Kup
| Korean spelling | |
|---|---|
| Korean alphabet : | 급 |
| Revised Romanization : | Geup |
| McCune-Reischauer : | Kŭp |
Kup (sometimes Gup ) is the name of a student grade in some Korean martial arts such as the Taekwondo , Hapkido , and Tang Soo Do . Literally, Kup means class , rank or level . The number of Kup grades varies from association to association.
The beginner automatically has the highest Kup, for example tenth. In some associations you start with the Mu Kup , which means empty level . With each examination you rise, with the Kup grades counting downwards. After the highest student grade (1st Kup) the master grades, which are called Dan , follow .
Taekwondo
In the Taekwondo graduation system there are ten student grades, which are called kup.
| 10. Kup (white) |
9. Kup | 8. Kup (yellow) |
7. Kup | 6. Kup (green) |
5. Kup | 4. Kup (blue) |
3. Kup | 2. Kup (brown or red) |
1. Kup |
| (white or white-yellow) | (yellow or yellow-green) | (green or green-blue) | (blue or blue-red) | (brown or red-black) |
In the early days of Taekwondo, a brown belt was always worn for the 2nd and 1st kup based on the highest kyū grades in karate , from which the colors were taken. Even today there are schools and associations that use brown instead of red for this graduation.
Hapkido
Among other things, the following graduation and color system is common in Hapkido:
| Kup degree | Mu Kup | 9. Kup | 8. Kup | 7. Kup | 6. Kup | 5. Kup | 4. Kup | 3. Kup | 2. Kup | 1. Kup |
| Belt color | White | yellow | orange | green | blue | blue- | red | red- | brown | brown- |
| red | brown | black |
See also
- The Japanese name Kyū with the same concept.