Testing question

I think grading in TKD is problematic.
I do TKD currently but quite honeslty I think TKD grading are a bit like stamp collecting.
Grade -> Learn next pattern/s -> Grade again -> Learn next pattern/s
Repeat until skint, bored or too old to bother.
There's not a lot of additional knowledge IMHO (there's some of course).
As a 1st dan I could quite happily never grade again and spend the next 20 years pulling apart and drilling the techniques and patterns I already know and applying that knowledge rather than learning another 10+ patterns with a lot of repeated techniques anyway (enough with the low blocks, obverse punches and rising blocks!).

That said....being a 2nd dan would be quite nice even if I don't think it would add anything much in terms of combat effectiveness.

 

I've stuck my body in quite a few Taekwondo schools (of various organizations) and the price seems fairly typical.

In most schools, you will pay monthly tuition and maybe a membership fee each year and then whatever testing fees you may have. In many schools, they roll the anticipated testing fees into the tuition (and say "Yay - free tests"), but I recommend that students look at the overall yearly cost, including testing fee to see how it stacks up.

Is that total worth what you are receiving?

If that total is worth what you are receiving, are you planning on staying?

If you stay, do you you plan on following your instructor's guidance and training to (hopefully) improve yourself in the art?

If so, then why not test when your instructor says you are ready so that you both can move on to the next stage? (I am presuming there is a continuation of some sort of curriculum at 3rd and 4th dan and so on).

Several times, I looked at the promotion test as a way to show my instructor that I was following his guidance and that I acknowledged his recommendation to move up. Why continue to train in a graded system if you have no intention of moving up?

The true question is how much is the grade worth to you? If it has no value, then don't grade. If you want the grade but want to pay less money, go for the local one; if you want the grade issued by the larger authority, pay the higher price.

If you are looking at it as an investment of some sort in the martial arts, contact a few other schools and see if they would accept your current rank or the rank from the other instructor? If not, then it may not be worth it either.

I never minded paying the Kukkiwon prices for dan grades because I knew that every WTF school would recognize them... and as a student who travelled a lot, I liked that. Plus, when I tell people I hold KKW rank, they have a very good idea of what that means at a minimum. I could get local dan grades from a variety of places, but often they are not accepted outside of those places... and so not really worth the money to me.

 

Does this sounds silly to anyone else?

Nobody can fight five people at once in any realistic scenario.

 

It doesn't sound like a realistic scenario but rather a way of testing resolve and determination. The person knows that they are getting more tired while the drill is getting harder.
I quite like the idea.

 

I think you can but your odds aren't great. Realistically you'd need some high end protective gear.

If it's done with any level of realism you'd likely get battered and it could serve primarily as a test of fortitude rather than skill.

 

I've seen this at quite a few tests.

First, it's not supposed to be a 'realistic scenario', it's usually under sparring rules (limited targets, good power to open targets).

Second, it is more to keep the person sparring against fresh opponents while they are dead tired to see how they deal with the pressure. Fighting five fresh opponents one after another means you are going to get hit (no matter how good you are in normal sparring) and you will wear down to the point where you will have to fight just to keep your guard up and to keep hitting... it tells the testing board a lot about the determination of a student not to give up or quit.

Again, not necessarily to used for 'realism', but more for the challenge.

 

I think the drill described wasn't the shark tank you're talking about, but actually having 2, then 3 etc. opponents on the mat at the same time. Which either means they take it comically easy on you or a trip to the hospital.

 

That's how I read it too. By the end of the exercise it's one tired guy versus five people trying to hit him at once. I guess it could measure your willingness to take a beating, but it would seem hard to test any real martial arts skill under this scenario.

 

I knew folks in the mid 1970s who paid U$100 for their 1st degree test.A new automobile sure costs more than twice what one did then.Taking inflation into account that test doesn't sound too expensive.

Tho' I thinks such costs are,generally speaking,gouging.

It is,however,a title.A such it's perceived as rank by the vast majority of non CMA practitioners.Just like "sensei" is.

Love and kisses,:love:

Dai Si-Hing Doc

 

In our Kajukenbo school, you would be using the Chinese terms to mean rank.

For example,
"Sihing" for senior students-brown belt.
"Sibak" for 1st-2nd black belts.
"Sifu" for 3rd-5th degree.
"Sigung" for 6th & 7th degree.
"Professor" for 8th degree (although it could be higher)
"Grandmaster" for 9th degree (although it could be higher)
I've heard discussions on bringing back associate grandmaster into the mix. We have some senior grandmasters too.
"Sijo" for founder.

There are even different colored belts to go with the higher ranks. I usually just wear my black belt because the color for my rank is a white and red belt. I jokingly call it the candy cane belt. Although, for some events I do wear it out of respect.

Any way, my point is, any of these titles that represent a relationship (e.g., Sifu = father, Sibak = uncle, Sihing = older brother) can actually be used in a system for actual rank when it comes to the U.S.A. :wow:

 

Totally OT, I know and I'm sorry.
Here they're called "railroad gates".

 

:saz:

Yes, that's really the purpose. Testing the individual's skills under pressure, of course towards the end your dead tired, but I love this challenge. Taekwondo isn't realistic to begin with, at least not in my opinion. I love kicking people in the head, but that generally wouldn't be my first choice of attack on the street. Which is why I believe cross training in other styles is important.

At my school we also have Muay Thai, when someone is preparing for a fight they will go through what we call the "grinder", which is basically what I would be doing for the test, although for that it's each person individually. So you would get a fresh person each time.

A lot of you are talking about school prices. As far as I know, every school around here is pretty high priced, with many having terrible instructors. I've met a few who are complete garbage. Testing at my school is $50. 1st Dan (2nd, etc.) is much more, as I mentioned in my first post. I pay $99/mo., taking everything offered. We have TKD and Muay Thai, so it's my combined cost. Others pay more then I do.

My husband doesn't think I should have to pay anything anymore, and he also hates belt systems. I see where he is coming from, I've seen a lot of black belts who really don't demonstrate the skill that they should for the rank that they are.