FAQ's

What are the sayings at the beginning of class?

What are the sayings at the end of class?

What does Songahm mean?

What does In-Wah mean?

What does Choong Jung mean?

What are the Testing Requirements?

What do the different collors mean?

Songahm Spirit of Taekwondo in the Beginning of Class

"Ma'am!
I will practice in the Spirit of Taekwondo,
with COURTESY for fellow students,
LOYALTY for my instructor,
and RESPECT for my juniors and seniors,
Ma'am!"

Songahm Spirit of Taekwondo at the End of Class

"Ma'am!
I shall live with PERSEVERANCE
in the Spirit of Taekwondo,
having HONOR with others,
INTEGRITY within myself,
and SELF CONTROL in my actions,
Ma'am!"

SONGAHM means "Evergreen Strength and Undying Loyalty".

IN-WAH means "An unbroken glory".

CHOON JUNG means "All things turn out perfect and beautiful".

Collars
In general, a collar is worn by an instructor or high ranked black belt.

• 1" red -instructor trainee
• 1" red/black - certified instructor trainee
• 1" black-certified instructor
• 1½" black w/ white stripe-specialty trainer
• 1 ½" black stripe - head instructor and/or school owner (also signifies a 4th degree black belt when they also wear pants with a black stripe on the sides).
• 1" red/white/blue-jr. instructor trainee (ages 10-15 years)
• 1" black trim on bottom of the uniform - black belt student
• The name appears on the back of the uniform when they are collared.
• When you attend a tournament you may see these additional collars:
  • Blue Center Stripe (1 ½" black with ¼" blue center stripe) is for a studio owner that has 200 active students at every testing.
  • Silver Center Stripe (1 ½" black with ¼" silver center stripe) is for a studio owner that has 500 active students at every testing.
  • Gold Center Stripe (1 ½" black with ¼" gold center stripe) is for a studio owner that has 1,000 active students at every testing.
    Solid Gold 1 ½" stripe is reserved for the Grand Master.
    

Requirements for "Karate for Kids" students:

• Practice & 2 Good Deed Sheets
• Midterms required for:
  Brown Rec. - Handed in prior to testing
  Red Rec. - Handed in prior to testing
  Red/Black: submitted at testing
• Testing fees are due prior to testing. A $5 fee will be imposed for payments received the day of testing or later.
• Men: No t-shirts under dobak tops for testing, rank ceremony and tournament.
• Women: a white sport bra or white t-shirt should be worn. (White t-shirts may be worn under uniform during class. Taekwondo t-shirts can be worn alone only during the summer schedule or while being altered.)
• All Students: No jewelry. This is for your protection and the protection of others. Stud earrings are allowed but should be removed for sparring.