Member WTF

[Brian R. VanCise]

Well I am in no means a good source for any information on the current running of the ITF organizations. I have long ago decided not to test in Tae Kwon Do. (though it is a great system) My instructor is a member of both the ITF and the WTF. He received rank in both and propogated that philosophy in case they ever merged together.

Personally I think it is okay not to belong to one of the big organizations. What is important is that an instructor is passionate and works very hard to train quality martial practitioner's and that those practitioner's work hard to continue their training!

 

[Dana]

To the orginal question, there are a lot of schools in SD, ND and MN that advertise they are "WTF certified schools." That phrase is misleading and actually false advertising. The WTF does not certify schools, instructors, gup ranks, or blackbelts. The Kukkiwon processes dan ranks (not gup ranks) and has instructor courses, but does not certify schools either. The following is my understanding of their relationship as of a couple years ago; I assume it remains the same.

The relationship between the WTF and Kukkiwon can be confusing. The Kukkiwon is considered the World Taekwondo Headquarters. Its duties are twofold. First is the certification of Poom and Dan for Taekwondo practitioners throughout the world. The second is to operate the World Taekwondo Academy, whose main function is to educate and certify instructors and also to conduct research to further develop Taekwondo. The Kukkiwon has certified approximately 5 million Poom and Dan holders, and educated over 10,000 instructor level practitioners who hold Kukkiwon 4th Dan and higher. In Korea, one must be a Kukkiwon 4th Dan AND pass the Kukkiwon Instructor Course before one is allowed to open a dojang.

In contrast, the World Taekwondo Federation is primarily concerned with
administering competitions under the guidelines of the International Olympic Committee. The WTF serves as the "International Federation" for Taekwondo under the IOC. The WTF is made up of member National Associations such as the USA TKD and KTA; individuals cannot be direct members of the WTF, but they can be indirect members through their member National Association. The WTF issues certification pertaining to
competition, which is International Referee and now InternationalCoach
certification. The WTF does not issue Poom or Dan certification, although it did serve in this function for a very brief experimental period during the mid 1980s.

So, there really is no thing as a WTF or KKW "certified school" and as such, can be misleading. Same things with folks saying their gup ranks are "certified" with the WTF; no such beast.

Dana

 

[hkfuie]

Thanks for your replies.

I was under the impression that in order to belong you had to toe the line on the "new" way. I did not realize there were three different ITF's, though I have seen people make distinctions. It never erally sank in that there is more than one, so thanks for the info, Kacey. I will look into the different ITF just for informations sake, if nothing else.

My point in saying which way I do the hyung is that I wonder if I would have to change the way I do things in order to belong. I guess not. ? I'll look, anyway.

Thanks, Brian. I think that is a fit for me. It is good to hear what you had to say.

Sorry for the small hijack of your thread, Terrylamar. It has been erally interesting for me to learn about the separation of Kukkiwon and WTF. I had not known about the distinction and it is good to know. Even my Olympic style friends have never told me about the difference. Guess it never came up.

 

[Dana]

I know many folks who have KKW certification that only do the ITF/Chang Hun Tuls. Personally, I would not promote anyone in KKW unless they met the base requirements of that style. Same for ITF folks. Otherwise, what does that certification mean? While it is very nice to have well respected (in some circles) international certification, and I encourage students to get it if they have the opportunity and money, most folks I know only care about a certificate from their instructor. It always comes down to what you know anyways, but a quality certificate from a well-respected national/international body is icing on the cake. Some folks will make you pay through the nose for that opportunity, I always offered it at cost plus S/H to my folks. But then again, I'm not doing this to make a living and the folks that do need to make a living at it, hopefully only charge what they need to.

Dana

 

[terryl965]

Well the KKW does not tell you how to run your school and only give a brief desription to materials. All the ITF organization I know have some type of material they like to be covered. Yom Chi which Kacey is the President of is the only organization I would join here in America, with that being said no I am not a member yet but really considering it.

 

[BrandonLucas]

Brian and Terrylamar:

I ask these questions because I belong to no organization. My instructor doesn't belong to one and I am pretty independent, so it fits with my personality. I have considered it from time to time.

Does either the ITF or the WTF set any limits on what you teach in class? That has been my impression of the ITF, based on impressions of things I have read. I know even less about WTF than ITF.

I do an older style of ITF forms, so I don't feel I fit with current ITF style and I am not interested in changing how I do things. Are there people in the ITF who have not switched to newer styles and philosophies of the ITF? Or do you pretty much have to follow what the leaders say?

Thanks. I am interested in hearing about your experiences with your organizations.

I feel like I'm in the same boat that you're in here. I practice an older ITF style of TKD, but my instructor does not belong to the ITF or any other org. In fact, my instructor doesn't even keep up with any of the current changes in forms or techniques...which may be a good or bad thing.

Either way, it's what I respect about him. He doesn't feel like he has to stay current in the TKD world...the TKD that he learned in the 60's and 70's is valid enough to work now, and that's what he teaches. His classes have not changed at all in 30 years.

That being said, when I earned my first dan, my blackbelt certificate was something that he made himself. If I were to take it to another school and present it as proof of my rank, I would be laughed out the door. But I can physically prove that I earned my 1st dan, and my instructor recognizes me as that rank, so that's all I'm concerned with.

If, for whatever reason, I were to leave his dojang and join another one, I wouldn't be asked to provide my certificate anyway...they would ask me to demonstrate my knowledge of the art physically, which is all that matters.

The certificate, in my opinion, is much like the belt...it's a symbol of your knowledge. Nothing more.