How to Make My Own Display Belts for Tae Kwon Do

Drill a hole 1/4-inch from one long edge of a plywood plank, 2 inches from one short side, then drill a second matching hole 2 inches from the other short side. Repeat for each plank.

Set one plank aside, then drill a matching pair of holes 1/4-inch from the other long side of the remaining planks. The plank with only one set of holes will be the bottom plank, and, as such, needs no bottom holes, while the remaining planks will feature a pair of holes along both the top and bottom long sides, allowing them to secure to a plank above as well as below.

Paint the bottom plank black. As you progress, the lowest level is directly under the name plate, with the ranks advancing down to black at the bottom of the hanging rack.

Paint one of the remaining planks white, then three planks each yellow, blue and red. You will have one plank left over. This rack is designed for a system with a white belt, three tiers of yellow, blue and red, then finally black. If your school's belt structure is different, you will need different plank colors to match.

Paint one vertical white stripe, 1/2-inch wide and 1 inch from the right edge, on one yellow plank, one blue plank and one red plank. The one stripe level is the first belt received in each color.

Paint two vertical white stripes, 1/2-inch wide each on one yellow plank, one blue plank and one red plank. Position the rightmost stripe 1 inch from the right edge with 1/2-inch between the stripes. After completing one-stripe training in a belt color the student progresses to earn the same color belt with two stripes.

Paint three vertical white stripes, 1/2-inch wide each on the remaining yellow plank, blue plank and red plank. Position the rightmost stripe 1 inch from the right edge with 1/2-inch between the stripes. Three stripes is the highest belt level in a given color before progressing to a new color.

Paint the remaining plank with the colors of your choice to serve as a header. Some simple header schemes are white with black letters or black with white or gold lettering, with the name of the student and the school on the header plank.

Apply a clear varnish to the planks to preserve the colors.

Lay out the planks with the header positioned so its bottom edge is over the top edge of the white plank. Thread a string through the lower left hole of the header and the upper left hole of the white plank and tie a loop so the white hangs 1/2 inch below the header. Repeat with the lower right header hole and upper right hole on the white plank.

Add the yellow planks using string in order of progression through the belt ranks, with the one stripe yellow tied to the white plank, then the two stripe yellow to the one strip yellow, then the three stripe yellow to the bottom of the two stripe yellow.

Secure the three blue planks in the same manner, then the three red planks and finally the black plank.

Tie a knot in a 2-foot-long length of string then pass through one of the top holes of the header from behind.

Thread the string through the remaining open hole on the header, then tie a knot in the second end of the string. The knots prevent the string from pulling through, while the string itself is used to hang the rack.

Secure a belt to the matching plank when you are promoted to a new level with a pair of black elastic bands, one on either side of the plank near the loops.