Donald Trump awarded 10th Dan Taekwondo black belt

This week, Donald Trump was promoted to the rank of a 10th Dan Taekwondo black belt by Lee Dong-sup on behalf of the South Korean Taekwondo headquarters. This is the highest rank that someone can achieve in the martial art and it should be noted that this was awarded to him as a technicality. In other words, Trump has never practiced Taekwondo but was given the black belt due to his status.

This isn’t the first time a Taekwondo black belt has been awarded to a politician due to their name. In the past, the likes of Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama have both been given the same colored belt when talking with South Korean representatives of the martial art.

Interestingly, Obama did train TKD for a short while before he became president of the USA, but only achieved the rank of green belt. The green belt is still considered by many as a beginner’s belt but it still means you’re more knowledgeable than a white belt. At the time of his customary black belt though, the media didn’t seem to kick up a fuss as much compared to Trump’s black belt which may be due to political reasons.

Upon receiving the belt, Trump said, “It is my honor to receive Honorary Dan Certificate and I think Taekwondo is a magnificent martial art for self-defense. I wish to see Kukkiwon Taekwondo Team’s demonstration” Trump wore a customary dobok whilst holding up his new TKD certificate. The dobok is the name of the white robe that is worn whilst training Taekwondo.

So, sadly it seems we’ll never see Trump square off against Putin or Obama in a Taekwondo match but one can dream!