And yet, one of the primary problems that the Kukkiwon had to deal with for years was the fact that the President did not practice Taekwondo. In other words, very high ranking men who did practice had to submit their students' applications for Dan and advanced Dan to be signed by a man who did not practice.
I respect Exile's right to an opinion. However, the fact that he feels qualified to comment on the state of Taekwondo and where it should be heading when he has practiced for six years and holds merely a 1st Dan makes it very hard for me (and I'm sure others) to take his opinions seriously. The fact that he happens to be a moderator for MT is totally irrelevant btw.
I'm glad he has shown such an interest in MA history and culture, as have I. The fact remains, however, that he is a 1st Dan with six years experience. In any legitmate Taekwondo organization that I can think of, he wouldn't even be allowed to judge.
I'm clearly not going to get an answer to my direct questions from YoungMan; my impression from his text here is that he hasn't actually bothered to read my reply to him. But can anyone tell me how my comment that I was excited about the prospect of some new, SD-oriented hyungs constitutes an
opinion? Or a judgment about the state of TKD and where it's heading? Or amounts to anything other than an expression of excitement about the prospect of... etc. etc.
BTW, in the academic world, someone who's been 'training' for six years would correspond to a second year graduate student. And if a second year graduate student stood up at a conference and challenged the analysis someone with decades of teaching and research experience had presented—doesn't matter what the field, btw—and the 'senior member of the profession' had, instead of defending his or her position, replied, 'Tell me, just what are your qualifications in [field of your choice]—what's your highest degree? Where have you published', the reaction from me, or anyone else who's a senior member of the field in question, would be, 'Migod, what a pompous jerk!! Respond to the kid's challenge by showing where s/he's wrong, or admit s/he's got a point.' But if all that the grad student did was comment, in a group discussion at a bar over a beer, that s/he was excited by the appearance of a new textbook focusing on certain recent discoveries or methods of analysis in [field of your choice], and this very senior professor of [field of your choice] challenged the student about their experience on
that, my reaction (and that any other senior member of the field) would be, 'this guy's had too much to drink already, someone get him home'. Or, 'this guy's meds need to be adjusted'. Or, 'this guy needs to see a neurologist
now'.
Fortunately, this sort of thing almost never happens in academe, precisely because no one wants to look that ridiculous. I point these facts out merely for comparison purposes, from a realm I've been professionally involved in for the past forty-plus years. As almost a complete beginner in the MAs, I really don't know how things work
here...
PS: Terry, I feel obliged to apologize for the thread drift my innocent expresson of pleasure at the news in your OP seems to have triggered, and I want to thank all you good folks who've indicated your own views about how much rank one needs to have in order to voice an opinion—I appreciate it, and it speaks well for the kind of rationality that by and large governs conversation on this board. I'll just say, again, I'm eager to see if this rumor proves true, and if so, what the new forms will look like. Why
wouldn't someone actively involved in TKD feel that way? :idunno:
