It is likely that those who have had negative experiences about Kukkiwon certification will never change their mind. They might have been trained in organizations who don't use it, don't require it, don't care about it, and tend to knock it, but there seems to be a misconception here.
There is no doubt that the rules of Olymics require the Kukkiwon certification for officials, so there is no way around that for those involved in Olympics (particularly coaches, judges, referees, tournament directors, host organizations, etc, etc.). However, Kukkiwon certification is not about the
Olympics, so we should simply drop that topic from the discussion.
The Kukkiwon should be viewed as the starting point of something positive. Korea has only recently been liberated (relatively speaking), and the reorganization of their National Martial Art, now called "Taekwondo," is in its developmental stages. It is my belief, that individual certificates from your own instructor are almost always going to be more "special" to the student (I still have my 1st Dan certificate from my instructor in 1978, and it is not Kukkiwon), but this should not make an international certificate from the Korean Taekwondo World Headquarters in Seoul, Korea any less
important.
It is my opinion that a minimum standard of requirements, set for all Taekwondo Black Belts in the world, which would prove to anyone, without question, that they have had proper training to claim the honored rank of Black Belt (and not a fake, kinko certificate), would be a
good thing! You might know your instructor's reputation, and all you need is his word that your training is good - - you know it is good, but the rest of the world needs a better standard. New students need a more clear, recognizable standard before they join. YMCA, Health clubs, colleges and Universities need a more clear standard before they allow "Taekwondo" to be taught in their facilities. There are fakes and frauds out there, and we need to make this system better so it is harder for them to impersonate the legitimate instructors.
I believe it would be good for all Taekwondoists, no matter what their organizational affiliation, to get behind an effort to create the kind of reputation that "Harvard" or some other major university has. So, you feel the Kukkiwon is not to that level of yet. You say that some Black Belts get a real "hard test" - - isn't that a good thing? You say that some get a simple test, and certificates are just bought and handed out - - isn't that a bad thing, and something we need to change? Don't knock the standard of evaluation, because some people are getting around it. Improve it! Change it! Do your part to make the system better.
This is my opinion - and I'm stickin' to it!
CM Eisenhart
