans into one central organization, and create a name to encompass all of the systems as one Korean Martial Art.

By this time, Hong Hi Choi had worked his way up in the Korean army as a General. In 1955, General Choi spear-headed this effort to organize the many Kwans and create a single governing body. It was determined that the Korean Martial Art was drifting away from its long-time Japanese influence, and becoming a system unique to the Korean culture, philosophy, and regaining the ancient knowledge of Subak, Tae kkyeon, and other skills that were nearly lost.

A new name needed to be chosen to represent the modern culmination of ancient skills with current influences while distancing the new organization from Japanese terms and influences. Chung Do Kwan founder, Grandmaster Won Kuk Lee stated that a few of his students researched the matter, consulting a Korean language dictionary, and came up with the term "Taekwon-Do" to show a close connection to the kicking of the forerunner Korean art of Tae kkyeon.

At a meeting of prominent Korean politicians, historians, and Kwan leaders on April 11, 1955, several ballots were voted upon, and the one containing the term "Taekwon," which is believed to have been submitted by Chung Do Kwan student, General Hong Hi Choi, was selected. Thus, the term "Taekwon-Do" was born in April of 1955, but the art itself is a combination of technical knowledge, ancient warrior spirit, national culture and heritage dating back to the 1st century B.C.. Therefore, most Korean Taekwondo masters consider "Taekwondo" to be a new name for an ancient art. Even after this official vote, it took another decade to bring about a complete consensus among the various Kwans to use the name Taekwondo.

On September 16, 1961, the Korea Taekwondo Association was officially established to unite the various Kwans. On November 30, 1972, the Kukkiwon was completed as the national academy which serves as the World Taekwondo Headquarters. On May 28, 1973, the World Taekwondo Federation was established as the sport governing body for Taekwondo competition worldwide.

On May 20, 1976, The Korean government ordered the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) replaced the Kwan names with numbers, and the Kwan system was allegedly dissolved, but it remains intact today.

The nine official Kwans were:

Kwan #1: Song Moo Kwan

Kwan #2: Han Moo Kwan

Kwan #3: Chang Moo Kwan

Kwan #4: Moo Duk Kwan

Kwan #5: Oh Do Kwan

Kwan #6: Kang Duk Won

Kwan #7: Jung Do Kwan

Kwan #8: Jidokwan

Kwan #9: Chung Do Kwan

There was also a 10th Kwan, Kwan Ri Kwan, which was labeled as the Administrative Managing Kwan.

Since that time, there have been numerous organizations, and independent schools that have opened, each one changing the techniques, and method of instruction to one degree or another. These are individual personal preferences, and are too numerous to identify or label them all.