Feedback for AIKIA, Independent TKD

[Aikia]

Hello. My name is Jerry Beasley. I am founder of AIKIA. The "K" stands for Korean martial arts(Taekwondo,Tangsoodo,Hapkido), Karate, Kickboxing and Kenpo. I begain AIKIA as the American Independent Korean Karate Instructors Association in 1979. I would like to hear from any current or former members. Let me know what you liked or disliked. We are in the process of updating materials so I would appreciate any constructive comments. If you are not a member but you have heard of us let me know what you think.
We are here to serve. What do you look for in a national organization? Reputation,price,integrety.service?
(I read posts every two or three days,please be patient for a response).

Dr.Jerry Beasley, 9th Dan
Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame
Instructor of the year 2000

 

[Zepp]

Sorry I'm not familiar with your organization Dr. Beasley, nor am I an instructor, but I can still answer one of your questions, if only in a general way.

What do you look for in a national organization? Reputation,price,integrety.service?

Integrity comes to mind as being very important in an organization. In this case, I'd consider integrity to mean a lack of political favoritism, as well as not discriminating against particular members for other associations they may have. I believe that an organization's integrity is a large contributer to it's reputation.

Price should correlate with the service you receive. If I were an instructor, and I were paying an annual fee to an organization, I'd want to get more out of it than merely rank recognition.

I'm looking at your organization's website, and I have to say, I like this particular quote: "Rank should be an Honor not an expense."

 

[Miles]

Dr. Beasley,

I have seen the advertisements for your organization for many years.

I guess my first question would be whom do you consider to NOT be an independant instructor?

What does your organization offer that the others advertised do not?

Take Care,

Miles

 

[MichiganTKD]

"Yawn"

Next.

 

[Aikia]

In 1979 , after being a black belt instructor for ATA/ITF clubs for eight years, I came up with the idea of an "Independent" organization. The independent refers to the instructor who finds that he prefers/needs to mix his art with other arts. You are an independent when you are free/independent of the boundaries imposed by classical theories.

In a 1973 exhibition bout with then ITF world champion Ho Kwan Kahng I was able to out point him with superior foot work and hand skills. I combined my classical ITF tae kwon do with JOE Lewis/Bruce Lee strategies I learned from kickboxers ( then called full contact karate). Lewis and Lee had both added boxing footwork to their arts. I unknowingly became "independent" of the dictates of classical TKD.
Now days many instructors qualify as independents. After our initial success as an organization several other organizations began to use the "independent" slogan. Unfortunately they always use independent to mean "having no master instructor". You can have an instructor and still be "independent" minded.
Our success and longeivity is based on the fact that so many former traditional TKD instructors find that the freedom to mix styles/arts presents a better method. We help them achieve that freedom as independents.
Proabably most of the martial artists who identify their art as tae kwon do today are "independents".
JB

 

[Miles]

In 1979 , after being a black belt instructor for ATA/ITF clubs for eight years, I came up with the idea of an "Independent" organization. The independent refers to the instructor who finds that he prefers/needs to mix his art with other arts. You are an independent when you are free/independent of the boundaries imposed by classical theories.

...........Our success and longeivity is based on the fact that so many former traditional TKD instructors find that the freedom to mix styles/arts presents a better method. We help them achieve that freedom as independents.
Proabably most of the martial artists who identify their art as tae kwon do today are "independents".
JB

Thank you for your response Dr. Beasley.

I noticed that you have a Moo Duk Kwan organization (sub-Kwan?) as well, but the ATA/ITF were primarily Chung Do Kwan and Oh Do Kwan oriented. Could you please elaborate on your TKD background (no offense intended toward GM Joe Lewis, but this is a TKD thread).

Miles

 

[Aikia]

Miles,
I began TKD Moo Duk Kwan under Soo Wong Lee in 1968. My primary instructor was Whitman Davis and Grandmaster Kim who promoted me to 1st dan in 1971. I was a class instructor for Mr. Kim in 1970 and black belt instructor as of 1971. As a student of Philosophy at VA Tech I crosstrained with other black belt students in ITF TKD, judo and boxing. I received the second dan in ITF TKD in 1973 along with a BA in philosophy. While earning the MS in sociology and the Ed.D. in education ( from VA Tech 1977/1980) I continued to train in ITF TKD and earned the 3rd/4th and 5th(1980) dans with James Lee. For 10 years my only job was study, earn degrees, practice martial arts and teach TKD. I operated a professional martial arts school from 1980-1985 and taught as an adjunct at Radford University. At the university I have taught TKD since 1973, along with martial arts from other countries. I am employed as a professor to teach, research and write about martial arts. In the late 1990's I was recognized by organizations for my work in the promotion of TKD and elevated to 9th dan. In 2002 I received the lead position of the American Moo Duk Kwan Council . I developed Aikia and AITF to promote Korean martial arts. There is more about my study of other arts but I won't bore you with details.
JB

 

[MichiganTKD]

Question #1: What organization promoted you to 9th Dan? 9th Dan is a very high honor, indicating world leadership, and I'm curious as to who or what group said you earned that rank.

Question #2: Why do I have to mix Tae Kwon Do with other styles to be independent. Classical TKD practice is hardly a prison. I don't mix my Tae Kwon Do with other styles because I choose not to. My art is very special to me, and I"ve never felt the need to cross train to "establish my independence".

Question #3: Isn't Joe Lewis a sport karate guy? Why be a grandmaster if all you do is fight and lead fighting seminars. A 3rd Dan could do that. The Grandmaster title is reserved for those who have made world contributions to martial arts, not because they happen to be decent fighters (or were 40 years ago.)

Question #4: Since you are obviously an ITF practioner, which I don't have a problem with, why would or should other stylists join your organization? As a WTF/Kukkiwon member, what would I have to gain by joining an organization headed by an ITF member? Quick answer-nothing.

Question #5: What could you possibly give me that my organization can't? Credibility? Rank? Accomplishment? Support system? Legitimate certification? None of the above? I'll take None of the Above for 100 Alex.

 

[cali_tkdbruin]

Question #1: What organization promoted you to 9th Dan? 9th Dan is a very high honor, indicating world leadership, and I'm curious as to who or what group said you earned that rank...

Excellent point MichiganTKD! How many people get to 9th Dan level in TKD? Not too many. I'm guessing only a hand full attain that august rank.

BTW, G-Dub was not my choice for Prez either. When he's willing to put his own *** on the line, or at least put his daughters' asses on the line to go fight his war in Iraq instead of sending everyone else's kids to go die in that lost cause then he'll merit my respect.
Well, I've accepted it that he is our president for another four years. If anything, and what's good is that at least we live in a country in which we can voice our opinions and disagree with our leaders' dumbass choices and decisions. God Bless America...

:uhyeah: :CTF:

 

[Aikia]

Wow, the response is interesting. I remember back in the early 1970's I thought that only a Korean could earn the 9th dan. Friend, that was 30 years ago. I have been a black belt for 33 years. I have taught TKD for 34 years ( one year as a red belt). The fact is that classical thought advances the theory that an art must have boundaries. You recognize that TKD is different from Hapkido because of the limitations imposed by both arts. Can you explain the difference in WTF and ITF TKD? Of course. They punch, kick,perform hyung/patterns differently. What if you understood the theory of motion and the parameters predisposing human behavior to comform to certain motor functions? Would not a kick be only a kick? AIKIA is an organization that has simply "Moved the cheese". Not everyone can find their way alone. Most prefer the comfort of knowing that there is only "one" way and that way is dictated by their grandmaster/art/association. This type of person often feels threatened when someone presents a glimpse of freedom. Those bound by tradition cannot understand free thoiught or "independence". I represent independence. Using what works.
I understand that you may feel uncomfortable if I have chosen to align myself with ITF TKD through 5th dan. I am no longer a representative of either ITF or WTF versions of TKD. For classical/traditional art I prefer the Korean Karate system represented by the American Moo Duk Kwan Council. My 9th dan was awarded to me by board approval and signed and authorized by Grandmaster Michael DePasquale Sr. and Professor Wally Jay. At the same promotion Bill Wallace received the 10 th dan. I have also received recognition as Soke/9th dan from the EU Council and 9th dan from the AMDKC. However dan ranks only reflect a level of recognition.
You should consider Aikia membership if you are free to think independently. I began the slogan "No Politics". I was once subject to paying high fees for promotions. Black Belt agents in my organization (over 1300 since 1979) pay nothing for dan rank. In AIKIA rank is an honor not an expense. www.aikia.net.
Jerry Beasley, Ed.D.
Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame
Instructor of the Year 2000

 

[MichiganTKD]

Jerry,

Don't misunderstand. I am not attacking you personally. However, I have real problems with what you offering and your authority to do so.
First, Michael DePasquale is NOT a Tae Kwon Do Instructor. He teaches some Hapkido/Hwa Rang Do/Whatever else system. Wally Jay teaches jujitsu. 9th Dan TKD Certificates from them are worthless because they don't teach Tae Kwon Do. They are undoubtably nice people, but highly unqualified to be giving Tae Kwon Do certification.
Second, I don't feel guilty for paying to support my Instructor and the Organization. I wouldn't feel guilty for paying to support my parents either. Both have given me more than I could ever hope for. To say to my Instructor "I'm joining a different organization because I don't feel like paying to support you or the organization anymore" is saying "Screw you Sa Bum Nim". I know my Instructor's history, his credentials, his Instructor (I've met one of them), and his students. He has never lied to me. Why in the world would I leave an organization I know for people who are strangers to me? because I don't feel like paying for Dan tests and seminars? It comes with the territory. Dan fees and seminar fees cover the expenses of putting together reputable tests and seminars. I could pay nothing for a Dan test, as you suggest, but as they say you get what you pay for.
Finally, how is Bill Wallace a 10th Dan? He is a kickboxer. Kickboxing is not a martial art, it is a sport. Therefore, Dan rank is meaningless.
Hate to say this, but what you offer is no different than what the other ads in the back of martial arts magazines offer.

 

[Aikia]

Hmmm. MichicanTKD, I am not trying to recruit anyone on this forumn. I was asked by a member to participate. Who is your instructor and what organization do you belong to? Have you always practiced the same style?
From 1968-1970's I too was brainwashed by Korean mentality so that I felt inferior to my Korean master. Some TKD schools are little more than cults in which Americans are taught to beleive that the Korean grandmaster is above classification. Yet when we discover that the WTF president took a reported $6 million to use as bribe money, or the ITF leaders aledegely supported the communist, or that the Korean government paid for the immigration of hundreds of TKD "masters" to come to this country in the 1960's/70's to insure that TKD would gain a stronghold in the US martial arts economy, we find that they are human too. As leader of an American martial arts organization I often hear horror stories of how a working mom is expected to come up with $500 to pay for her son's first dan under a Korean "master". The cost of the WTF/Kukikwon certificate in Korea is less than $30 US. Yet the masters sell it to us for hundreds of dollars. You can now buy the certificates via E-bay for a mere $3! In Korean controlled TKD, politics means money. It never stops amazing me that some become so brainwashed that they can not accept skill as justification for rank. You would question Bill Wallace, Black Belt Hall Magazine of Fame member, world champion and greatest kicker of all time, promotion to the level of 10th dan by a board of 10th dans? Who do you think promoted Jhoon Rhee to 10th dan?
This is 21st century America. During the last 40 years the best martial artists in the world came to the US for economic success. They taught us well. Americans take an inferior role to no other nation.

 

[Marginal]

Last I checked, Bill Wallace claimed Karate as his background and doesn't present himself as a TKD instructor at all.

I can't pick much else out of that mess.

 

[The Kai]

I guess the question is what higher level training is about. Is it TKD, with in depth of Hyumng analysis, reapplication of basics. Or is it the ability to crosstrain in other arts i.e. Medium level training+Medium level training=? and then why use the term TKD

 

[Aikia]

The Kai,
Perfect. Very perceptive. Those of us in AIKIA beleive that after earning the black belt you can improve your performance by going outside of your art and supplementing the art with skill and training methods from other arts. TKD is still the base art. However the independent TKD instructor offers elements of jujitsu, kickboxing, escrima etc. At my summer camp called Karate College( formerly Tae Kwon Do University) we have a large portion of TKD practitioners who now feel comfortable going to the mat in a Gracie juijitsu class then putting on the gloves for kickboxing. Next they may take a traditional TKD forms class or engage in Olympic style TKD sparring before trying ninjutsu or tai chi, hapkido etc. At Karate College, sponsored by AIKIA, all the arts are as one. We can learn from others.
There is certainly room for the the traditionalist. Classical TKD will always be admired. Even in the most traditional TKD circles techniques hyung/patterns/sparring methods have always varied. It is the defined social structure that identifies traditional TKD and this same structure is also apparent in non-classical TKD. And, there is also a place for the independent. For 25 years AIKIA has been the leader in the independent movement for TKD.
Jerry Beasley, Ed.D.

 

[The Kai]

Cross traing is great, but my problem is handing out advanced degrees for a TKD Balck belt with some cross training experience. Two levels of middling training should not equal experience in the upper levels of the art.


I guess t it is a matter of perspective, but showing loyality to friends of teachers is'nt always brainwashing.

 

[Aikia]

That is an interesting concept. How do you progress as an independent TKD dan holder? The elements of TKD include form, basic skills, sparring and self defense. I noted the social structure in an earlier post. If there is only one way to perform (let's say a kick ) then only one organization can be valid. However we know that in competition/self defense, general application, there are many ways to successfuly utilize the way (do) of the kick (tae) and punch (kwon). Thus there are many valid intrepretations of TKD.
If you say that your style is Moo Duk Kwan, for example then it becomes easier to identify what is considered the "correct" technique. The independent feels that in a given encounter the "correct" technique is subject to many variables including environment, personal preference, distance etc. Speed , power and deceptiveness are really the indicators that will determine whether or not a technique will be successful. In combat the name of the style, the rank of the master instructor are irelevant. The correct parring of strategy and attributes will determine success.
As master instructor to the independent TKD dan holder I must be able to determine whether or not the performer has met creteria that would indicate that he/she understands and can apply "independent theory" regarding their performance of TKD. The same is true for the head of any other organization. In my organization the performance will vary with the attributes of the individual. We do not have the boundaries imposed by a particular style of TKD and their are many "styles" of TKD. Is there a diference in ITF versus WTF style TKD? Of course. Just as the organizations that govern dan rank for the performance of skill within the paramenters of WTF/ITF vary, AIKIA as the official Independent TKD organization has a set of requirements for advancing in rank. Same concept, different view.
As an independent TKD black belt I ask instructors to cross train not to earn a green belt in one style, a brown belt in another, but to discover how as independent TKD practitioners they can best prepare for combat if they must face experts in other diciplines. The independent TKD practitioner must be prepared for combat at long range in which TKD excells and at trap/clinch range and ground grappling where TKD is not sufficient. In so doing they supplement their TKD with superior skills. They do not need to make their art work because it is all they have. Rather they may adapt their TKD to best serve the purpose of self defense. That is why we are independent. We are free to make choices that we feel can better prepare us for success.
Dr.Beasley

 

[MichiganTKD]

Jerry,

First of all, I'm not excusing Un Yong Kim's behavior. He was guilty of embezzlement, sent to prison, and stripped of his titles. The WTF and Kukkiwon will carry on. No one man defines them.
Second, I know full well that America is the land of opportunity, It always has been. There have been lots of disreputable Korean Instructors who came here just to make a buck, as many TKD students will testify to. I'm not excusing them either. I consider them low class prostitutes out to exploit gullible students to make money. There is nothing wrong with being able to make some income from Tae Kwon Do or MA. The problem, as you seem to demonstrate, is using MA to make money. Turning MA strictly into a marketable commodity to be bought and sold. Your postings suggest this is all you are about. I could care less about your teaching credentials. You still appear to exploit gullible students with promises of easy rank in any style they choose. A streetwalker will also give you anything you want if the price is right.
And you're damn right I'll question Bill Wallace's credentials. Greatest kicker/kickboxer who ever lived? Matter of opinion, though I understand he was quite good. Black Belt Hall of Fame member? Could care less. Published in all the magazines? So what. 10th Dan? In what? Kickboxing? Again, kickboxing is a sport, not a martial art. I don't care what "panel" awarded him 10th Dan. As they say, don't believe the hype. And don't ever suggest to me someone is above questioning.
Is it just me, or is the hot air just a bit stifling?

 

[TigerWoman]

I'm not near to a master level, still very much a student learning Taekwondo. Does having a 1st dan black belt in TKD mean you are proficient enough in it to go out and fight a grappler at their game? Don't think so. Not any more a grappler same years in, would fight a TKD'ist at theirs. But I'm not in it just to "fight" but in it for the art itself. I'm not going into combat and the likelihood of me and several of my forty-somethings in class using it even for self-defense is highly unlikely. After all we are taught to avoid situations like that. Not that we aren't taught self-defense. My instructor was WTF taught but is an independent and teaches us effective defense from other arts. Just today, we learned a grappling move particularly for women. So, I can see the value of learning other arts but at the point I am in Taekwondo, cross-training with too much in other arts is counter-productive to in-depth study and work needed for TKD. And I certainly wouldn't want someone who isn't a certified master teaching me. A first dan in everything means very little. Maybe after a master level, I would consider learning other arts...but probably at an earlier age. TW

 

[Mithios]

Mr. Beasley, Welcome!! This is turning into an interesting thread! I for one am interested in you'r view's. Classical T.K.D. is my base, But i also have a black belt in Hapkido, and do boxing and Muay Thai. I'm looking for Eskrima now Mithios