Taekwondo black belt exam unites FETESC and Liga Nacional in 2017

On December 15 and 16, 2017, Mestre Paulo Ribeiro took part in the Taekwondo black belt exam held at the Aurélio Solano de Macedo gym in Balneário Piçarras, in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina (SC). The exam brought together two organizations, FETESC and Liga Nacional, and ended with a new class of black belts. Two weeks earlier, on December 2, the candidates went through a pre-exam in the same city.

The December 2 pre-exam

Preparation began on December 2, 2017, when the Mestre posted about the “black belt pre-exam in Piçarras” (Instagram). The pre-exam is the stage where candidates show the technical program before the official panel, so they can fix what is missing. At the end of the day, he summed it up: “mission accomplished”.

The exam: two organizations, one panel

On December 15, the Mestre announced the start of the exam with a phrase that captures the spirit of the event: “Black belt exam starting, FETESC and Liga Nacional, unity is strength” (Instagram). FETESC is the Santa Catarina State Taekwondo Federation. Liga Nacional (National League) is the other organization he mentioned; this site has not found its full name in an open source.

The venue, recorded in the post, was the Aurélio Solano de Macedo gym. The gym is in Balneário Piçarras, on the northern coast of Santa Catarina, as shown by the promotion of other events held there, such as a gymnastics festival reported by the website Nos Bastidores do Pier.

The graduates

On the 16th, the Mestre posted a photo of the line of candidates, all in white dobok (the Taekwondo uniform), standing in rows in the gym, with the caption “congratulations to all graduates” (Instagram). The posts do not say how many candidates passed or give their names, and this site does not publish students’ names without confirming their age.

The oath and the three flags

The most striking photo of the weekend shows Mestre Paulo in a suit, in a guard stance, between two black belts, in front of the flags of South Korea, the Kukkiwon and Brazil. The caption sums up the spirit of the graduation: “one of the black belt oaths is to respect the teachings of my master” (Instagram).

The Kukkiwon, whose flag appears in the background, is the world headquarters of Taekwondo, in Seoul. According to Wikipedia, it is the art’s central institution and highest technical authority, and it works together with World Taekwondo, the international federation. It is the Kukkiwon that issues international Dan certificates, the black belt degrees.

Why the exam is a milestone

For Mestre Paulo, the black belt is not the end of the road but the start of a responsibility: whoever receives it comes to represent the art and the master who taught it. This principle comes from the lineage of Grão-Mestre (Grandmaster) Te Bo Lee, whose student the Mestre was, as he himself tells. Read more in the article about Grão-Mestre Te Bo Lee and on the Taekwondo page.

Exams like the 2017 one also show Santa Catarina Taekwondo working together, with different organizations sitting on the same panel. In February 2018, this cooperation happened again at the 20th Open BC Taekwondo Cup, a state qualifier organized by the Mestre.

Want to reach black belt?

The path starts with the first class. Mestre Paulo Ribeiro trains children, teenagers and adults in Balneário Camboriú. Talk to him on Instagram @mestrepauloribeiro and book a trial class.