Sandan meaning in Taekwon do

Question

I found my dad's certificate which says "Sandan" on it.

What does that mean?

Is it a 3rd degree Black Belt?

Any chance you can edit to add a photo? – Daniel Reis Jun 06 '18 at 10:22 — Daniel Reis, Jun 06 '18 at 10:22

mattm · Answer 1 · 2018-06-01T14:21:39.923

4

Yes, Sandan means 3rd dan, or third degree black belt.

In rank systems patterned after the Japanese, dan (black belt) ranks count up:

sho (little) dan
ni (two) dan
san (three) dan
yon (four) dan
go (five) dan, etc.

A sandan rank is higher than a shodan or nidan rank and lower than a godan rank.

The kup/kyu ranks count down. A first kyu is higher than a second kyu.

edited Jun 01 '18 at 14:21

answered Jun 01 '18 at 14:13

mattm

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Does tae kwon do use Kano's ranking system then?… – Sardathrion - against SE abuse Jun 01 '18 at 14:24
@Sardathrion Yes, it's the same basic kyu/dan system. The total number of ranks and their associated colors vary. – mattm Jun 01 '18 at 14:35
TIL … /20chars… – Sardathrion - against SE abuse Jun 01 '18 at 14:46
According to Wikipedia, 3rd dan is "Sam Dan", following the Korean numbering "Il, I, Sam, Sa, ...". Are you sure the japanese numbers are being used? – Daniel Reis Jun 01 '18 at 15:03
@DanielReis, not sure; only have question to go by. – mattm Jun 01 '18 at 16:07
Given taekwondo started as bastardised karate, and indeed was sometimes openly referred to as "korean karate" (Google it any you'll find a few old books etc) or by one of the Korean translations of karate - "tangsoodo" or "kongsoodo" - in the early days, it's unsurprising that some old documents may use the Japanese spelling. – Tony D Jun 02 '18 at 08:36
In Korean, "sam dan" would be correct. However, it is not uncommon to find other phrases in Japanese creep into some TKD schools, and "san dan" is a notable example. Modern TKD schools tend to stick with English or Korean words, but some older instructors - particularly those who still refer to their style as "Korean Karate", and in many Tang Soo Do schools - will use Japanese phrases. So, dojo, bogu, gi, bunkai, and katana are commonly used there. Also, if the certificate's date was before 1945, it would have been ALL Japanese (or English translations of Japanese). – Andrew Jay Jun 04 '18 at 14:28

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 01 '18 at 18:04

It probably refers to "third Dan" in Korean.

Both Wikipedia and Wikia state that Dan grades are refered using sino-korean numbers:

When numbering the dan ranks, Sino-Korean numbers are used (rather than traditional Korean numbers). In other words, the ranks are il dan, ee dan, sam dan, etc., not hana dan, dool dan, set dan...

While Sam is usually used as the romanization for the sino-korean Three, they can vary and San could have been used in this case.

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 27 '19 at 14:50

To elaborate a little, the term "Sandan" is written in Chinese characters as 三段 (Sān duàn, while Sandan would be the Japanese reading), or Korean as 삼단 (samdan).

三/삼 is the number Three (3);
段/단 refers to grades, steps, or stairs.

As such this term refers to something like the third grade, and refers to the third grade or degree of black belt in most modern Asian martial arts.

(Prior to this system the closest there was to a grading system was a certificate system).

Sandan meaning in Taekwon do

3 Answers3