Joining the Imaa....

[AMP-RYU]

I was and still am deciding on joining the IMAA (Independent Martial Arts Assoc.) I am fully independent right now and definantly dont want to join the WTF or ITA, so I was wondering if anyone has anything to say or discuss about the organization? They said the want to make me a Associate school do to being their first school in the USA. Any suggestions? The link is http://www.independentmartialarts.co.uk/

Thank you for your input!

 

[HM2PAC]

Isn't there some conflict in being independent and belonging to an association?

 

[Guardian]

Isn't there some conflict in being independent and belonging to an association?

Just from reading the link, the other two started out the same way didn't they? What makes this one different, because it's new? Not a good enough reason in my view.

I would ask myself some serious questions, am I happy being independent? Does it meet my needs both emotionally, financially and all that comes with it? Will joining this organization that is overseas actually help my school in the slightest way?

If you answered the first question with a yes, then the other two don't matter. If the answer is no, then continue on.

 

[dancingalone]

Not sure what you would gain from affiliating other than a few rubber stamp certificates for yourself and your students. They're in Europe after all. Do you plan to travel there to receive training and/or rank testing?

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Warning: Long post!

I checked out the link and copied this from their homepage; my comments are below the quote.

*******
"Independent Martial Arts Association (I.M.A.A.) was founded by Mr Kevin Summers 6th Dan & Mr Graham Lambert 4th Dan in 2006. The aim of Independent Martial Arts is to provide a service to ITF and WTF Tae Kwon-Do practitioners and martial arts instructors in the UK that unifies and represents itself at the highest possible standards achievable.

With years of experience behind them both Mr Summers and Mr Lambert are able to promote and deliver the martial arts experience with innovative and challenging methods. The system is based on the ITF and WTF from which capsulate's the root of there knowledge. The methods of training today are crucial to the representation in the future of a martial art that has sadly been continually eroded and diluted over the past 10 years. We hope that you will join us in our quest for perfection, above all enabling excellence within ourselves"
********

I would like to know precisely what they've culled from the ITF and what they think they've culled from the WTF: the only thing that the WTF has to offer in terms of system is sparring rules. If they mean the WTF's actual taekwondo system, then that's a problem because the WTF doesn't have one. It is the Kukkiwon that developes a system. The WTF is merely a sports organizing body. People calling the Kukkiwon system a WTF system isn't uncommon, but its usually people outside of the WTF who would not be familiar with the distinction between the KKW and the WTF. If these men are building a system based upon both the WTF and the ITF, given the ranks that they hold, they'd really have to know the difference. If they're using the term, 'WTF' for the purposes of their website but really mean the KKW system, then I can see what they're doing but frown upon the incorrect usage of the term, WTF. If they don't know the difference, then they certainly don't have the depth of knowledge to build a system from the KKW curriculum.

Now that I've gotten my nomenclature stickles out of the way, here are the questions I would have.

1) From what organization did these gentlemen earn their 6th dan and 4th dan ranks?

2) What qualifies them to create a hybrid of two systems?

3) Exactly what are they blending and why? And most importantly, what benefit is gained from this melding of systems?

4) What does this organization do for you as a school owner?

5) And this relates to you specifically: why not just go KKW? Given that the system you came from (YHR) used KKW forms up to and including Koryo at least and used WTF sparring rules from what I saw of the Master Shaw video, and given that you were fourth dan (?) in that system, it would seem that if all you want organizational credentials that you would probably be one of the people that USAT is looking to benefit with the "Historic KKW Testing" (see threads elswhere in the TKD section). That would get you credentialed in a style that you're already familiar with. Since the KKW doesn't limit what you can teach over and above their curriculum, it would seem that the KKW would actually make more sense for you.

6) And most importantly, what will joining this association do for your students? This is the most important question to answer. Joining a new org is not going to radically change what you're teaching (or shouldn't, given that you seem to have a system already in place), so how does it benefit them? Does you being an associate member of this organization based in the UK benefit your students in the US in any meaningful way? If the answer is no, then you're better off remaining independent.

Aside from reading the home page, I didn't dig through the website. The six questions I listed above would be things for you to look into and then take whatever course of action you feel is best for your school and students. I hope that my post is helpful to you.

Best wishes,

Daniel

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Okay, I actually dug into the website and here are my observations.

They spell out no specific benefit to joing their particular org, though they make a big point of it being non political, democratic, and completely independent. If I had been burned badly by or were disgusted with the big orgs, I might be inclined to look into them.

One thing that I saw no mention of was things like individual insurance or club insurance, two things I'd be interested in from any org I'd be joining. Though they didn't expressly say that they have their own tournament circuit, their events page makes it appear that they either have a tournament circuit or may be involved in a preexisting one. Another thing I'd be interested in with any org I'd be joining: some students like to compete.

They talk about having a system from the ITF and WTF. I touched on this in my last post, so I won't get into it in this one, but on the 'join us' page, they make it a big point to be inclusive of all styles regarding membership. This may be a good fit for a school that has a TKD base but also has a base in other styles, as it would give a school owner more points of contact in non-TKD styles, though honestly, most people at the level of opening a school generally have a good number of contacts in other styles already and if not, can certainly develope them without joining an org.

The last thing I looked at was the administrative body. I took notice that none of them was over sixth dan. I think that that is the most appealing thing that I saw: they didn't start an org and then promote themselves to tenth dan. The downside? No mention of any of the administrators' styles: only their dan rank. I'm sure that I could research each of the gents on the board, but really, it should be provided with the credential, particularly in an org that welcomes all styles.

My last observation: those blue doboks on the home page look great!

Daniel

 

[Blindside]

I was and still am deciding on joining the IMAA (Independent Martial Arts Assoc.) I am fully independent right now and definantly dont want to join the WTF or ITA, so I was wondering if anyone has anything to say or discuss about the organization? They said the want to make me a Associate school do to being their first school in the USA. Any suggestions? The link is http://www.independentmartialarts.co.uk/

Thank you for your input!

Do you have an instructor now? And would joining an organization get you an instructor that would be of serious benefit to your training in the art? If not, what benefits does joining this org (or any other) get you?

 

[ArmorOfGod]

It looks kind of interesting. Still, it is yet another one of a few hundred independent tkd orgs out there. I guess any one of them is probably about equal to another.

I like their logo. Is that the patch your students would wear? It looks sharp.

The odd thing is that they are in the UK. If you go for rank advancement under them, would it be a paper mill, or would you actually test under them somehow?

I guess the bottom line of being in an org is rank advancement and being part of something bigger, which is what students want to be in.

I say go for it and be critical and honest about your experience. Try them for a year or two. If it works, then keep rolling with them.

AoG