Grade

급 (geup) is the name for each grade below the dan (단) in kumdo (검도, geomdo). The promotion rules of the Korea Kumdo Association (대한검도회, Daehan Geomdohoe) set the dan from chodan (초단) to 9th dan. The ranks outside the dan are the grades from 9th to 1st.

• Numbering: grades run from 9급 to 1급. The number falls as the practitioner advances, so 1급 is the highest grade before chodan.
• Starting out: a newcomer has no grade (무급, mugeup). They receive a grade after passing a grade-promotion exam (승급심사, seunggeup simsa). A person holding a grade is called a yugeupja (유급자).
• Starting grade by age: elementary school pupils begin at 9급, middle school students at 7급, and high school students and older at 5급. Exams are held every two to three months.
• Recognition: the dan is granted by the national association, while grades are recognized by the head of each city or provincial kumdo association (시도검도회, sido geomdohoe). Each of those associations sets its own grade-exam rules, following a national guideline.
• Moving up to dan: candidates for chodan must hold 1급.

In Japan, the kendo federation defines three grades, 3rd to 1st, and lets regional bodies set lower ones.