The Secrets of the Warrior-

Scholar

Volume

The origin of the Belt Ranking System

The Secrets of the Warrior-Scholar

The origin of the Belt Ranking System

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PLEASE READ

A lot of hard work went into this series of books.

This book and the other books in this series are copyrighted by Master Daniel R. Segarra.

It may NOT be copied in whole or in part without the expressed permission

from its author.

Anyone giving out copies of this book or any of the publications in this series will be in violation of copyright laws and be responsible for any monies lost.

In other words DON’T give out a copy of this book!

If anyone wants a copy they can be found at:

www.warrior-scholar.com

For more information about the Moo Sa Do Kwan System of Martial Arts please visit the

link above.

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The origins of Tang Soo Do and Moo Sa Do’s Belt Ranking System By Master Daniel Segarra

When I created the Martial Art known as Moo Sa Do Kwan I did so

out of necessity not desire. I wanted a curriculum that could truly

take you from beginner to master step by step without the pitfalls

and politics of so many martial arts organizations I belonged to

before. To do this I knew in my heart that I had to do so not from

my Ego but from my center. Everyone has an Ego, to for some it‟s

obvious to others it‟s not, they usually have an abnormally large

ego and as we say in the Korean martial arts:

“Large Egos are carried by small minds”

It‟s the subconscious almost invisible role the Ego can play that can infect some of our

decision making in negative ways. So to remove my Ego from the equation I simply and

repeatedly asked this powerful question:

“How would my Grandmaster do this?”

This made me think on a different level or „out of the box‟ if you will. As Einstein said „No

problem can be solved on the same level of consciousness that created it” I elevated my

consciousness with this simple question and the ideas began to flow so fast I could not keep

up with them. Asking yourself power questions like this taps into the magic inside you.

The Belt Ranking System of Moo Sa Do Kwan is a result of this. It is very special as it has

encoded in it the Moo Sa Do Kwan philosophy and much thought and meditation went into

refining it. I hope this guide gives you a deeper appreciation of the depth and breadth of your

art and inspires you to explore your full potential in it. And I hope you often ask yourself „How

would a Master do this?‟ Then do it that way.

Thank you,

In the spirit of the martial arts;

Dan Segarra

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The origins of Tang Soo Do and Moo Sa Do’s Belt Ranking System By Master Daniel Segarra

Over the years I have heard some very colorful and fascinating stories of how the

martial arts colored belt ranking system developed. All of them although interesting and

creative theories did not address the specific origins of the development of the ranking

system. This article will discuss the actual history of the martial arts belt ranking system

and how it went from country to country from Judo, to Karate to Tang Soo Do to Moo Sa

Do.

The Gup (white belt to black belt) and Dan (black belt and

above) ranking system was developed by Kanō Jigorō (嘉納

治五郎 10/28/ 1860 – 5/4/1938) the creator of Judo. Prior to

that there were no ranking systems other than in the military

which sometimes established rank or function by the color of

the uniforms since the belts were part of that occasionally the

matched the color of the uniform. Evidence of this is the Inigo

Blue trimmed uniform and belt Grandmaster Hwang Kee came

across in a Museum which he based his Moo Duk Kwan styles uniform after. The

reason for different colored uniforms was on the battlefield the commander could

distinguish the various ranks via their uniforms colors. This is the reason for example

why the Romans had such colorful plumes and decorations on their helmets not only

could they determine who was who but also the direction which they were facing based

on their brightly plumed helmets. So uniform color played an important part in warfare.

Mr. Kano obviously felt the need to differentiate the various skill levels in his curriculum

and he distinguished them by breaking them down into two groups Dan and Kyu. He

based his Dan and Gup (Kyu in Japanese) from the Game of Go. Go (碁), Originally a

Chinese board game known as weiqi (棋) and in Korean as baduk (hangul: 바둑), is an

ancient board game for two players that is noted for being rich in strategy despite its

simple rules.

In Go, rank indicates a player's skill in the game. Traditionally, ranks are measured

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using Gup/kyu and dan grades, a system which also has been adopted by many martial

arts not just Tang Soo Do.

Go Ranks

The Go ranks were based on the earlier

Chinese version of the game which based it‟s

nine ranks on the nine court ranks (九品官人法);

pinyin: jiǔ pǐn guān rén fǎ these ranks were the

nine court ranks to classify people during civil

service nominations. The local government

authorities were given the task of selecting

talented candidates, then categorizing them into nine grades depending on their abilities.

9 Pin Zhi (Chinese: 九品制)

一曰入神 - 1 pin Being in the Spirit

二曰坐照 - 2 pin Seated in Enlightenment

三曰具体 - 3 pin Concreteness

四曰通幽 - 4 pin Understanding changes

五曰用智 - 5 pin Applying Wisdom

六曰小巧 - 6 pin Ability

七曰斗力 - 7 pin Fighting Strength

八曰若愚 - 8 pin Being Quite Inept

九曰守拙 - 9 pin Being Truly ignorant

These ranks were used for the Chinese version of Go, which made its way to Japan,

then into Japanese martial arts then eventually Korean martial arts.

Note the Japanese Dan Ranks range from 1-9 with 10th being a special title, this is

similar to most martial arts ranking systems. Kano original use of the Kyu/Dan was

eventually used by Shotokan's (Karate) founder Funokoshi and made its way to Korea

via the Koreans that trained in Shotokan and Judo (Yudo in Korean).

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The Gup (below black belt) system was simply a

reversal of the Dan (black belt levels) ranking starting at

10th Gup you progressed by eliminating numbers and

as you reached Dan (black belt level) you climbed up

the numbers. There are all kinds of philosophical

concepts that fit with this but the basic concept is

developing humility. Starting out you may think you

know or have preconceived notions about martial arts of

combat, by putting on a white belt it humbles you. Then

the number 10 signifies your ego going through a

process of reductions like emptying your cup from full to

empty (gup ranks) then filling it again (dan ranks) etc.

Kano‟s system was 1st degree black belt to 4th degree black belt as testable ranks with

5th or above being honorary Dan‟s only. It became even more popular when adopted by

Shotokan‟s founder Gichin Funakoshi (船越義珍 November 10, 1868 – April 26, 1957)

for his system.

The colors white and black in the Japanese system were based on the In/Yo or Yin

Yang concept (Um.Yang in Korean). The Yin Yang is polar opposites in harmony with

one another. Beginner white, expert black.

Before the belt ranking system the Menkyo (免許 Korean/Meon Ho) a form of

certificate(s) was used. It distinguished one‟s place in a school or art long before

anyone ever thought about the use of belts.

Typically classical martial art schools koryū (古流) usually used the menkyo system

while schools which base their practice on budō forms ("path, or way") typically use the

Kyu/Dan. Schools in Japan usually were classified either as koryū (古流) or Gendai

budō (現代武道), meaning "modern martial way", are modern martial arts which were

established after the Meji Restoration (1866–1869). koryū are the opposite: ancient

martial arts established before the Meiji Restoration (sword arts, Archery and battle field

arts for example).

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The actual Kyu/Dan system was first introduced in the 17th century by Honinbo Dosaku,

a grandmaster of the board game Go. He introduced the system, as a method of

handicapping the game and levelling the playing field between beginners and advanced

practioners.

Later the Japanese public schools used the Kyu/Dan ranking system to differentiate skill

levels throughout the different athletic departments. These departments were using

belts or ribbons to identify ranking ability, most notably within swimming, where

advanced swimmers wore a black ribbon around their waist to separate them from

beginners in swimming tournaments.

Many other areas of Japanese culture had also adopted this system, Chado (Tea

Ceremony), Ikebana (Flower Arranging), Shogi (Japanese Chess), Renju (Connect

Five), Calligraphy, to name just a few, so it was natural for Mr. Kano to use this system

for his martial art style as well.

Back to Korea

Originally when Tang Soo Do‟s Grandmaster Hwang

Kee demoed his first attempt at developing an

original martial art system called Hwa Soo Do Oct

14th 1959 he was photographed wearing a simple

white belt. I'm not sure if that was consistent through

his development of Hwa Soo Do, but after he met

and consulted with other more successful martial

artists such as Lee Won Kuk he definitely adopted

the gup and Dan rank system.

Historically Korean martial arts did not have a belt ranking system but wore different

colored uniforms.

As stated in the ancient Korean battle manual the Moo Yei Do Bo Tong Ji:

“The infantry solider wears the combat head cover, the dragon jacket, OR the blue, red

or yellow nobleman‟s clothes.”

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Many cave paintings and battle field drawings illustrate the white uniform with the Indigo

Blue trim (see photo left). Hwang Kee saw the example pictured left in a Museum

exhibit and modeled the Moo Duk Kwan styles uniform after the older soldier‟s or

nobleman‟s attire.

Indigo Blue was a very expensive dye and due to that fact only people of high status

(noblemen/scholars/warriors) were permitted to wear these colors regularly. It may have

been a simple matter of affordability. Typically the average Korean worker wore a

simple white Hanbok and only wore colored clothes on special occasions such as

celebrations or weddings.

Originally many Dan members in Korea wore Black belts simply because there was an

assimilation of different Kwans (styles) the majority of which were Japanese into Hwang

Kee‟s Moo Duk Kwan system and they brought the Black belt ranking with them.

A fact most people don't know is you were not considered a 'Master' until 5th Dan

originally in Korea.

Here is a link to the actual manual:

http://www.warrior-scholar.com/blog/?page_id=1047

The Midnight Blue with the center Red Stripe Masters Belt started in 1960 and

symbolized Neh Gang Weh Yu or Strong inside gentle outside Um/Yang philosophy.

Grandmaster Hwang Kee was a dedicated student of the I Ching (Chinese oracle) and

philosophy. The I Ching is a Chinese philosophical text that use three lined symbols as

an oracle to describe various states of the Universe and how to be in harmony with it.

The South Korean flag surrounds the Um/Yang (Yin/Yang) with four of these three lined

symbols called trigrams.

If you notice on the Korean flag (태극기/太極旗 Tae geuk gi) you have the Red/Blue Um

Yang circle in the center and the Trigrams all of which are two upper bars with a center

bar surrounding it. These represent Heaven, Earth, Water, and Fire. Two trigram bars

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have a different bars in their center representing the various states of change. the Water

☵ a solid line and the Fire ☲ a broken line) Water is represented by the color blue and

fire the color red.

The Masters belt with the red stripe was inspired by this Um/Yang philosophy.

Grandmaster Hwang Kee was born during the Japanese occupation the South Korean

flag was banned during Hwang Kee's youth;

"The flag was first adopted as a symbol by the kingdom of Korea in 1882. During

the Japanese rule of Korea (1910–1945), the flag was banned. The taegeukgi was

used as a symbol of resistance and independence during the Japanese

occupation and ownership of it was punishable by execution"

The flag was a deep source of pride for him and encompassed the martial art

philosophy (ship sam seh) in its design. The trigrams are representations of a Universal

code. The solid lines represent Yang the broken lines Um/Yin. Almost like a binary

language were solid is on and broken is off creating a code. This code represents many

things:

☰ geon (건/乾) sky (천/天) spring (춘/春) east (동/東)

humanity (인/仁) father (부/父) metal (금/金) justice

(정의/正義)

☲ ri (리/離) sun (일/日) summer (하/夏) south (남/南)

courtesy (예/禮) son (중남/子) fire (화/火) wisdom (지혜 / 智慧)

☵ gam (감/坎) moon (월/月) winter (동/冬) north (북/北) intelligence (지/智) daughter

(중녀/女) water (수/水) vitality (활/活)

☷ gon (곤/坤) earth (지/地) autumn (추/秋) west (서/西) righteousness (의/義) mother

(모/母) earth (토/土) fertility (풍요/豊饒)

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If you were to draw the trigram for water in its Um/Yang colors it would look like this:

This is the inspiration for the Master‟s belt. It is a physical representation of the

Universal forces and the philosophy of the martial arts, being inwardly strong and

outwardly gente (Neh Gang Weh Yu)

The four trigrams on the flag also represent the four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer

and Fall, these are represented by the colors White, Green, Red and Midnight Blue this

is the original belt ranking system. Orange belt was later added in 1975 as an extra

motivational step representing „Early spring‟ where the sun warms the winter‟s snow

(white belt) and stimulates growth.

Also note the color blue represents 'vitality'. When translating the Grandmaster Hwang

Kee‟s philosophy book the Moo Do Chul Hak one of my meetings with his son my

instructor, then Master H.C Hwang. We discussed Hwal '活' which he translated as

vitality. He stressed the importance of the concept when translating the Moo Do creed

written by his father;

Moo Do Creed (Moo Duk Kwan Hun Jang)

The purpose of Moo Do is Hwal 活 to cultivate ourselves

Moo Do does not end in offense or defense

It is one step further, the purpose is life itself

Even facing the enemy, our goal is to save them

The principles of Moo Do are the principles of Nature

Guided by Moo Do we may achieve the goal of Hwal 活 in the principles of Nature

To do so we must concentrate, stress the beauty, line and speed, and study

scientifically

To provide all this is our creed.

- Hwang Kee

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Interestingly in the current translation of the

Chor Hak, they don't translate Hwal. They just

say Hwal as in "The purpose of Moo Do is Hwal

to cultivate ourselves" Which I found odd since

GM H.C Hwang stressed how important it was/is

to me. My interpretation of 活/Hwal was living

life to our fullest. i.e exploring our full potential.

Hwal is made up of two characters water and

tongue 水 + 舌 meaning if you had a wet tongue you were alive.

The Moo Duk Kwan (martial virtue) Style was constantly being developed and tweaked

by Grandmaster Hwang Kee including its belt ranking system. During its development in

1945 Korea was liberated but still a decimated mess then only five years later it was at

war with itself until 1953, followed by tons of political corruption under president Sygman

Reeh until in 1960 (he was thrown out after the uprising). So imagine having the largest

martial art organization in Korea when all of this is going on. Add to this Grandmaster

Hwang Kee was falsely imprisoned with many other Koreans during the corrupt period

of civil unrest in Korea, he was falsely charged with being a traitor hunted, eventually

captured and tortured (waterboarded, guns place to his head, beaten). Although he was

eventually exonerated this difficult period had made developing the Moo Duk Kwan very

challenging.

The fact that he was so successful during these dark times is a testament to his

fortitude and strength of character.

Moo Sa Do Ranks

Inspired by Grandmaster Hwang Kee's application of the Do

philosophy incorporated into the belt ranking system we've

expanded upon that in Moo Sa Do, connecting the MSD Belt

ranking system with the Ship Sam Seh (13 universal principals)

and Chil Sung (7 star) philosophy. In Moo Sa Do we have 24

Gup ranks representing the 24 hours in a day that you should

be a martial artist and 7 Dan ranks representing the 7 days of the week (and of course

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seven stars).

There are eight different colored belts before Midnight Blue representing the eight

Universal archetypical forces or Pal Gwe 八卦 (Thunder, Wind, Valley, Mountain,

Heaven, Earth, Fire and Water), and there are five Dan colored belts representing the

five Earthly elements called Oh Heng (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water). Together

totaling thirteen representing the 13 universal energies called the Ship Sam Seh in

Korean.

The Five elements:

1. Fire (Chinese: 火, pinyin: huǒ Korean Hwa)

2. Earth (Chinese: 土, pinyin: tǔ Korean Jung)

3. Metal (Chinese: 金, pinyin: jīn Korean Ban)

4. Water (Chinese: 水, pinyin: shuǐ Korean Soo)

5. Wood (Chinese: 木, pinyin: mù Korean Mok)

The Eight Elemental Archetypes:

1. 火 Fire

2. 地 Earth

3. 澤 Lake

4. 天 Heaven

5. 水 Water

6. 山 Mountain

7. 雷 Thunder

8. 風 Wind

Numerology of the MSD Belt ranking system

5 Belt colors= Five elements

24 gup ranks = 24 hours in a day

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7 Dan ranks = 7 days of the week and 7 star philosophy

8 gup belts = 8 universal forces

5 Dan colors= Five elements

8+5=13 The Ship Sam Seh

We have three groups of practioners:

1. Yu Gup Ja Beginner level

2. Yu Dan Ja High level

3. Ko Dan Ja Master Level

And four levels of instructor totaling seven levels.

4. Instructors assistant – Kyo Jo Nim (students that help other students in class)

5. Assistant Instructor – Jo Kyo Nim (students that can assist in leading class)

6. Instructor- Kyo Sa Nim (can teach a full class and own their own school)

7. Master Instructor- Sa Bom Nim (can teach instructors of master level and lower)

Final Thoughts

The belt ranking system served many purposes through the development of the Martial

arts. Sadly through the over commercialization of the martial arts by schools with low

standards giving belts away, the belt ranking system does not have the same value it

did in the „good old days‟. Hopefully by maintaining our high standards as instructors

and students we can restore the public‟s perception of the martial arts.

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Well here we are at the end of this book. I‟d like to thank you

for your time and I hope some of my ideas and concepts are

helpful to you as you progress in your martial arts journey in

Moo Sa Do.

If you are not yet a member of our organization and would

like more information about our style Moo Sa Do Kwan™,

please feel free to ask me any questions via our face book page:

www.facebook.com/moosado or visit our webiste: www.warrior-scholar.com you can

also contact me personally there and I will be happy to answer any questions you have.

I am available to teach clinics both nationally and internationally to share the Moo Sa Do

style with those interested. Clinics can be on various topics and combinations of topics:

Ki Gong (energy exercises)

Advanced Ho Sin Sool (Self Defense) & Body guarding skills.

Sparring strategies

Meditation and mental technologies

Weaponry and improvised weaponry

And much more.

My extensive credentials and resume are online at; http://www.warrior-

scholar.com/blog/?page_id=178

My meditation book is available at; http://www.lulu.com/content/770689

My email is; mastersegarra@aim.com Thank you,

In the spirit of the martial arts;

Dan Segarra

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Secrets of the Warrior-Scholar Series

Mastering your Goals – Your guide to detting goals from white belt to master

From Tang Soo Do to Moo Sa Do the History of the FTKC

The Moo Sa Do Symbol

The Origins of the Belt Ranking System

The 13 Secret Principes

Leadership – The 12 Qualities to become a Leader

Mind Mastery Series

The Power of the Mind

Advanced Memory Techniques