Marine also doubles as Martial Arts expert

[wackychick]

As someone whose daughter is a 2nd degree black belt in the sport, and who has many friends who are degree'd black belts this was a great story:

Lance Cpl. Jonathan D. Cobb is kicking his way to the top of the Marine Corps martial arts world.

Cobb, 20, a scout sniper from Colorado Springs, Colo., has been taking time during his second combat deployment with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 to hone his skills in Tae Kwon Do.

“I went to the U.S. Open for Tae Kwon Do in New Orleans in February,” Cobb said. “I lost in the quarter finals, but I learned that I was at the world cl*** level.”

Cobb became proficient in Tae Kwon Do, a martial art that focuses on using kicks to defeat your opponent, with the help of his uncle. His uncle, a ninth degree black belt, helped open Cobb’s eyes to the sport.

Read the rest here...

[luv_2_laugh]

That's awesome. I have a nephew who was into martial arts. Not Tae Kwon Do but some other form of martial arts I can't remember the name off hand I think it was Thai Chi or Jiu Jitsu I don't know. But anyway that is a question I have. What is the difference between types of martial arts and the color degree of belts? Is black belt the highest and if so how many degrees within that belt are there?

[wackychick]

it varies from school to school but the basic is, from the beginning, white, yellow, green, blue, purple, red, brown, black and there are sometimes "halfway" marks between each, and the belt is the solid color with a white or black strip running down the middle. (skunk belts)

most of the different variations of martial arts have major AND minor differences.... for instance jiu jitsu is considered "ground fighting" and karate and taekwondo have much more kicking and is all upright, while tai chi is very slow and deliberate. They are all cool. this link has a ton of different styles and how they work - Martial Arts Information - Martial-Arts-Info.com

that's absolutely every little thing i know about it!