Rumy73
Black Belt
Testing is a dirty business practice in DC/MD/Nova TKD dojangs. While it is completely valid to check on the progress of a student and to reward the student with a belt and/or certificate, the cost of such an enterprise should be de minimus. But it is not; it is a fat revenue stream. Defenders of the practice will leap forward and cite the value of "the master's time." Anticipating them, I retort, what exactly are the monthly fees for then? I have to come believe that too many schools really could careless about integrity and are more about selling a "martial arts" experience. This not a comment about the skill of the students or the quality of the curriculum. Rather, it is a pointed remark that testing fees, which are generally progressive (meaning they increase in cost with each new belt), are abhorrent when used as an additional source of income for a dojang. It preys upon the student (and parents) desire for progress and want to learn to more. Monthly tuition, proper attitude and appropriate level of technically proficiency should be enough for a student to move forward.