Members of Kukkiwon, World Taekwondo Headquarters, perform during the Closing Ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games ©Getty Images

Two Washington State taekwondo students will have the opportunity of earning their black belts in the traditional home of the sport, as part of a United States National Taekwondo Federation tour to South Korea starting next week.

Scarlett Fulton, 13, of Port Angeles and 14-year-old Ava Reymond of Sequim will join other talented young exponents from California, Chicago and Puerto Rico, peninsuladailynews.com reports.

After achieving red belts, they are both ready to step up to the next grade in front of some of the established masters of this martial art.

They will be accompanied by their coach at White Crane Martial Arts in Port Angeles, ninth-degree black belt grandmaster Robert Nicholls.

Grandmaster Robert Nicholls of White Crane Martial Arts will accompany Ava Reymond, second left, and Scarlett Fulton, right, to South Korea next week ©peninsuladailynews
Grandmaster Robert Nicholls of White Crane Martial Arts will accompany Ava Reymond, second left, and Scarlett Fulton, right, to South Korea next week ©peninsuladailynews

The pair will train at Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo headquarters, and at the Taekwondowon, a huge sports venue of arenas and hotels that covers hundreds of acres and frequently hosts World Taekwondo events and competitions.

They will also travel to the mountains to train with monks in the classical arts and attend classes in both hapkido and gumdo swords, according to Nicholls.

"Honestly, I'm nervous," Fulton said.

"I don’t want to mess up or look like a fool."

Reymond added: "This is so exciting.

"It's going to be such an opportunity."

Nicholls, who has ambitions of becoming a technical director with World Taekwondo, is confident that both Fulton and Reymond will do well in Korea.

"I make sure my people are ready," he said.

"I make sure they spend a lot of time at each [belt] level."