Hey i'm a first dan in ITF Tae Kwon Do, i'm 19 years old and i have spent 7 years in that specific art style and i have been doing full contact sparring for a year already. Before that i did Karate from 6 to 10, i quit because i moved to the USA but at 12 i took up Tae Kwon Do. I would like to start competiting in WTF style competitions and hopefully go to the Olympics in 2016 or 2020. I was wondering if it was possible to get promoted shortly to black belt or keep my current rank and test for black belt in Kukkiwon Tae Kwon Do. All that's really required is knowing the forms to test so do you think if i do learn them flawlessly could i get promoted to a black belt in Kukkiwon? I would rather not have to to through the entire ranking system again.
It is not uncommon for a student to begin as a white belt and attain first dan/poom in two years or slightly less, particularly if the curriculum is strictly Kukkiwon, which means no weapon forms or training. Having an ITF first dan may even accelerate that process.
I am not personally a stickler about time in grade, so the idea of a black belt in two years doesn't bother me. I am a stickler for the holder of the belt being a proficient practitioner, which often are rare at many schools.
Just consider why you want a Kukkiwon belt before signing up at a school, particularly if there are contracts involved. If it is with the intent of Olympic competition, then you need to choose your school very, very carefully. Most schools that bill themselves as Olympic do so because they train their students in WTF sparring, but cannot actually offer anything like the training that you'd need to even get started on the path, let alone get you competative. You don't want to be stuck in such a school for two years just to get a belt.
USAT has a provision for dan promotion, though I am not familiar with the workings of it, so that may address the belt issue. But if you've not trained in WTF sparring, but want to make the Olympics, you need to find a school that not only trains in that style, but one that has produced adult tournament champions in that style.
Being that you're already a dan rank practitioner in the ITF, I would assume that you can pick out a poor school by sitting in on a class or two. But you will also need to weed through some schools that may be very good schools in general, but not ideal for olympic training.
Best wishes to you, Inugami.
Daniel
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