Like most styles, we use different coloured belts to show the rank a student has reached. The Korean word for rank or grade is "Kup." Once all of the required techniques for the next belt have been learned, the student is eligible to enter an exam called a grading but it's important to note that this is at the discretion of the Club Instructors. Our gradings take place at Buchan Street on Saturdays from 9.00am to about 1.00pm, during the months of May and November.
A coloured belt grading costs £ 10 and a black belt grading would start at £ 25, depending on the rank being attempted.
All new students start as a:
WHITE BELT - 9th KUP 
so there is nothing to actually learn for this rank.
Yellow Belt - Orange Belt - Green Belt - Blue Belt
Red Belt - Brown Belt - Brown Belt with 1 Black Tag - Brown Belt with 2 Black Tags
1st Degree Black Belt - 2nd Degree Black Belt
YELLOW BELT SYLLABUS - 8th KUP
FITNESS
A short run. (juniors must not stop or walk)
Demonstrate simple exercises, (press ups, sit ups, stretching etc.) and explain how each exercise helps to improve your fitness.
STANCE AND MOVEMENT
Forward stance and walking stance, stepping and basic shuffle,
Forwards and backwards, with the high guard.
BLOCKS
Outer block (inner and outer forearm,) inner block and low block.
HAND TECHNIQUES
Punch. (Jab, cross, lunge punch and reverse punch)
Back fist.
KICKS
Front kick. (Ball of the foot, instep or heel)
Turning kick. (Ball of the foot or instep)
Side/Stamping kick. (Foot sword or heel)
All of these kicks should be to mid-section.
BREAKFALLS
Side breakfall and rear breakfall from standing.
THROWS
Steeping in and breaking balance.
Major Outer reap as an easy, static leg blocking throw.
SELF DEFENCE
Awareness, situations and places to avoid, common sense precautions, etc.
Wrist release with a single, low-key follow up and escape. (Stop, stun, do something and run.)
SPARRING
Three step sparring, Semi-free sparring with a senior grade if required.
POWER TEST
Break one board with stamping kick.
PATTERNS
I.T.F. Tae Kwon Do Four Directional Punching and Blocking exercises.
REMARKS
4 main ranges right from the start, but mostly long (kicking) range.
ORANGE BELT SYLLABUS - 7th KUP
FITNESS
A short run (juniors must not stop or walk)
STANCE AND MOVEMENT
Side stance, back stance, the low guard, cross stepping, shuffle to the left and right, pivoting to the left and right.
BLOCKS
High block, knife hand block and X block.
HAND TECHNIQUES
Punch. (Hook and uppercut)
Hammerfist
KICKS
Front, turning and side kicks with the front leg.
Back kick, inner and outer crescent kicks.
BREAKFALLS
Side breakfall and rear breakfall from standing, rolling breakfall.
THROWS
Some other Reaping throws.
Body drop throw as an easy, static throw, around rather than over the hip.
CONTROLS AND RESTRAINTS
Arm bar, left and right wristlock flow.
SELF DEFENCE
Defend against a single lapel grab with a punch from the front, double lapel grab and a choke from the front.
SPARRING
Three step sparring and semi-free sparring. (Free sparring if required)
Prearranged attacks.
POWER TEST
Break one board with front kick. (Ball of the foot or heel)
PATTERNS
I.T.F. Tae Kwon Do pattern Chon Ji Hung.
REMARKS
Now some more middle range work (Boxing range) and some useful self-defence.
GREEN BELT SYLLABUS - 6th KUP
FITNESS
A short run (juniors must not stop or walk)
STANCE AND MOVEMENT
Long distance shuffle and blitz, Horse-riding stance.
BLOCKS
S block and palm heel block/cover.
Reverse low block.
HAND TECHNIQUES
Vertical fist punch and rolling backfist.
Open hand strikes. (Knifehand, ridgehand, spearhand and palm heel)
Elbow strike.
KICKS
Front leg hook kick, swing kick and knee strike.
BREAKFALLS
Side and rear breakfalls to a good standard, front breakfall.
THROWS
Major hip throw, Scooping throw, Advancing foot sweep.
Body Drop throw as a full throw, plus simple combinations and counters, all to be performed on the move.
SELF DEFENCE
Defend against the bear hug, waist grab (both under and over arm), hair grab,
Head lock and full nelson, rear choke and strangle, plus an appropriate secondary attack of punch, kick, head butt or knee.
CONTROLS AND RESTRAINTS
Wristlocks and arm bars as takedowns, full nelson and half nelson.
SPARRING
Random attacks, semi-free and free sparring. Three step to the left.
POWER TEST
Break one board with rear leg side kick.
PATTERNS
One intermediate I.T.F. Tae Kwon Do pattern, Do San Hung.
REMARKS
Now some close range work as well.
BLUE BELT SYLLABUS - 5th KUP
FITNESS
A run lasting about 10 or 15 minutes. (juniors must not stop or walk)
STANCE AND MOVEMENT
Cat stance, non-aggressive ready stance.
BLOCKS
High/low double arm block and cover, reinforced blocks.
HAND TECHNIQUES
Spinning hammerfist.
Trapping: Simple traps to the opponents leading arm. High line and low line, push hand and pull hand, the half beat.
Large and small disengagement, elbow up block.
KICKS
Spinning side kick and spinning back kick, twisting kick.
BREAKFALLS
Most breakfalls must be performed to a good standard.
THROWS AND GROUNDWORK
Hip sweep.
Demonstrate all full throws learnt so far.
Half sacrifice body drop throw.
Basic ground work: guard position, mount position and basic strikes from these positions.
SELF DEFENCE
Defend against overhead and backhand club/baseball bat attacks.
CONTROLS AND RESTRAINTS
Fig 4 arm lock, single wing choke, leg lock, standing leg lock and rear choke.
SPARRING
Random attacks, to include some club/baseball bat attacks.
Free sparring.
POWER TEST
Break one board with spinning side kick, using each leg in turn.
PATTERNS
One middle grade I.T.F. pattern, Hwa Rang Hung.
Intro to Bong
REMARKS
In and out of the first three ranges plus an introduction to groundwork.
Knowledge of target areas.
Use of the appropriate low key or high impact counter in self-defence situations.
RED BELT SYLLABUS - 4th KUP
FITNESS
A run lasting about 10 or 15 minutes. (juniors must not stop or walk)
STANCE AND MOVEMENT
All previous stances and methods of movement.
BLOCKS
Foot pressing block.
Combined arm/leg blocks and covers.
HAND TECHNIQUES
Arc hand strike. Trapping: To include muscle destruction techniques and some “Hubud” style drills.
KICKS
Spinning hook kick and reverse turning kick, axe kick, oblique kick.
BREAKFALLS
All breakfalls must be performed to a high standard.
THROWS AND GROUNDWORK
Head twist throws.
Shoulder throw.
Armpit arm lock, arm crush, lapel chokes.
SELF DEFENCE
Defend against knife thrust to the stomach and overhead stab to the neck.
CONTROLS AND RESTRAINTS
Cross arm lock, scarf hold and naked choke, guillotine choke.
SPARRING
Random attacks, including some knife attacks.
Free sparring.
POWER TEST
Break one board with spinning hook kick or reverse turning kick, using each leg in turn.
PATTERNS
Bong Form 1.
REMARKS
All 4 ranges now. (Kicking, boxing, grappling/throwing, wrestling).
Experience in some non-contact, semi contact and a little heavier contact sparring at this stage. Now eligible to undertake Assistant Instructor training. Should be able to help out in class and assist the class Instructor when asked to do so.
BROWN BELT SYLLABUS - 3rd KUP
FITNESS
A run lasting about 10 or 15 minutes. (juniors must not stop or walk)
STANCE AND MOVEMENT
All previous stances and methods of movement.
BLOCKS
The stop hit, evasion and dodging.
HAND TECHNIQUES & CONTROLS AND RESTRAINTS
Arc hand and knife hand as locks. Transitioning between different joint locks.
KICKS
Double kicks, grasping kicks.
Jumping front, turning and side kicks, same side and scissors.
BREAKFALLS
All breakfalls must be performed to a high standard with complete confidence.
THROWS AND GROUNDWORK
Variations to some of the throws studied so far. Sacrifice throws.
Throws and takedowns from the opponent's front, turning and side kicks.
Entanglement arm locks, single wing choke.
SELF DEFENCE
Defend against two attackers, (held by one and punched/kicked by the other.)
Defend from the sitting and prone positions.
SPARRING
Deal with a five-man line up of random attacks, including armed attackers
One step sparring, free sparring.
POWER TEST
Set up and execute a two-way break of your choice.
PATTERNS
A selection of patterns studied to date.
Bong Form 2.
REMARKS
Good technique, good knowledge of training methods and kit, (i.e. pads, focus mitts and kick shields, e.t.c.) as well as of some Korean terms.
Could have entered one or two tournaments by now, although this is not compulsory.
Be able to help out in class with no problems.
This grade is considered to be “Senior” concerning the amount of responsibility.
BROWN BELT WITH ONE BLACK TAG - 2nd KUP
Perform all requirements of the Brown Belt syllabus, with the following additions:
Kata Bassai Dai.
Random attacks. (2x5 man line up)
Free sparring against 3 consecutive opponents. (3x3 min)
Break 2 boards with sidekick using each leg in turn. (If a board holder is available)
Set up and execute a 2-way break of your choice.
BROWN BELT WITH TWO BLACK TAGS - 1st KUP
Perform all requirements of the Brown Belt syllabus, with the following additions:
Tang So Do Bong form 3.
Free sparring against 6 consecutive opponents. (6x3 min)
Break 2 boards with spinning sidekick, using each leg in turn. (If a board holder is available)
Set up and execute a 3-way break of your choice.
Candidates for 3rd, 2nd or 1st Kup will generally be expected to take the class through the warm up and basics, help supervise the run and so on, making sure that everybody knows what is expected of them.
BLACK BELT - 1st DEGREE
To take place after a standard coloured belt grading.
Show any strength or flexibility exercise required by the examiners and answer any questions they may ask. (Minimum requirements, i.e. number of press-ups, must be met.)
Work through the syllabus, demonstrating any techniques or combinations (i.e. strikes, kicks, traps, locks, throws, holds, groundwork or weapons) asked for by the examiners.
Using a partner as a target and/or to hold equipment as appropriate, show the location of the body targets and pressure points, and explain the difference in application of your techniques between sport or sparring in the training hall, and a real life self-defence situation. (Include the physiological and psychological effects on participants.)
3 step sparring.
1 step sparring.
Prearranged sparring.
Random attacks. (3x5 man line up, including armed attackers)
Semi-free sparring. (Throws only, groundwork only, impact only, e.t.c.)
Free sparring against 6 consecutive opponents. (6x3 min)
Free sparring against 2 opponents. (2 min)
I.T.F Tae Kwon Do four directional punching and blocking exercises.
I.T.F. Tae Kwon Do patterns Chon Ji, Do San, Hwa Rang and Chung Mu.
Students own pattern consisting of at least 20 moves.
Kata Bassai Dai.
Tang So Do Bong forms 1, 2 and 3.
Set up and execute 2 multiple breaks of your choice.
Attend training on instructional technique, judging and refereeing at club level.
BLACK BELT - 2nd DEGREE
To take place after a standard coloured belt grading and will follow the same format as the 1st Degree grading, with the addition of W.T.F Poomsae Koryo and I.T.F. pattern Ko Dang.
In addition, the candidate should be capable of giving assistant instructor training, or training on judging and refereeing at club level and must also fulfill one of the following three requirements;
1. Running a club under the Cambridge Freestyle umbrella.
2. Introduce to the club ideas and techniques from their own studies of other Martial Arts, of which there is a large selection available in the Cambridge area.
3. Have competed in 1 or 2 tournaments.