Midnight Blue Belt is a belt worn in some Korean martial arts to signify that the wearer has attained dan rank, which translates to a degree holder. This belt is most commonly seen in the Korean martial arts of tang soo do and soo bahk do, where it is often used in place of the more common black belt. Its origin lies in Hwang Kee, who used it to denote dan holders in the Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan. In tang soo do, black is viewed as a colour that does not become darker, and thus signifies an end (death), whereas midnight blue represents more positive concepts, such as the element of Water.
Famous quotes containing the words midnight, blue and/or belt:
“Hell in a horn of sulphur and the cloven myth,
All heaven in a midnight of the sun,
A serpent fiddled in the shaping-time.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“How prone poor Humanity is to dam up the minutest remnants of its freedom, and build an artificial roof to prevent it looking up to the clear blue sky.”
—E.T.A.W. (Ernst Theodor Amadeus Wilhelm)
“The watchers in their leopard suits
Waited till it was time,
And aimed between the belt and boot
And let the barrel climb.”
—Louis Simpson (b. 1923)