19/08/2026
MESSAGE FROM Master Paul Mitchell
To all Grade 2 Students and Above
As you progress towards Black Belt and the senior levels of United Taekwondo, grading becomes about much more than simply knowing your patterns, techniques and terminology.
Your Training Calendar is designed to help you, your instructor and me follow your progress and determine when you are genuinely ready to take the next step.
Our expected minimum is 8 regular training sessions per month, plus 2 additional sessions. One at another United Taekwondo hall and one Senior Training.
We understand that some students have work, family, school, study or other sporting commitments that may prevent them from achieving this every month. These sporting circumstances can be recorded on your calendar. Genuine additional training completed at home can also be recorded.
However, attendance alone does not make someone ready to grade.
As you move towards Black Belt, we look at the whole student, including:
Attendance and consistency
Correct technique
Your willingness to listen, learn and improve
Attitude and mindset towards your training
Being a positive role model
Willingness to assist others in class
Your ability to communicate and engage with students when you are given the opportunity to teach
Recently, a Grand Master in Taekwondo shared an interesting way of assessing grading readiness with me.
When he assesses a student, he looks for three significant areas that the student is consistently getting wrong or has been asked to improve but has not yet changed.
If he identifies three, he asks the student to continue training before grading.
I believe there is an important lesson in this.
IF YOU ARE ASKED TO WAIT
If your instructor or I ask you to wait for the next grading, you should know why.
We should be able to explain the areas that need improvement and what we want to see from you before you are recommended again.
Being asked to wait is not a punishment and does not mean you have failed.
It simply means that there are areas of your Taekwondo development that need more time, training or improvement before you take the next step.
Sometimes the best thing an instructor can do for a student is not rush them.
Our responsibility is not just to help you achieve your next belt. It is to make sure that when you wear that belt, you are ready for the responsibility and standard that comes with it.
The higher your grade, the more we expect from you. Not only in your Taekwondo ability, but also in your attitude, commitment, leadership and example to others.
Your Training Calendar is therefore not simply about collecting signatures.
It represents your journey.
Train consistently.
Listen to your instructors.
Work on the areas you find difficult.
Help others.
Accept guidance.
Keep improving.
When the time comes for your grading, we want you to walk onto the floor knowing that you have genuinely earned the opportunity to take that next step.
We are all working towards the same goal of maintaining a consistently high standard while helping every student become the best martial artist and person they can be.
Let's build an incredible organisation together.
All the best
Master Paul
