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When a child passes the black belt test and walks off the mat in a belt that is half red and half black, many parents feel a small pang of confusion. Didn’t they just earn a black belt? They did. The two-color belt is a poom belt, and it marks a full black belt rank for a student who is younger than 15.
What a poom is
In Olympic-style Taekwondo, black belt ranks are registered with the Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo headquarters in Seoul. The Kukkiwon issues two kinds of black belt rank. Students 15 and older receive a dan (단), counted from 1st to 9th. Students under 15 receive a poom (품), counted from 1st to 4th.
A poom is not a probationary rank or a lower grade. The student performs the same forms, the same sparring and the same breaks as an older candidate, and the certificate carries the same registration with the Kukkiwon. What the poom acknowledges is age. A nine-year-old can master Taegeuk Pal Jang and break a board with a side kick, but the Kukkiwon reserves the adult title for students who have the maturity, and usually the physical development, that comes with their mid-teens.
How the belt looks
Most schools in the United States show a poom rank with a belt split lengthwise, red on one half and black on the other, so it looks red from one side and black from the other when tied. Some schools use a black belt with a red stripe, and a few give children a solid black belt with the poom certificate. All of these represent the same rank. If your school uses a solid black belt, the poom is still noted on the certificate.
Do not confuse the poom belt with the “high red” or “red-black” belt that some schools use as the last color belt before black. That belt, often red with a black stripe, is a 1st geup rank and comes before the black belt test, not after it. If you are unsure which one your child has, the certificate settles it: a poom certificate comes from the Kukkiwon, while a color-belt certificate comes from the school.
Poom and dan side by side
| Poom (품) | Dan (단) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Under 15 | 15 and over |
| Degrees | 1st to 4th | 1st to 9th |
| Belt | Usually half red, half black | Black |
| Test content | Same forms and standards | Same forms and standards |
| Issued by | Kukkiwon | Kukkiwon |
A child who earns 1st poom can keep training toward 2nd and 3rd poom, with the same minimum waiting periods as adults. The 4th poom is the highest a junior can hold, because it takes long enough to reach that the student is close to 15 by then anyway.
What happens at 15
When a poom holder turns 15, the school can apply to the Kukkiwon to convert the rank to the same dan degree. A 1st poom becomes a 1st dan, a 2nd poom becomes a 2nd dan, and so on. There is no new test, but there is usually a small conversion fee, and the student receives a new certificate and, at most schools, trades the two-color belt for a solid black one. Many schools hold a short ceremony for the change, which teenagers tend to enjoy more than they let on.
Conversion does not happen automatically, so if your child has a poom certificate and has turned 15, ask the school to file it. Students who have stopped training can usually still convert through their former school or another Kukkiwon-registered instructor.
Why the system exists
The poom system lets children reach the milestone of black belt at an age when the goal still motivates them, without asking an examiner to give an adult title to a seven-year-old. It also means a teenage student’s rank keeps its value when they move to a new school or country, since the Kukkiwon registration follows them. For parents, the main thing to remember is simple: the red-and-black belt is a black belt with a birthday attached.
Questions parents and students ask
Is a poom belt a real black belt?
Yes. A poom is a black belt rank registered with the Kukkiwon. The test and forms are the same as for a dan rank; only the age of the holder is different.
Does a poom convert to a dan automatically?
It converts on request. When the holder turns 15, the school applies to the Kukkiwon to change the poom certificate to the same dan degree, usually for a small fee.
Why did my child get a red and black belt instead of black?
Children under 15 earn poom ranks, and most schools show a poom with a belt that is half red and half black along its length. Some schools give a solid black belt with the poom certificate instead.
