Taekwondo Belt Colours & Grades Explained

Taekwondo Belt System Overview

Taekwondo uses a coloured belt system to indicate a practitioner's grade and experience level. The system varies slightly between organisations, but the World Taekwondo (WT) system is the most widely used in the UK.

Taekwondo Belt Colours — WT System

In World Taekwondo, grades are divided into Geup (Gup) grades for coloured belts and Dan grades for black belts:

White belt — 10th Geup. Beginner. No previous knowledge.
White belt with yellow stripe — 9th Geup
Yellow belt — 8th Geup
Yellow belt with green stripe — 7th Geup
Green belt — 6th Geup
Green belt with blue stripe — 5th Geup
Blue belt — 4th Geup
Blue belt with red stripe — 3rd Geup
Red belt — 2nd Geup
Red belt with black stripe — 1st Geup
Black belt — 1st Dan and above

Note: individual clubs may use slightly different colour sequences — always follow your club's grading syllabus.

Junior Colour Stripe Belts

Many clubs use colour stripe belts for junior practitioners to mark progress between full grade changes. These are typically a white belt with a coloured stripe, or a solid colour belt with a stripe of the next grade's colour.

Our Cimac Colour Striped White Belt and Cimac Coloured Stripe Belt cover the full range of junior grades. Browse the full Taekwondo Belts collection for all options.

Black Belt Grades (Dan)

Black belt grades in WT taekwondo run from 1st Dan (Poom for juniors under 15) through to 9th Dan. Most practitioners will spend years at each Dan grade before being eligible for promotion.

Which Belt Do I Need?

Starting out — your dobok will usually include a white belt. See our Adidas WT Dobok with White Belt or browse all Taekwondo Doboks & Uniforms.
Coloured grades — Cimac Martial Arts Belt — available in all colours
Black belt — Adidas Champion Black Belt — premium 100% cotton

Ready to gear up for your next grading?

Shop our full range of Taekwondo Belts for every grade, or browse our complete Adult Doboks and Kids Doboks — stocking Adidas and leading brands for all grades and ages. Need sparring gear too? See our full Taekwondo Equipment & Clothing range.