Graduation Day
Four times a year the mats clear, the families fill the dojang, and every student who has earned it stands up and tests for their next belt. This is how it works, what is asked of your child, and how to put them forward.
From Stripe One To A New Belt
Earn your six stripes
Six stripes sit between your child and their next belt. Each one is a piece of the curriculum, awarded in class by the instructor as it is genuinely met.
Train twelve classes
A minimum of twelve classes at the current rank. Twelve fits every plan — about four weeks at three days a week, six weeks at two, twelve weeks at one.
Get the invitation
Your instructor decides when a student is ready and puts them forward. Nobody tests just because the date came around — that is what makes the belt mean something.
Apply and pay
Confirm the graduation and pay the $82 testing fee. One page, one payment, done before graduation day.
Graduate
Your child performs in front of the instructors and the families, receives their new belt and certificate — and walks out with six new stripes to chase.
What Each Stripe Is For
Every belt carries six stripes, and each stripe stands for one part of the curriculum. All six have to be earned before a student can graduate, so progress is visible on the belt long before graduation day arrives. Your instructor signs each one off in class as the material is met.
Black stripe
The Student Creed, the Korean numbers, and tying your own belt. The foundation every Bulsajo student is held to, whatever their rank.
White stripe
Forms — poomsae. The set pattern of movements for your rank, performed from memory, with the right stance and the right timing.
Yellow stripe
Basic techniques: blocks, kicks, punches and positions. The building blocks that every form, every combination and every sparring exchange is made of.
Green stripe
Self-defense. Practical responses to being grabbed, held or pushed — taught calmly, drilled with a partner, and expected to work under pressure.
Blue stripe
Count kicks and board breaking. Count kicks are kicked with the leg held up in the air on the count — nothing builds balance and control faster. Breaking is where the technique has to be real.
Red stripe
Sparring and wrestling — Olympic style Taekwondo sparring, plus wrestling. Controlled, supervised, and against a partner who is also trying.
Not sure how many stripes your child has? Ask at the next class, or call 561-915-0815.
Family And Friends Are Welcome
Graduation is not a closed test — it is the day the family gets to see what their child has been working on for three months. Come, sit down, and take photographs.
Every Rank Opens Something New
A new belt is not a color change. It is a new set of material: new techniques, new positions, new forms, new combinations, harder sparring and new experiences in the dojang. Further up the ladder, weapons training is introduced too.
Eleven ranks run from white belt to 1st Dan black belt — and every one of them is reached three months at a time. See the full belt ladder or read the student handbook.
Ready For The Next Belt?
Six stripes earned, twelve classes in, and an invitation from your instructor — then it takes two minutes to put your child forward.