Columbus Tang Soo Do Academy | Teaching traditional martial arts in the Pataskala area

I have always believed that a school’s logo should say something relevant about your school, it’s history or its training philosophy.  Many schools use a pretty picture without much of a reason for doing so other than the fact that it is pretty.  Some might say that says something about a school as well, but I won’t go down that road.

Here’s an example of our logo as it is on my dobohk.  As you can see, it is a colorful design that has some geometic complexity to it, but really is no more than a central circle with 8 other circles heading out at 45 degree angles from the center.  Overlapping areas have been creatively shaded to add a little contrast.

The colors used represent the progression of the belt ranks in Tang Soo Do.  Starting at white, we move around the circle to black belt, and finally, Master which is represented by a black belt with a red stripe through the middle.

You might notice on my uniform, that area is unmarked.  The reason for that is simple: I haven’t yet achieved that level of proficiency.  In fact, all students start out with a clean logo.  As they progress through the ranks, they are invited to fill in the notches for their respective rank.

I have my students do this for three main reasons:

Firstly, it allows each student to show their progress; how far they’ve come, and how far they still have to go.  By leaving the notch for Master blank, I am reminded how I still have a long way to go in my training.  As a green belt, it is an excellent reminder of how you’ve only just begun your journey, but it still allows you to take a moment to celebrate your achievement.

Secondly, you get a feeling for how all of the ranks are interconnected and form an equal part of the design.  White belts are not smaller than blue belts or red belts or even Masters.  A martial art needs all of these elements for success.  Without Black Belts, junior rank cannot learn; without junior rank, Black belts have no one to teach.  Taking a spoke out of the wheel causes enough stress to break the entire wheel.

Finally, allowing each student to paint in their own uniform puts part of the process in their hands.  They may choose to paint very carefully, or very fast.  They may want to even use tape to keep themselves from straying out of the lines.  Either way, they are doing it their way.  In the end, that is what we ask of all martial arts students: that they take responsibility for their own training and make their own unique contributions.