All class instructors have relevant insurance and DBS checks as well as first aid and child protection/safeguarding training. Instructor qualifications are monitored and reviewed by GBTSDA.

New starters begin in just t-shirt/jogging bottoms casual sportswear moving on to the white do-bohks suits when ready. Indoor training is in bare feet.

The costs start at £20 per month for one session per week. On top of this there is a £15 per year GBTSDA membership fee.

7+ for normal training. Between 5 and 7 is possible but should be discussed with the instructors for suitable times and curriculum.

Sessions start with a line up in grade order, bowing to the flag and instructors followed by a warm up and stretching period to get ready to train. The rest of the session will be split into sections focusing on different aspects of Tang Soo Do, practicing blocks, strikes and kicks in various combinations, individually or in pairs. The session ends with bowing out to the flag and instructors again.

Sessions are between 1 and 2 hours long depending on the day/venue and your grade. A junior grade will typically do 1½ hour sessions.

All belt progression (other than the first 10th to 9th Gup) is the result of a grading. These are examinations, held either regionally or nationally, where students are asked to demonstrate their abilities in front of a panel of senior GBTSDA instructors. The format of a grading tends to follow a typical training class so it will feel famililar to most students.

You only grade when your instructors feel you are ready. For junior grades they can grade every 24 lessions and at least 3 months training, for higher Gup grades it will be 60 lessions/6 months, Cho Dan Bo’s (blue belts) at least a year and Dan (black belts) grades take an increasing number of years between grading.

A junior Gup grading will be about 45 mins to an hour long, higher Gup grades will stretch this out maybe to an hour and a half as more syllabus needs covering. Grading to an early Dan grade involves about a 3 hour pre-test followed by a longer, up to 4 hour, main test.

Absolutely not. Some students like competing while others do not, competitions are an additional aspect of Tang Soo Do and GBTSDA memberships.

GBTSDA runs two championships a year.

• Nationals – Held in spring/summer in Nottingham, central to all regions.
• Regionals – Held in autumn/winter, location moves around the country to favour a region, often to help promote Tang Soo Do in that area, celebrate a regions anniversary, celebrate significant individual acheivements etc.

In addition, students are able to also compete in:

• European – Held every two years in the summer normally.
• Worlds – Held every two years in America.

Normally there are:

• Hyungs (form/pattern) – Students demonstrate one of their higher forms.
• Sparring – 1-on-1 sparring for points, low/no contact with head/hand and foot guards for safety.
• Weapons – Senior grades who are eligible can demonstrate their weapons Hyungs, in bow-staff, dagger or sword depending on rank.
• Team Hyungs – Teams of three demonstrate a form.

For our youngest members following a Tiny Tigers curriculum there is, instead, a Hyung or technique demostration as well as simplifed 1-on-1 sparring style game where they attent to pull tags from their opponents belt.