Southern Martial Arts Championship Black Belt Fights: BEST OF 2012!!! Taekwondo Shotokan

Black Belt Fights hosted by SMAC (Southern Martial Arts Championships). This video highlights the talent and skills of the men and their sparring talent and skill set. This footage is from the last tournament in the 2012 series. It includes some truely amazing rounds among some gifted black belts.

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BELT -- In most Okinawan, Japanese, and Korean martial arts practitioners wear a long colored cloth belt around their waist. They are generally long enough to be wrapped twice around the wearer's waist and then tied in a square knot, with 10 to 15 inches hanging from either side of the knot. Before the 20th century most belts were colorless, but since students were prohibited from washing their belts, belts grew steadily darker through the years of accumulated sweat and soil. When the color belt system of rank was incorporated, it was arranged so that the belt color became darker as the student advanced in rank, ending with the black belt, the highest level of proficiency. Belts vary according to style and type of martial art; in some schools there is only a small color tip on the end of the bet to show rank. The most common colors used in martial arts are white, yellow, orange, blue, green, purple, brown, red, and black.

BLACK BELT -- Color of belt worn in Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean martial arts. Its wearer is generally recognized as an expert. In most styles there are 10 degrees of black belt, called dan (rank; degree), in which the latter five are honorary. In some styles, the recognized master, a 10th degree black belt, will at his option wear a red belt.
Judo black belts are typically awarded by a national governing body whose standards are relatively high and competitive with that of other internal bodies. In other martial arts, especially karate, certification of a black belt is not controlled by any single organization. Often, therefore, the standards required to achieve a black belt greatly vary.

DAN -- Category of rank in the Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean martial arts that classifies students, instructors, and masters who wear the black belt.

DEGREE -- Black belt rank given in a martial at to one who has completed a prescribed course of study. Though no suck ranks were issued originally in the Chinese styles, other than master and student, many American kung-fu instructors have adopted a system similar to that used in karate and other arts.