How does the certification system works in your country?

[jujutsu_indonesia]

I left the taekwondo dojang long time ago, practiced briefly when I was a kid. I am curious about taekwondo as practiced in other countries. In Indones, we receive local gup ranks issued by PBTI, the WTF representative in Indonesia. After we pass 1st Dan, we are given choice: receive 1st Dan from PBTI, or, for a fee, receive also 1st Dan from Kukkiwon.

Does this applies to your country too?

Also, do you think it is important to get Kukkiwon rank? Here in Indones we dont think it's important because the chief examiner of PBTI is a korean master, Master Oh il Nam. If we pass his test, it means we will also pass Kukkiwon test. So it doesnt really makes a difference for us whether our certificate says PBTI or Kukkiwon.

I'd love to hear your opinions!

 

[Brad Dunne]

Also, do you think it is important to get Kukkiwon rank?

Kukkiwon ranking does two things for folks in general. 1) Olympic status (if that's what one should want) and 2) World wide recognition (which comes in handy if one should travel or move). Unlike just a dojang certificate or even an organizational certificate, which are always open to not being accepted if one should move or join another school or organization. Understand, not every dojang and/or organization is willing to accept outside credentials. They may not even accept Kukkiwon, but one stands a much better chance because it come directly from Korea and the main recognized governing body for TKD. Now on the other hand, if the individual really dosen't care where the paper comes from, as long as the training is good, then it really dosen't matter in the long run.

 

[Fluffy]

I'm a 5th Dan because my instructor says so, that's all I need. I would like KKW certification for me........but I won't go out of my way to get it.

 

[Gemini]

With the situation you're in now, it doesn't really matter. Unfortunately, you won't always be in the situation you're in now. People move, retire, etc. Without the Kukkiwon certification, you may lose out. Though I think we could all agree that the training is far more important than the certification itself, having it if available to you is a plus. Many schools around my area do it the same way as you. At my school, Kukkiwon is the only certification you get because the instructor knows his personal school cert. means nothing outside.

 

[karatekid1975]

We get our certs form our system (Hybrid of TKD). But we also have the choice of getting it from the Kukkiwon. Like Gemini said, I won't be here forever. I plain to move south in a few years. I do want my Kukkiwon cert. I should (hopefully) be a 2nd dan by then (barely), so I do need it for another club. Plus we plan to open a club of our own, so it will be a good thing to have. It's not really needed, but nice to have none the less.

 

[jfarnsworth]

I get my certificates from my instructor. No one else nor any organization. If he deemed me worthy of passing a belt testing then & I did well then I happily accepted the belt. I was taught good morales from him that I still carry with me today.

Just because you have a certificate from someone or an organization (see sentence below) .... :asian:


Lastly,
One of my favorite Kenpo sayings goes "Just because the red shows, doesn't always mean you know".

 

[TigerWoman]

Getting Kukkiwon certification is wise for the long run and if you were to move. My daughter's black belt wasn't recognized by a TKD club in Arizona. They didn't know us in Minnesota. But now, we have Kukkiwon certification. No one can make her be a blue belt and go up the ranks again and she can train at her level. This was more political than practical as masters want to train their own students to become teachers in their school system. Political also if your instructor/master isn't in good graces with the other school. And a new black belt joining but trained by someone else, would be an instructor in your school if only casually, to another color belt.

Plus, if you were to become a second dan only in your own school system and had to move across the country or world, you would have to recertify as a 1st dan in Kukkiwon first then wait years (required) to go to second etc. TW

 

[IcemanSK]

Getting Kukkiwon certification is wise for the long run and if you were to move. My daughter's black belt wasn't recognized by a TKD club in Arizona. They didn't know us in Minnesota. But now, we have Kukkiwon certification. No one can make her be a blue belt and go up the ranks again and she can train at her level. This was more political than practical as masters want to train their own students to become teachers in their school system. Political also if your instructor/master isn't in good graces with the other school. And a new black belt joining but trained by someone else, would be an instructor in your school if only casually, to another color belt.

Plus, if you were to become a second dan only in your own school system and had to move across the country or world, you would have to recertify as a 1st dan in Kukkiwon first then wait years (required) to go to second etc. TW

Well said, TW. I think it comes down to transferability & recognition for your students. That is, if you move away from your school or want to give your students something beyond a school rank, if you can get Kukiwon certified, do so.

I'm in the process of re-certifying my 2nd Dan (thru Kukiwon this time) & looking forward to my 3rd at some point. When I tested for my 2nd thru the ITF, I never thought the certificate would be bogus. (Yes, this happens thru the Kukiwon, too). Since my 1st Dan is thru Kukiwon, I'm in a better position than my buddies who trained & tested with me. Now I'll be able to give future students something they can take w/ them when they move away for college (at Harvard or Northwestern ).

 

[jujutsu_indonesia]

Thank you all for your opinions. I guess to me the Kukkiwon certificate doesn't matter because I no longer practice TKD. But I guess for those of you who are still loyal to TKD, that certificate really means a lot!

BTW, I still practice some of the high kicks of TKD. The arts I'm in now (Jujutsu, Goju, Wado) does not employ many high kicks. So I guess my several years of TKD experience really helps me to become more well rounded!