What is the highest belt in Taekwondo?

The highest attainable belt in Taekwondo is a ninth degree* black belt.


The highest belt colour available in Taekwondo is black belt.

However, there are nine degrees of black belt. When you are first awarded a black belt, you start at first degree black belt. Over time, you are awarded higher degrees of black belt, and the highest possible degree is ninth degree black belt.

(* While a lot of Taekwondo organisations have ninth degree black belt as the highest degree, some award a tenth degree black belt. Since only some organisations do this (and some only do so posthumously) the validity and status of the tenth degree is not necessarily agreed upon across all of Taekwondo.)

It generally takes on the order of decades to reach ninth degree black belt.

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Want to learn more?

If you'd like to learn more about the Korean terminology used in Taekwondo, consider buying this book: Taekwondo Terminology. It contains an extensive dictionary of terms used in Taekwondo, as well as explanations on how to pronounce Korean words, and aspects of Korean grammar.

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