
First Tae Kwon Do Western Australia recently held its winter grading examination for 2024. Master Vernon Low, the school’s master and examiner, and Chief Instructor John O’Brien, 6th Dan, travelled from Adelaide to conduct the event alongside Chief Instructor (WA) Dane Meade, 5th Dan.
Apart from the gradings, Master Low and the Chief Instructors taught advanced patterns to black belt members. While the coloured belt patterns do progress in complexity and in technical difficulty of the techniques used, the black belt patterns go even further. As one simple example, most of the coloured belt patterns are symmetrical in character (e.g., execute a certain sequence to one side, then execute the same sequence to the other side), while the black belt patterns may have asymmetrical sequences, or even be entirely asymmetrical.






Following the black belt pattern practice session in the middle of the day, the afternoon coloured belt gradings began, with senior coloured belt members undertaking their assessments. (Junior coloured belt members were tested in the morning.) The key segments of a coloured belt grading will typically cover basic techniques (isolated offensive and defensive techniques), patterns (prearranged sequences of techniques executed from memory), and sparring (simulated combat under various conditions).













After the first set of senior coloured belt gradings, the black belt candidates undertook their assessments: two Junior Black Belt members being tested for promotion to 1st Dan, and two adult coloured belt members also being tested for promotion to 1st Dan. In First Tae Kwon Do, it is possible for children to attain black belt status (as Junior Black Belt members), but to achieve that position they must demonstrate martial capability to a high standard. When they reach an appropriate point in adolescence, they are tested for promotion to 1st Dan black belt rank.






Following initial segments on basic techniques, patterns, and sparring—just as for the coloured belt gradings, but to a higher standard—the candidates were tested on their close-range self-defence skills, including defensive techniques against training partners wielding rubber training knives. This is a key difference between black belt gradings and coloured belt gradings; the candidates are tested under progressively more realistic situations (though still simulated, for the sake of safety).


As this was a black belt grading, there was not just a single session of sparring; the candidates had to fight their way through several rounds throughout the session, including two-on-one and three-on-one free sparring. This tests not just physical fitness, but also mental and emotional toughness.


Another key difference between coloured belt gradings and black belt gradings is the breaking requirement. While the more senior coloured belt members may undertake breaking test at times, this is mandatory for black belt candidates. Breaking techniques demand sound technique, concentration, and effective delivery of power.
While it may seem that executing a breaking technique is a simple task, at face value, the candidates are approaching this segment in a sub-optimal condition—having already been working hard physically through the grading to this point. There is also the pressure of controlling one’s body to deliver a single, precise strike in front of hundreds of people, and where success or failure is immediately clear to all.








At the end of the black belt grading, with all segments completed, Master Low promoted the four exhausted candidates to the rank of 1st Dan. The new 1st Dan members received their new belts directly from Master Low, and also received their First Tae Kwon Do black belt certificates from Chief Instructor Meade.










Following the black belt grading, the most senior coloured belt members undertook their gradings in the last session of the day. In addition to needing to execute to a higher standard than the junior coloured belt members earlier in the day, candidates here also sparred against the black belt members and instructors—a far more intensive test than sparring against one’s coloured belt peers.











Congratulations to all members who received promotions from Master Low at this grading, and particularly the four new 1st Dan members, who now embark on the next, more advanced phase of training in First Tae Kwon Do.