Certified TSD Black Belts

Identifying true Black Belts:

Every martial art’s name has its own identity that separates it from other arts. This identity encompasses the art’s own syllabus and special techniques that establish its character to the public. Practitioners of the art must proudly dedicate themselves to maintaining the high character, honor, and strong moral leadership of each art to pass along to future generations of leaders and teachers. These are the characteristics that represent the art to the public and show the benefits that the art has to offer. It is for these reasons that we post all true Tae Soo Do® Black Belts and Hwa Rang Do® Black Sashes to the public, showing that these people have the dedication and skills to be the leaders and teachers of Hwa Rang Do® and Tae Soo Do®. All certified Black Belts and Black Sashes must uphold and abide by the rules and laws of the Art that govern its values. Even sports have governing organizations to maintain rules and quality; however, because a martial art is training a person to use their body as a weapon, a higher level of control must be maintained to build strong moral mentality. If any Black Belt or Black Sash becomes involved in any civil or criminal activity, a judicial committee will pass judgement on the situation with possible results of revoked certification, reduced rank, or even expulsion in order to maintain the honor of the Art. This is why our home page contains a section of our Judicial committee in which several decisions regarding dishonorable actions have been posted.In this way the Art becomes like a country, society, or family. Its loyalty is not to a single master or instructor, but to the governing association of the Art. Because the loyalty of a member is to the Art first, if a Master or Instructor is behaving in a dishonorable fashion, it becomes the member’s responsibility to correct that person and report it to a committee for the appropriate actions. Thus the integrity of the Art is maintained.

There are many unqualified and uncertified martial art schools in existence today. Without respect or loyalty to the art’s identity, these individuals bring dishonor to the art by stealing its name and merely using or displaying it. This damages the martial arts society along with the identity of the art’s founder and masters who have dedicated their lifelong reputations to the art. These people are selfishly changing the true, honored way and philosophy in order to gain loyalty to a single man instead of the art. By lying to the public and breaking their martial art’s laws and rules, they give themselves false ranks, certificates, and the qualifications of any level of master’s title they wish to put themselves at. Despite not knowing their art’s post-degree Dan techniques, they sell degree Dan ranks like a store while using an association’s name. Because people continue to open and close these schools without true rank, techniques, and qualifications, the public opinion of martial art ranks has been, and will continue to be, damaged. We post all true Black Belts and Black Sashes so that the public may have access to the people with true dedication and honor.

There is only one governing organization in the world for the martial arts of Hwa Rang Do® and Tae Soo Do®. Only the World Hwa Rang Do® Association (WHRDA) certifies and accredits all legitimate Hwa Rang Do® and Tae Soo Do® Academies. One man’s passion, our Art founder DoJooNim, Dr. JooBang Lee, first introduced his martial art Hwa Rang Do to the public in 1960; and in order to get it from the only source to receive the secrets of 2000 years of ancient combat skills, learn from the qualified masters and instructors of the martial art of Hwa Rang Do®.

TAE SOO DO®

Tae Soo Do® is an undergraduate training program to Hwa Rang Do® for people who have not had previous experience in the martial arts. Because of the complexity and vast requirements of Hwa Rang Do® techniques, experienced martial artists may begin directly in Hwa Rang Do®; however beginning martial artists need to build a strong foundation and good skills in Tae Soo Do® before beginning their Hwa Rang Do® training. When a Tae Soo Do® student receives their black belt, they also receive their yellow sash in Hwa Rang Do®. After completely learning white, orange and yellow sash techniques, students then move on by testing for green sash (HwaRang Do® intermediate levels) and continue their Hwa Rang Do® training. Tae Soo Do® is not a continuing degree Dan program.

Hwa Rang Do® and Tae Soo Do® is unique from other martial arts in the fact that there is only one governing body in the world. Only the founder of Hwa Rang Do® / Tae Soo Do® DoJooNim Dr. Joo Bang Lee can grant a Tae Soo Do® Black Belt or appoint an Instructor or Master who may test a Tae Soo Do® Black Belt Candidate. After passing, the candidate will then recieve the WHRDA Tae Soo Do® Black Belt certificate from the World Hwa Rang Do Association. This is to ensure the highest quality and to protect the value of all Tae Soo Do® Black
Belts.  The Tae Soo Do® name has beenInternationally trademarkedto keep traditional values and honor synonymous with our art`s name. The following page is to disclose to the public the names of all registered Tae Soo Do® Black Belts. If you find someone you know is claiming to be Tae Soo Do® and is not on this list, please contact World Headquarters. If you have received a Tae Soo Do® Black Belt from anyone other than the Art’s founder DoJooNim Dr. Joo Bang Lee or have been tested by an unlicensed Instructor or Fake Master without his authorization, your Tae Soo Do® Black Belt is not valid and you need to redeem your fees from the grantor and take legal action against them.