Taekwondo gradings are designed to assess your skill and ability level so we can teach you more advanced techniques. However some students’ do extra training at home/gym and have different natural ability whilst others are busy at home/school and cannot train as hard as others.
Therefore, Taekwondo gradings are NOT compulsory and should only be taken once the student has achieved the grading requirements for their grade and ALL previous grades they have passed. Taekwondo is a traditional martial arts so you are also required to know the meaning of your Patterns and belt colours and basic Korean terminology appicabe to your grade. You should also understand the reasoning behind the patterns and various moves to ensure the student is aware of what they are doing.
NLTKD provides a grading date every 3 months. There is no pressure to grade as students are encouraged to train at their own pace and not to keep up with other students.
MINIMUM TIMES BETWEEN GRADINGS
| Your current grade | Minimum grading time | Grading syllabus | |
| 1oth kup | White belt /novice | 6 weeks* | White belt Grading Syllabus |
| 9th kup | White Belt with Yellow Tag | 2 months* | White Belt with Yellow Tag Grading Syllabus |
| 8th kup | Yellow Belt | 3 months* | Yellow Belt Grading Syllabus |
| 7th kup | Yellow Belt with Green Tag | 3 months* | Yellow Belt with Green Tag Grading Syllabus |
| 6th kup | Green Belt | 3 months* | Green Belt Grading Syllabus |
| 5th kup | Green Belt with Blue Tag | 3 months* | Green Belt with Blue Tag Grading Syllabus |
| 4th kup | Blue Belt | 6 months** | Blue Belt Grading Syllabus |
| 3rd kup | Blue Belt with Red Tag | 6 months** | Blue Belt with Red Tag Grading Syllabus |
| 2nd kup | Red Belt | 6 months** | Red Belt Grading Syllabus |
| 1st kup | Red Belt with Black Tag | 6 months** | Red Belt with Black Tag Grading Syllabus |
| 1st Dan | Black Belt | 18 months | Black belt |
| 2nd Dan | Black Belt | 2 years | |
| 3rd Dan | Black Belt | 3 years |
A minimum 75% attendance in class is also required.
| Meanings of Patterns | Meanings of Patterns – Black Belt |