Little Dragon Belt System

White Belt 1 month

Camouflage Belt with White Stripe 3 months

Camouflage Belt with Yellow Stripe 3 months (Equivalent to White/Orange Belt)

Camouflage Belt with Gold Stripe 3 months

Camouflage Belt with Orange Stripe 3 months (Equivalent to Orange Belt)

Camouflage Belt with Purple Stripe 3 months

Camouflage Belt with Blue Stripe 3 months (Equivalent to Orange/Blue Belt)

Camouflage Belt with Green Stripe 3 months

Camouflage Belt with Brown Stripe 3 months (Equivalent to Blue Belt)

Camouflage Belt with Red Stripe 3 months

The Total Dragon Belt This belt will be worn by those Little Dragons who have completed the Little Dragon program and are transitioning into the Junior kids program.  This transitioning period will be different for each student. Once fully attending the Junior kids program, the student will be promoted to a solid Orange Belt.

In the Summer of 2004 we created a whole new curricula, class structure and belt ranking system for our “Karate Kids”. This new program is now called “Little Dragons”, and is a very exciting program for our 4-6 year olds.

The new belts are camouflage colored with a different color stripe running horizontally through the belt.

Why? Well, lots of reasons, firstly, rewards. Studies show that 4-6 year olds need more frequent rewards than this to keep motivated. Therefore we are changed to a three month system instead of four. The new system has more belt levels (10), to make up for this.

4-6 year olds can’t learn complex patterns, they just aren’t equipped for it. For this reason we no longer teach traditional Tang Soo Do Forms in this program. Instead we teach a progressive system of patterns which will start out without steps (in place like the star block set). These patterns will graduate to stepping patterns with the same movements, and finally to more complex patterns as the child grows older and more able to grasp these concepts.

Can my child move up to juniors early if they’re ready? Yes, even though this program as it is set up will take 28 months to complete if they are in it that long. When they are ready, they will be transitioned into the juniors program as a solid orange belt or higher rank. Some children might start this program at the age of 3 1/2 or 4 years old, then they are more likely to go all the way to "The Total Dragon Belt" with this program. 

Always, we can and will transition a child to Juniors as soon as we feel they can do it. Also as always we prefer to err on the side of caution in this area, as moving a child up too soon can overwhelm them and de-motivate them. Of course, for example, . . . a child who starts in the program at 6 years old will move into the Juniors program sooner than a child who starts at 4 years old.

Dedicated to your child’s success,

Garth A. Charland