Dojang owner, "grandmaster" 8th dan, olympic head coach, international referee???

Discussion in 'Tae Kwon Do' started by Valentinus, Jun 18, 2015.

  1. SyDiko

    SyDiko New Member

    I'm still an active TKD practitioner and it took me close to 3 years (2 1 hour classes per week) to achieve my Red belt (1st geup.) I'll be going for my Bodan (Jr/Probationary Black Belt) this coming December, and hopefully my 1st Dan by December of next year.

    So, even if you you are absolutely nasty - 18 months for a Black Belt is kind of short. I'd say at a good school, it would take roughly 3-4 years for a 1st Dan if you maintained 4 classes a week, and showed significant improvement with each promotion.
     
  2. mjl

    mjl ITF Taekwon-Do (1st Dan)

    A deputy black belt what? We have no such thing in our ITF dojang. You either have a black belt, or you do not :)

    I've been training now for exactly 18 months and last week I successfully graded to 5th kup; unless you are somehow exceptional, this should be about the expectation for that time frame, assuming you grade pretty much at each opportunity. I've also competed 3 times - I find this experience quite excellent; standing on the mat performing patterns and sparring, there's nothing quite like it so make sure your dojang hosts and/or enters into comps.

    We have no contracts but it's pay monthly offering almost 5 hours of training opportunity each week, and our black belts have earned them. Our master is an 8th degree, with 6th and 4th degree instructors and a variety of additional black belts to assist.
     
  3. 47MartialMan

    47MartialMan Valued Member

    I guess a Deputy BB is like a JR BB in other McDojos

    They dangle this like a apple in front of a horse
     
  4. mangoman

    mangoman Valued Member

    From what I can see on http://www.manta.com/c/mr5yyhy/u-s-tae-kwon-do-college the H.S. in H.S. Lee stands for Hee-Sun.

    When I search for all coaches on http://www.taekwondodata.com/ with the last name of Lee, the only H.S. is Hyun-Suk. There are errors in the database and it is not 100% complete, but it is a good starting point for researching someone's claims of Olympic or WTF World Championship achievements.

    You can always ask him, what year(s) Olympics and for what country he coached. There is a good chance he will be offended and get defensive, but if you are paying him a monthly fee, in part because of that claim, you have a right to know and it might be a way for you to get out of the contract, if you signed it because of false representations on his part. Or maybe you will discover that he was a coach for the Ivory Coast Olympic team in 1992.

    Something on the schools website really bugs me. In 2 different areas of the schools website there are claims of "40 years experience" and another place says "45 years experience". It is not the confusion over the number of years that bug me though. It is just that phrase of xx years of experience. Experience in what? I have 46 years of experience. Tomorrow is my 47th birthday so I guess I should update my webpage to say that I have 47 years of experience.

    That bugs me because there is a dojang that we used to go to, many years ago. It was run by a legit and verified WTF World Championship Sliver Medalist. When he moved though he sold the school to an older gentleman who at the time of the transfer was a blue belt that had been training for perhaps 18-24 months. Nice guy, but when he took over the school, he immediately became a 5th Dan Black Belt with "over 55 years experience" according to the website.

    As far as 18 months to Deputy Black Belt, well would you have signed up if he told you "In 8 years you will probably be a Deputy Black Belt"? His job is to get you to sign up. After that you are money in the bank for him. He is going to say what he thinks you will want to hear to get you to sign on the line.

    Finally, let me tell you and the others here what a "Deputy Black Belt" is, since a few folks have questioned that. My experience seeing how 2 different schools that have DBB as a rank as well as talking to others from other schools with that rank is that your 18 month contract will get you to the level just before Black Belt. You will test every 6-8 weeks and be awarded your next belt regardless of how you actually perform on your tests.

    After 18 months you will have a belt that is half red/half black which is normally considered a "poom" rank. (Kids under the age of 14 can't be "Black Belts" under Kukkiwon rules so they are called "Pooms" and most wear that half red/half black belt though there are many schools that issue them black belts and just refer to them as pooms.

    Anyway, once you have your DBB rank and you realize just how close you are to actually getting a real black belt, you will be told that to test for black belt you must pay an additional $800-$2000. This is why he told you that you will be a DBB in 18 months not a BB and asked you to sign a contract.

    Then you face the struggle of gee I came all this way. So much work to get to the point just before BB. I can't stop now. I guess I will write a check for $1200 (or whatever this school charges) so I can complete my journey to BB (though many would argue that reaching BB is just the beginning of your journey.)

    Good luck to you in what ever you choose to do.

     
  5. SyDiko

    SyDiko New Member

    I really can't speak on a probationary Black Belt for an adult, its not something that is done in the Kikkuwon Poom/Dan ranking.

    WTF/Kikkuwon follows Gueps (aka colored belts) 10 thru 1, and the actual colors can vary from school to school.

    At my particular school, our 1st Guep is the Bodan (half black / half red) belt - we actually have it embroider just like the Dan belt as well. However its just a colored belt and you aren't recognized by the Kikkuwon. Its not until achieving your 1st Dan (18+) or 1st Poom certificate and number.

    So, I just took a look at that website, http://www.ustkdstuart.com/

    I'd probably find another school, because in the very first picture (http://www.ustkdstuart.com/photo_gallery.php) there is child wearing a 1st Dan belt. That MIGHT be an immediate indication of badness. However, it depends on the organization, as he could be registered as a Poom if its a WTF school.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2015

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