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Tiger Stone'south Claim Of Accredited Instructors Is Meaningless

A pop tactic of mcdojangs is to merits they have "accredited" instructors. Or that their instructors must study and have a test every yr to make sure they have all the latest teaching methods and techniques in order to brand certain their instructors stay skillful and upwards to appointment. This is just fluff and hype. It is utterly meaningless to claim your instructors are accredited if they are just evaluated by their ain group without outside critique. The American Taekwondo Association (ATA) and Tiger Stone Martial Arts (ITA) and various other mcdojang organizations do this. The ATA started it and everyone else copies it. Notice the Tiger Rock Martial Arts advertisement I received in the postal service the other day:

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Wow! Accredited instructors! That must mean they have the best martial arts instructors in the entire earth!!!!

In the words of Dwight Schrute: "False!"

No, they do not. Accredited does not mean anything in this context since the just people who evaluated the instructors is Tiger Rock itself. It would exist equally if I affirm people, send them off to represent everything I teach and my visitor. Then those v stand with me and affirm another 6th person and 7th and 8th and then on and so merits we at present have accredited instructors. It means nix. It is an incestuous accreditation.

If one looks upward accreditation on Wikipedia it explains that,

" Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented.

Organizations that issue credentials or certify third parties against official standards are themselves formally accredited by accreditation bodies (such as UKAS); hence they are sometimes known as "accredited certification bodies".The accreditation procedure ensures that their certification practices are acceptable, typically meaning that they are competent to test and certify 3rd parties, behave ethically and employ suitable quality assurance."

Typically in the Us accreditation speaks of one body giving affirmation and certification to a third party individual or organization which means they follow certain standards and procedures and have the right resources, knowledge, and skills, that are proper and agreed upon. Within martial arts this could mean anything. For Taekwondo the globe governing body for Taekwondo every bit a martial art is the Kukkiwon. The Kukkiwon is certified and accredited by the Korean government, and is as well recognized past the Earth Taekwondo Federation, which is also recognized by the International Olympic Commission and also affirmed by the original Korean Taekwondo Clan. And then, various government and corporate bodies recognize the Kukkiwon as the proper ranking torso for Taekwondo. In plow, Kukkiwon black belt certification and instructorship accredits individuals to teach Taekwondo. Besides, the Kukkiwon itself consists of a board of members who vote on things and non any one leader who dictates what will be and what volition not be. Members are voted in and out of positions. It does not exist specifically for profit either every bit a corporate entity. The Kukkiwon is affirmed by outside sources who are not a office of its construction which gives it realistic accreditation. The Kukkiwon is an official Korean government organization promoting culture and tourism through Taekwondo equally well.

Groups like Tiger Stone Martial Arts International on the other manus are a corporate entity that exists for profit to brand as much money every bit possible, and is its ain atypical company run past its own founders. Tiger Rock used to exist known as "Karate Taekwondo Plus Academies." The International Taekwondo Alliance is their claim of amalgamation. Later, the name Tiger Rock was implemented instead of TKD-plus (but obviously some gyms still use the TKD-plus sign on their buildings and are part of the ITA. Co-ordinate to http://www.tkd-plus.com,

"ITA'due south Chiliad Masters are Craig Kollars, Bert Kollars, and Art Monroe. Senior Masters are: James Bailey, Rick Hall, Joe Calhoun, Ron Allman, Don Anderson, Terry Newton, and Marv Conway. ITA'due south Masters are: Marker Smith, Dan Cerminaro, Joel Neely, Kirke Woodall, Tim Leirer, Phearthur Moore, Richard Johnson, George LeBlanc, Chris Jackson, Carol Hall, Frank Michael, Brent Scoggins, Tom Mathews, Wayne Mathews, Dwayne Parker, Terence Parker, Victor Hashemite kingdom of jordan, Charles Newton, Michael Cerminaro, Sandy Jordan, Roger Killen, Rick Pope, Elliott Slaughter, Danny Williams, Earl Scoggins and Brian Mitchelmore."

Notice that none of these people are Korean equally there are admittedly no roots from Korean Taekwondo within this company, even though they claim so. Tiger Rock claims that their linage goes back to the "honorable Won Kuk lee and Chung Practise Kwan" (1 of the original 10 martial arts schools in Korea that predates Taekwondo). None of the Korean masters such equally Lee Won Kuk or General Choi had anything to exercise with founding or caring nearly forming the ITA, Tiger Rock Martial Arts International, or TKD Plus Academies. The truth is ITA/Tiger Rock was founded by ex American Taekwondo Association instructors who were disgruntled for whatever reasons and started their own offshoot from the ATA calling it the ITA. According to an article in the January 2010 edition of TaeKwonDo Times Mag,

"…the three founders of the ITA, Craig Kollars, Bert Kollars, and Art Monroe, were junior instructors of the ATA. They created the International Taekwondo Alliance (ITA) which is just their own group specifically made for their brand's franchise schools. None of these schools are independently run, simply follow strict corporate standards created by Tiger Rock itself….by the end of 1980, those three people became contained from the ATA and formed a small independent association." (p. 61)

So, basically this arrangement was created by junior level instructors, non even master level instructors of ATA style Taekwondo. Accrediting their own instructors through their own political party is simply just proverb their instructors have paid a lot of money into the Tiger Rock system and are immune a license to teach under their name. Such accreditation is really merely worth the inferior instructorship that ITA was founded on. It is non proper for someone who does non fifty-fifty have proper accreditation themselves to create their own style of martial arts and go masters of information technology.

Each Tiger Rock franchise location pays an almanac fee, including the "special" instructor qualification tests each yr. Information technology is but multi-level marketing in the sense that people bring others upwards into the Tiger Rock organization, tell them to beginning new school locations, each twelvemonth their students pay to train and the schoolhouse itself pays a percentage fee of their revenue. Instructors too have to exam every year which is simply an excuse for the visitor of Tiger Rock Martial Arts International to make money off of its own people ever year and get every bit rich equally possible. In that location really is no reason to go along taking instructor tests each year except to accuse their own franchisees extra money for each of their "accredited instructors" to stay accredited each year. A school could have v to 10 or so instructors all paying into this system.

This accreditation is worthless outside of Tiger Rock. Unlike Tiger Rock, true Taekwondo certification of a black belt instructor is for life. A one time exam of skill given past a panel of certified 4th degree or higher black belts evaluate students for black chugalug degree ranks. Each degree of black belt would exist its own test. There is no mandatory instructor grooming with the Kukkiwon, at that place is that option as an extra novelty certification if you get to travel to Korea, but it is not mandatory. Any dan rank 4th degree or college tin can test people for black belts and any bottom dan rank can go to a 4th dan or higher for their students to be tested. The teacher who ranks his student and then submits an application to the Kukkiwon, and certification is signed by the Kukkiwon'south electric current president straight from Korea. The Kukkiwon is true Korean Taekwondo and the direction of where the truthful historic linage ended up today since Taekwondo's founding in 1955.

True Taekwondo allows for an independent structure. Each school is independently run past its own people. There is no corporation owning all Kukkiwon schools. Of form if someone with a capitalistic mindset (which I corroborate of) wanted to make a Taekwondo business concern with a franchise of gyms with Kukkiwon certified instructors that is fine. At least their company volition be truly accredited by an exterior source, and the proper one at that. Accreditation is just worth the body it was given by. If a governing torso accredits its own people, and their skill is defective, and non part of the true linage of Taekwondo and is itself an offshoot, the accreditation is only worth annihilation to their in group, and if their instructors lack in true martial arts skills and cocky defence cognition than their accreditation is very weak. It is incestuous and silly.

Mcdojangs, nigh notably Tiger Rock Martial Arts International, will merits they have direct linage to an originalkwan (or school) of Taekwondo such as their claim they are from the Chung Do Kwan founded by Lee Wan Kuk in the early days before 1955. This is easy to exercise for anyone who wants to pretend they are part of true Taekwondo history. Anyone who had an instructor, who had an instructor, who had an instructor somewhere at old, who learned or became a master under whoever, can link dorsum to whatever historical linage they desire to claim. The problem is off shoot branches fall off the direct root of the tree. It is like following a train runway where truth is the railroad train rails. Some people walk off the runway and build another new track in another management off of the main line. While the main railroad train rails had went one direction toward a goal, and accepted standard, or style and the newly built tracks go off in another direction away from this "runway of truth." This is such with groups like ATA and Tiger Stone. Tiger Rock founders may at some point accept studied nether a guy who trained with an early kwan, or trained under a guy who had an instructor from and early kwan at some signal in time,simply that does non mean annihilation. Besides, the truth is that Tiger Rock can only link back to the Chung Exercise Kwan through the linage claims of the American Taekwondo Association's founder H.U. Lee (who definitely went off the track of truth and made his own offshoot) since they originally trained under the ATA every bit junior instructors before making up their own Taekwondo group.

On Tiger Rock'south website explaining their history it mentions that a delegation of Tiger Rock masters were honored to attend Won Kuk Lee's last formal seminar in 2002, but this does not evidence support by Won Kuk Lee or that he somehow was role of their germination. They simply attended a seminar. Anyone can do that from whatsoever organization from anywhere! Merely pay the seminar fee!

Other organizations or martial arts styles that tin can really link historically to the Chung Do Kwan are groups like the International Taekwon-practice Federation founded by Full general Choi Hong Hi (Choi was a direct second generation student of Won Kuk Lee and temporary Chung Do Kwan school master), and Tang Soo Do which is the actual name of the martial art the original Chung Do Kwan school taught created by Won Kuk Lee. Still, the ITF became the very beginning Taekwondo offshoot system that went in another direction away from the direction of where the Korean Taekwondo/Taesoodo Association was headed. The ITF is itself another style of martial arts with the proper noun of "Taekwon-do," which is spelled with a hyphen to differentiate information technology from Kukki-Taekwondo. The ITF was the organization that the founder of the American Taekwondo Clan, HU Lee was a function of before creating his own manner in the ATA. Tiger Rock comes from this.

Earlier Taekwondo, Koreans simply were most often training in Japanese Karate, merely they called it Tang Soo Do. The Chung Exercise Kwan was chosen "Tang Soo Do Chung Practise Kwan." After, Won Kuk Lee, which Tiger Stone reveres, had a fourth successor named Uhm Woon Kyu, who was given the position as leader of the Chung Do Kwan. Uhm Woon Kyu helped develop Taekwondo as an Olympic Sport, and played a huge role in forming the World Taekwondo Federation, Korean Taekwondo Association, and the Kukkiwon. Uhm was even president of the Kukkiwon later on Dr. United nations Yung Kim, but has since resigned in 2010. Chung Practise Kwan thus is part of the truthful linage that points to the Kukkiwon which is the accepted organization for Taekwondo recognized by the Korean regime. Information technology does not point to a connexion or support towards any other organizations for Taekwondo such equally ATA or ITA. Tiger Stone is not historically aligned with the direction Chung Do Kwan headed along with all of the otherkwans. Allkwans now fully support the Kukkiwon and the WTF. If one was linked to a certainkwanand held it with reverence and honor information technology would seem they as well too would align themselves with Kukkiwon standards and practices. Simply these groups exercise not.

According to Uhm Woon Kyu, and vice president of the Chung Exercise Kwan Hae Man Park (retired), "Kukkiwon Taekwondo is Chung Do Kwan Taekwondo." It, a long with the 8 otherkwans, developed the system of Taekwondo together. Chung Do Kwan is simply now a social friendship club (as allkwansare now) that 100% endorses the Kukkiwon and then that the Kukkiwon tin retain power and and evolution over Taekwondo. This is nowhere in line with groups like Tiger Rock.

I could personally create my ain martial art style with its own ideas and forms. I could and so call information technology Taekwondo and create my own master instructor certifications for people to pay for. I could run my own sectional tournaments and make money. I could go nourish seminars held by old Korean masters from an early Kwan and act like they were my personal teachers and masters. I could then link my linage back to an earlykwan easily by the same method groups similar ATA and ITA/Tiger Stone used. But this would be dishonest and embellished. I actually would not be a part of the direction Taekwondo history headed with the proper Korean Taekwondo arrangement of the Kukkiwon. I would be teaching a totally different style of my own making. It actually is that elementary.

The point is every originalkwan formed together as 1 way of martial fine art called Taekwondo with one goal and every celebratedkwan (all 10 of them) agrees with, fully supports, and is 100% incorporated into the Kukkiwon and accepts the World Taekwondo Federation. Off shoots like Tiger Stone have nada to do with the Kukkiwon except for the fact some of their instructors visited Korea, or attend a seminar taught past some Kukkiwon grandmasters. If these original ITA (Tiger Rock) founders received Kukkiwon rank somehow it notwithstanding does not matter since they do not supply rank to their students or even teach the Kukki-Taekwondo system. They also do not participate in WTF tournaments. As well, the Kukkiwon supports independence and does not exclude people from other organizations from testing for their black belt certification. This is exactly the opposite of groups like Tiger Stone who in no way will recognize or intendance you have a Kukkiwon black chugalug. If you lot do join Tiger Rock you accept to showtime all over over again equally a white chugalug and pay into their testing fees and certification fees and classes and pay for membership and more fees. No one is even allowed to participate in any ITA tournaments unless they are a Tiger Rock student and paid into any rank they wanted to compete at. They are a closed off and exclusive organization. This is most probable so they tin can claim "World Champions" etc. by non allowing threatening outsiders into tournaments who might beat their people in a match. The American Taekwondo Association is notorious for this besides.

Information technology has to exist mentioned that non every offshoot organisation of Taekwondo is necessarily wrong. There are various groups who nevertheless teach the Kukkiwon organization, but are still their ain affiliation with other instructors and schools. By and large Kukkiwon rank is also given, only sometimes it is non given and only their affiliation rank for their offshoot organization is given. The divergence is they are yet didactics Taekwondo only without Kukkiwon certifications or amalgamation. I personally believe it is non the best idea to be in an offshoot and ignore the Kukkiwon, but they are yet true to the art in form. And some groups practise have legitimate martial arts skills and teach valid self defense force and do not employ annoying marketing tactics to create a behemothic empire. They simply only exist to acquaintance diverse schools together to teach and learn martial arts. I notwithstanding personally call up they should maintain ties to the Kukkiwon at least for ranking purposes anyway though.

Unlike Tiger Rock or the ATA, the forms from the Kukkiwon/WTF are gratis for anyone to do, perform, and teach. Tiger Rock and the ATA patents their forms to brand it illegal for anyone to teach them without being "accredited" by their own group. Then if one person earns a black belt in Tiger Rock or ATA and then one day moves or quits training there, they cannot teach the forms to anyone else if they make up one's mind to starting time a gym or affiliate with some other group. This shows they want total control and not freedom in their martial arts style. This is another reason why the Kukkiwon is the truth for Taekwondo and allows independence and freedom for Taekwondo martial artists.

Parents wanting their kids, themselves or anyone else who wants to sign up for Taekwondo lessons please exist advised, and do non be fooled by the marketing gimmick of "accreditation." It is meaningless, and if a corporation's martial arts skills are lacking, their accreditation is lacking. You cannot truly merits accreditation if i body accredits itself! Affirming itself is a joke. True accreditation is going to be outside judges and panels who affirm something. A third party affidavit. Choose a Kukkiwon related gym for real Taekwondo that does not dictate commands to gym owners and allows them to be independent and truly certified and affirmed by peers. Even the International Taekwon-practice Federation is independently run like the Kukkiwon for the most part.

Mcdojangs but use marketing gimmicks and airheaded tactics and embellished histories to get you to pay them a lot of money so they tin can stay rich.

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White Dragon is a tertiary dan Taekwondo Blackness Belt with over 19 years experience in the Martial Arts and caput instructor of the White Dragon Dojang Martial Arts Grooming Program.

*Since the original submission of this article he has no earned his 4th dan blackness chugalug and principal certification in Korea from the Kukkiwon and has and then far trained for over 21 years.