andyjeffries
Senior Master
A search reveals that there are forms specific to Changmookwan. Other people here have confirmed this.
I think @dancingalone is right, some practitioners (in the USA) continue to practice the older curriculum, which likely was around before the standardisation efforts and either choose not to standardise or simply aren't aware that the Kwans no longer do those forms.
If you do not follow another curriculum but only follow the KKW curriculum what does a person do to promote in CMK (you said 7th Dan)? That is rather confusing.
You perform the Kukkiwon requirements for that rank but either in front of your direct instructor, the President or a panel of Changmookwan masters of one dan rank higher than the grade you're going for. It's the same requirements as the Kukkiwon promotion, but it's just less official (but to some of us means more, because our Kwan is our family).
My 6th Dan Changmookwan was given to me directly by the current Changmookwan President, Grandmaster Kim, Joong-young. There was no test, but he'd seen my poomsae and was happy for me to have that rank. My 7th Dan was given to me by my instructor Grandmaster Pan, Sim-woon after a test at my dojang. My 8th Dan (due to take Q1 next year) was supposed to be in front of Grandmaster Kim and the Changmookwan high dan panel, but given Covid restrictions may actually be performed via video now (which is the same as Kukkiwon now requires for 6th and 7th Dan).
I have trained in many schools and other Kwan schools who all had their own curriculum and many of them also included the KKW curriculum as a Compliment, not a replacement.
That still fits with my theory, international instructors that feel the need to keep the old ways alive while in fact Korea unified and the current Kwan leaders do 100% Kukkiwon standard Taekwondo with no additional patterns.
MDK for example has a specific set of gup rank forms and BB forms and curriculum.
KKW is the only entity claiming they are the only TKD. This is exactly what happened to TSD and to a lesser degree MDK.
That thinking it ripe for implosion.
I don't think they do claim they are the only Taekwondo. When I attended World Taekwondo Leaders Forum they spoke about being inclusive to other Taekwondo styles and helping them if they want to join Kukkiwon. Kukkiwon's view is that it's a vehicle for unification not just absorption. For that reason I don't think it is ripe for implosion. There's no real power play here to try to grab all of the Taekwondo in the world, just an open offer - join us.
To be clear as well, Kukkiwon always says that their syllabus for gradings is the minimum required and dojangs are welcome to add their own content in too. For some that may be extra pattern sets, others (almost all?) add in self-defence and step-sparring.
That may feel like a contradiction (given this thread), but to be clear - I choose not to add extra sets of forms in to our gradings because the Kukkiwon doesn't teach them and neither does my Kwan (nor others still HQ'd in Korea that I've spoken to), but it's fine by Kukkiwon if others do and still give Kukkiwon rank.