When you hear "Martial Arts" you probably think of a karate movie starring Jackie Chan. Do you think they just get up on stage and perform all these awkward kicks and punches? No . . . actually those movies take ages to make.

I have been taking one of worldwide forms of martial arts with my whole family for three years! We have been taking tae-kwon-do. Tae-kwon-do is a very popular sport now-a-days. You may even have a studio in your town! It is a very difficult yet, fun filled sport. Of course we don't learn all the moves right away, it takes about two years to get a black belt!

There are 12 belts starting with white and ending in black and then that's it, right? Wrong! After you receive your black belt you receive dans. These are yellow tips that get sewn on your black belt. (They take tons of work to get!) You do start with white though! Here is a list of belts you go through to get your black belt: white, yellow, orange, green, purple, blue, dark blue, brown, red, then a black. When you receive a red belt it has a black stripe on it. At our school this belt is called a deputy black belt.

Belt promotion day is when you've learned all the kicks and movements, punches and Korean words for the next level. To get your next belt you must learn a couple Korean words, kicks, punches and a form. A form is a series of blocks, punches, and kicks. When you get to the training studio you stretch and then have to meditate. Meditating is supposed to help you do your form right. Then you show the judges your form, kicks, punches and tell them all the Korean words you learned. Afterwards they decide whether you receive your next belt.

Now that you know a bit about tae-kwon-do maybe you can try it yourself! It is fun for all ages and is very enjoyable. Look for an opening at a studio near you!

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