Lets get rid of bad martial art schools

**forcelaw26** · Posted On: 4/06/2011 4:38pm

For those of you who don't know know me i am forcelaw26. I am not an instructor. I do consider myself to be a dedicated martial artist. I am in need of help. Well i was at a Taekwondo class today the lead instructor of the school informed the class that there are no laws regarding the regulation of opening up martial art schools. Anyone can do it.

To me this is appalling because this means ANYONE can self proclaim themselves a "9th Dan Degree black belt" and open up a school and know nothing about martial arts or Taekwondo but as long as the business sells/makes money. Hes in the clear. It is my goal to save the American Consumer from such scams. I do not want people to continue to go to these kind of schools and think they are learning how to fight when in reality there learning nothing.

Now, it is true in ITF and WTF Taekwondo and other styles that there is a circulum and some requirements but i do not believe these requirements are high enough, or, at least i know that WTF standards are not high enough. Here is a link for the requirements to receive a blackbelt from the kukkiwon.

http://www.anasazimartialartscouncil...01_01_1999.pdf

Now on article 12 i believe in this form it states that all you need to receive a blackbelt from the Kukkiwon is a score of 60 out of 100. if you are still in school you must be well aware that a 60 out of a 100 is a D. a black belt is a D student? I am aware that a blackbelt doesn't mean your a master but in the society we live in a blackbelt is something prestigious and the public considers you to be a master. Does a D as a grade sound like a master to you? Also what if the individual does perfect on forms, breaking, and special technique. and has over 60 points now. But they cant spar to save there life.

A blackbelt should be able to spar. This system of grading is flawed. Also i dont know much about ITF taekwondo and i checked out there site and to my knowlegde it would appear there are no set official standards for blackbelts. If you do ITF taekwondo student or master please correct me and if im wrong call me out on it. Here is a link that i read that says there are no set standards but that there should be.

http://www.tkd-itf.org/pub_web/ver_e...A12112006.html

So not only can you self proclaim yourself to be a master of any martial art. But, even if you do get a blackbelt there is no set standards or you could be lacking in a area so you could still suck. Yes it is true most traditional martial art schools do have a set standard. But what about the franchises? like tiger shulmans? or American kick karate? In programs like these the number of CLASSES determines your rank or if you become a black belt. It is money based.

THIS IS RIDICULOUS! This means you can be HORRIBLE and still receive a blackbelt and think you are good but in reality YOU SUCK. (i am not saying that all blackbelts from these programs suck however. There are those with natural talent and good instructors even in franchises who do get there students to a high level of skill)

In further thought, a martial art instructor is a teacher. If you commit a sexual offense towards a child you can not be a nurse. You can not be a teacher at school. I think the same should apply to martial instructors. If you were a parent. Would you want your 8 year old son being left with a petefile? a petefile who usually has a office in his martial art school and can easily get your son or daughter alone? This is another thing i believe that needs to be changed.

What am i going to do about all these problems? Well, i live in Pennsylvania so i am going to write a letter to the general attorney of Pennsylvania pushing for back ground checks and some form of testing or evaluation to tell if the person is good enough to teach martial arts (to get rid of the self proclaimed nimrods). This is where YOU CAN HELP. If you have any examples of corrupt self proclaimed instructors and proof. please message me through this site or comment. If you have any information that can help me message me as well or leave a comment. Or if you have any advice please message me or leave a comment.

sincerely,
-Forcelaw26

**lionknight** · Posted On: 4/06/2011 7:36pm

Please define "Black Belt".

**forcelaw26** · Posted On: 4/06/2011 7:45pm

Im mainly talking about taekwondo in this post. by blackbelt i mean 1st dan or 1st degree. I know a black belt isn't a master in Taekwondo. Or do you mean what i think a "Black Belt" should be?

**BackFistMonkey** · Posted On: 4/06/2011 7:51pm

Originally Posted by forcelaw26

THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

YOU SUCK.

sincerely,
-Forcelaw26

Welcome to my world.

also ,
Welcome to Bullshido, you got the right forum, which is a good start.
Do you have a noobie town thread yet?

Hope to see you around.

**lionknight** · Posted On: 4/06/2011 8:50pm

Originally Posted by forcelaw26

Im mainly talking about taekwondo in this post. by blackbelt i mean 1st dan or 1st degree. I know a black belt isn't a master in Taekwondo. Or do you mean what i think a "Black Belt" should be?

fine...

Define what a Black Belt is in Tae Kwon Do.

Good luck on that BTW.

**Colin** · Posted On: 4/06/2011 8:51pm

The OP sure seems a little green, but I think his motivations are sincere. +rep :)

**forcelaw26** · Posted On: 4/06/2011 9:11pm

Well, at the kukkiwan a blackbelt in taekwondo is just someone who scores a 60 out of a 100 on the test that is divided into four sections. (special technique, forms, breaking, and, sparring if you want more details on a blackbelt at the kukkiwon just check out the link i posted). At the school i go to a black belt is someone who has been attending the school usaully about 4 years. (some have done obtained a blackbelt in 3 and others 5. 4 is the usual). They have to know the 8 poomse and the black belt form. If your a adult you have to be in enough physical shape to pass the military standards (regular army not marines.) They have to be able to do a vast amount of board breaks be successful on 2 on 1 sparring. weapon sparring. They even have to be good at grappel sparring. Also the master makes the black belts write essays to. And if you even mess up on 1 area you fail. (im not a black belt btw.) Thats the best answer i can give. there is no set national standard of what a black belt should be in Taekwondo which is apart of the problem.

**Vieux Normand** · Posted On: 4/06/2011 9:17pm

Originally Posted by forcelaw26

THIS IS RIDICULOUS! This means you can be HORRIBLE and still receive a blackbelt and think you are good but in reality YOU SUCK.

Wait a minute...are you sure this has actually happened?

**forcelaw26** · Posted On: 4/06/2011 9:32pm

yeah, it happened to a friend of mine. She use to do American kick Karate and then she moved in the area and came into the school i go to. She said she was a black belt. When she came to class she was so embarrassed to call herself a black belt. She was equal to most of the yellow belts. The problem was her old school it was just money based. not skill. That is the only person that i personally know it has happened to. but i have heard of it happening to others as well. but that is the only person i know who it actually happened to that i have met and know 100 percent. Everyone else it was "a cousin of mine" or "a friend of mine" ect. i never met them.