Philosophy: Tti (Belt)

In every day life, the belt is addressed as horitti or yodae (meaning waist belt).

In the dichotomy of the human body of head, waist and legs, waist is at the center of the three. Tying the belt means the will power to organize the self and apperance.

In Tae Kwon Do practice, tti(belt) is an necessary part along with upper garment and trousers. It is a part of a trinity of the jacket, pants and the belt. Ttis are divided into three categories for the level of the achievement as uniforms are, such as color belt, p'um belt (red-black), and black belt. The concept of the trinity in the Eastern philosophy is the most fundamental in the belief of the universe, which they regard as being composed of the heaven, earth and people. It is she source of all life. The trinity concept is the essential part of Ch'onbugyon. Most of all, Koreans regard people as the most valuable.

The example of the philosophy is in the Tae Kwon Do uniform. The upper garment of the uniform equals the heaven : the trousers the earth : the belt the person. A person, in Korean belief, is a micro universe.

Tti has five colors : white, yellow, blue, red and black. The primary colors are yellow, blue and red. The white and black are from the philosophy of Yin (Um) and Yang: meaning the sun and moon, day and night, beginning and ending. The meaning of the five colors can be found in the theory of Um-yang Ohaeng Sol. Um-Yang has been understood as the ultimate principle of cosmic order that enables production of all life forms that act and react. Um-yang Ohaeng Sol consists of the theory of Um-yang that explains the harmony of Yin (Um) and Yang, and the theory of Ohaeng Sol that describes the birth and death of all lives through interaction of the five components such as fire, water, wood, metal and soil. And the north, south, east, west and center are called Obangsaek. In the human body, the five elements are equal to heart, kidney, lung, liver and spleen. The five colors in the Tae Kwon Do uniform are based on the principle of Ohaeng-ogi. These colors are widely used in Korean lives in design, construction and clothes.

Tae Kwon Do tti system starts from the 9th kup and ends at the 9th tan. Nine is the sum of the five components, the heaven, the earth, Yin and Yang. The kup system in Tae Kwon Do descends from 9 to 1 whereas the tan system ascends from 1 to 9. This system stems from the eastern belief that all life forms descend from the heaven, live on the earth, return to where they came from. In the decimal systim, 9 is also the highest number.

The Tae Kwon Do system is designed according to the principle of Ohaeng. Practitioners can develop the internal ki (energy) through the process of collecting and dispersing energy within the body. The five different energy formats (ogi), then, can be developed. The ki is the spring of a constant new life source.

In typing the belt around the waist, the two ends meet, after two rounds, at the center of the stomach called Tanjon. Then the belt will make triangle shape to complete the knot. The shape of the triangle denotes the oneness of a person. The meaning of this ceremonial process is to collect all energy within and without into the Tanjon so that the practitioner can utilize the ki in the application of technique.

Traditionally, Tojang means the place of awakening. That is pollible by practicing the collecting and dispersing the energy freely through techniques, developing the inner energy to creat harmony and order, arriving at the awakened self, and finally attaining the enlightenment-the big meeting with the big self.

It is essential for Tae Kwon Do students to take special care of the uniform. The practice requires strict order, and the order comes from the respect of the seniority of the belts. The more respect the practitioner has to the significance of the belt, the more serious he/she becomes toward the training of the art. That will consequently lead him/her to the bigger self-enlightenment.

A beginner begins from a white belt. The white color in Korean history has a great significance. When Tangun, who was the son of Hwanung, founded Korea under the name of Choson, the name was based on the spirit of worshiping the sun (symbolizing brightness). White color means birth or beginning (the ultimate source). It is the cental color of the three primary colors and a base of all. That connotes the beginning as well as the end which as another beginning of a new start : everlasting recurrence of life and death.

Yellow symbolizes a new birth, blue rebirth, red passion, and black completion. The five belt colors show the regorous process of practice and finally arriving at the completion of the big-self.

The belt system in Tae Kwon Do training has a significance not only in the philosophical comprehension of the art, but also as a way of life. It can never be overemphasized how important it is to cultivate proper etiquette to accomplish the ultimate goal of training the art of Tae Kwon Do.

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