Poom Belts

Laurentkd

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I did a search and didn't come up with anything, so I want to ask, how many of you use poom belts at your school and at what ages?

At my dojang, we have just implemented Poom Black Belts (before we gave all kids solid Black, but we never had very many kids reach that level). Our kids know the same curriculum as adults, and perform at a high level based on their age and ability (just as is true with our adults). However, now that we have a couple, we just don't feel that a 10 or 11 year old (our youngest black belts) is really on the same level as adults, solely because they are in fact kids. For example, we don't have them teaching classes and kids aren't allowed to give out any sort of correction as we have found it often goes to their head (the same can be said for adult Black Belts, but we have ways of fixing those problems pretty quick!). Also, kids are still kids and still sometimes need correction on behavior. So while we wanted to reward these kids for the 4 or so years of hard work they have put in, and show that they do indeed have a basic grasp of all color belt curriculum (which IMO is all a 1st degree black belt means), we didn't feel it should be the same as a full Black Belt. So, we started getting embroidered Poom belts (half black half red). These are now given to any kid under 13. Depending on the maturity of the kid, a 13 or 14 year old can be awarded with either a poom belt or a full black belt (at our last testing we had 3 get solid black and 1 get a poom). And then anyone 15 or older gets solid black (based off Kukkiwan's requirement).

I am really excited about this change (we just implemented it in October) and I feel it will help incoming students understand that yes a kid can learn material and work hard and will be rewarded for their effort, but yet we still view kids different than adults and that should be obvious looking at our students. So far we haven't had any kids act disappointed about getting a poom belt, in fact they think the gold embroidery on a black and red belt looks pretty cool, as does the poom collar dobok! (I'd have to agree!)

So, I am curious. Do you always award full black belts, or do you award poom belts as well? I rarely see kids from other schools in poom belts. Do you think if all TKD schools awarded poom belts instead of solid black belts to their junior black belts TKD would have a better reputation as far as the whole kid black belt reputation goes?
 

Kacey

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We don't use poom belts and never have. We do have an age minimum for II Dan, which is 14 - but we decided years ago, when discussing having a junior black belt, not to have one. I understand why organizations and schools choose to go this way - but it's not the direction we chose to take it. It's been over 5 years since that discussion, and I don't recall precisely why we went that way - but it works for us.
 

terryl965

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We use a poom belt but I call it a bodan it is half red/half black and everyone wears it for at least 6 months before there regular Black Belt it is kind of like a trail before recieving type of thing with me.

Also the KKW calls all BB under the age of 14 Poom belt whether it is Half and half or a full black belt.Just thought you like to know that if you did not already.
 

IcemanSK

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We use it. The age of 15 is the age for Dan. We use the half black & half red collar, too. It gives a distinct look that separates them from colored belt students & yet not quite to Dan ability.
 

foot2face

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We didn't have a poom belt at my school. My master wouldn't promote anyone to BB under 14 preferably 15. There were a couple of kids who had their red belts for a few years, but this really wasn't much of an issue at my school. For all the years I was there I can only recall about four other BB under 16.
 

tkd_jen

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We use poom belts at my gym. Typically everyone under 16 gets a poom belt. However we have had some 15 year olds test for full 1st Dan, but they were exception people, not just exceptional at TKD, but really mature beyond their age.
 

allboyz

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My son is 13 years old (will be 14 in a few months). He has been taking TKD almost 9 years. He is a 2nd poom. I honestly feel that ability-wise he is up there with the 2nd degree black belts. He was actually sparring with one of the 2nd degrees (dan..not poom) and he won. The area in which I think the adults have an edge is actually teaching the other students. My son is pretty good with teaching but I'm sure as the years go by he will become better if given the opportunity. That being said, I would not have a problem with his school giving out half black/half red belts though. Whether he has a solid black or the red/black belt he is still a 2nd poom.

I think the poom belts should be allowed to teach or correct the colored belts. In all the years that my son has been taking TKD I have never noticed a poom belt "let it go to their head" because they could teach/correct the other belts. They genuinely seem to want to help. My son has gained so much from assistant teaching. His school even has a class for training them to teach. I think once he does reach full dan status the experience assisting teaching will help him out tremendously. The colored belts look up to the poom belts as well as the adult black belts. I think assistant teaching keeps my son on his toes too. LOL Sometimes he gets so preoccupied learning all of the different black belt forms that it helps to have refreshers of all that colored belt material too.

**Keep in mind that this opinion is simply from a mom that has observed from the sidelines. :)
 

Jai

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We use Poom Belts for anyone under 15. They are termed Jr Black Belts. At my old school, Poom was a required rank for everyone no matter the age, and there was a waiting period from Poom to Black Belt. They had an age requirement in place but I don't remember what off hand what it was.
 
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Laurentkd

Laurentkd

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We use a poom belt but I call it a bodan it is half red/half black and everyone wears it for at least 6 months before there regular Black Belt it is kind of like a trail before recieving type of thing with me.

Also the KKW calls all BB under the age of 14 Poom belt whether it is Half and half or a full black belt.Just thought you like to know that if you did not already.

I am aware of the KKW standards, thanks though sir! we implmented our age limits of red/black vs. full black off of KKW standards.

We actually used the bodan belt in the exact same way until this year! Now that we have kid black belts wearing this we have taken it out of the "color" belt system and implemented a half red/half blue belt to replace it.
 
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Laurentkd

Laurentkd

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My son is 13 years old (will be 14 in a few months). He has been taking TKD almost 9 years. He is a 2nd poom. I honestly feel that ability-wise he is up there with the 2nd degree black belts. He was actually sparring with one of the 2nd degrees (dan..not poom) and he won. The area in which I think the adults have an edge is actually teaching the other students. My son is pretty good with teaching but I'm sure as the years go by he will become better if given the opportunity. That being said, I would not have a problem with his school giving out half black/half red belts though. Whether he has a solid black or the red/black belt he is still a 2nd poom.

I think the poom belts should be allowed to teach or correct the colored belts. In all the years that my son has been taking TKD I have never noticed a poom belt "let it go to their head" because they could teach/correct the other belts. They genuinely seem to want to help. My son has gained so much from assistant teaching. His school even has a class for training them to teach. I think once he does reach full dan status the experience assisting teaching will help him out tremendously. The colored belts look up to the poom belts as well as the adult black belts. I think assistant teaching keeps my son on his toes too. LOL Sometimes he gets so preoccupied learning all of the different black belt forms that it helps to have refreshers of all that colored belt material too.

**Keep in mind that this opinion is simply from a mom that has observed from the sidelines. :)

I think it is great that your son is doing so well! It sounds like you have a great young man on your hands! Maybe I wasn't completly clear in my first post, but we do allow kid black belts to assist (they can work with another student one on one, or small groups during class, or lead warm ups, hold targets, etc) and in doing so they are allowed correct students on errors in technqiue. However they are never allowed to be the only instructor on the floor and they are not allowed to hand out discipline (pushups, or raise their voice, etc- not that this is seen much with out adult instructors either!). It is these areas that are really the difference between full black belt wearers and half black/half red wearers.
 

Miles

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We dont' use them anymore. If they test for black belt level and pass, they get a black belt and a poom certificate.

Miles
 

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