Kukkiwon temporarily halts Skip Dan tests

[IcemanSK]

Kukkiwon temporally stopped special skip dan test"! - “국기원 특별심사 잠정 중지” !
they go through enough discussion to establish a general consensus among taekwondo community as a whole. The Kukkiwon special committee decided not to pursue special dan test until
기사입력: 2015/12/29 [13:05] ⓒ wtu

WTU

▲ © WTU


"Kukkiwon temporally stopped special skip dan test"

The Kukkiwon special committee decided not to pursue special dan test until
they go through enough discussion to establish a general consensus among taekwondo community as a whole.



“국기원 특별심사 잠정 중지”

국기원의 특별심사소위원회에서는 태권도인들로부터 충분한 의견수렴과 공감대 형성이 이뤄질 때까지는 특별심사 강행을 않기로 했다.



WTU

 

[TrueJim]

The idea of skipping 1 dan grade never bothered me, for special circumstances. (Like, for people who live in really remote locations, where getting to somebody who can test them is difficult, but the person has put in more than enough practice and has all the ability to justify the single skip.) But as I understand it the issue was multiple-grades being skipped.

Here's what I'm curious about: (1) how prevalent was that? (2) why in heaven's name would anybody have thought skipping multiple dans would be okay in the first place?

 

[IcemanSK]

The idea of skipping 1 dan grade never bothered me, for special circumstances. (Like, for people who live in really remote locations, where getting to somebody who can test them is difficult, but the person has put in more than enough practice and has all the ability to justify the single skip.) But as I understand it the issue was multiple-grades being skipped.

Here's what I'm curious about: (1) how prevalent was that? (2) why in heaven's name would anybody have thought skipping multiple dans would be okay in the first place?

One situation I've heard several times was folks who had circumstances where their GM retired or died & they were left in charge (or ran a dojang under that person) but no longer had ability to test. Now, how often something like that occurs is a good question. Heck, I was a 2nd Dan for 18 years (because I trusted the wrong guy). When I found a GM that I could trust, I wasn't offered (nor did I seek out) a skip Dan. Apparently, what has been happening with these is that folks with 2nd Dan are receiving 6th or 7th Dan because they've paid a hefty fee. Skip Dan has been around for a long time, but the pay for big jumps is new with the current administration. There is a big push for the VP who championed it to be shown the door at the new year.

 

[TrueJim]

One situation I've heard several times was folks who had circumstances where their GM retired or died & they were left in charge (or ran a dojang under that person) but no longer had ability to test...

Yah, see that kind of situation, skipping a single dan makes sense to me. "I was left to run a dojang for a long, long time with nobody to promote me..."

Apparently, what has been happening with these is that folks with 2nd Dan are receiving 6th or 7th Dan because they've paid a hefty fee.

I believe you, but... HOW COULD ANYBODY HAVE POSSIBLY THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA!!!!!

And who are the knuckleheads who were like, "Hey, if I pay a lot of money, I can be 6th dan!" No. Just...no.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

In the 1920's, Gichen Funakoshi Sensei promoted the first black belts in Karate. Several to first Dan and several directly to second Dan. In the mid 1950's, Uechi Kanei Sensei held a mass promotion when that system adopted the Kyu/Dan system. Promotions were between first and fifth. Now to be clear, these were well warranted due to the TIA for these practitioners and needed to establish a structure within the art.

Additionally, there have been multiple well known artists that did not skip rank, but were fast-tracked for various reasons. Some legitimate and some perhaps a bit more sketchy (read organization shopping).

So the practice is well established either way. And in many circumstances, as has been discussed above and in other threads, it is warranted and indeed even proper. Of course, we all know that there are many circumstances where it is nothing more than a money grab, ego, good-ole-boyism or some such nonsense. IIRC, the KKW special testing from years ago provided for multiple Dan levels skipped (the example given was a first to six Dan skip) where the highest three levels were paid for in addition to doing two forms and a few minutes of sparring. That was the only requirements. I'd put that squarely in the money-grab category. Did it help with some legitimate needs? Perhaps. Did it show KKW TKD in the best possible light? In my opinion, no. Doing a couple of forms, a couple minutes of sparring and having your check clear (for several hundred dollars) to possibly receive a masters ranking is not the best practice.

Of course I always bring up the KKW TKD school who's owner had a Hapido GM buddy that promoted TKD black belts to HKD black belts after only ONE weekend of training and a cleared check. This doesn't exactly shower TKD or HKD with legitimacy.

The bottom line is being able to look at yourself in the mirror and know that you can actually perform at the level that is expected by what you wear on your waist. What would even be better is to wear nothing around your waist and let your skill/experience speak for itself.