Just out of interest, what are the current rules for carrying out black belt promotional testing in WKSA Kuk Sool Won? By which, I mean, who can and can't conduct grading tests, and up to what level can (for example) a 5th degree Master test someone? Does a Master have authority to test someone alone, or does (s)he need to be part of a testing panel? If someone in the UK gains black belt under a Master/testing panel resident in the UK (assuming that's allowed), what percentage of the testing fee is retained by the Master/testing panel, and what percentage is sent to HQ for registration purposes? Please note, I'm not asking you to say what the testing fee amounts are! And finally: Can anyone explain why it costs more to test someone, and register their grade, at subsequent Dan (sorry, Dahn!) levels? In other words, why is 2nd Degree black belt test higher than 1st Degree? etc.
Only master can grade above BB , below any school instructor can grade his students. For a BB test there should be two masters to conduct the testing but that only happens sometimes. Master is by invatation only by I H S and he keeps all the BB fee, The grading every three month costs between £10-£20 depending on which master you go to.Why does the fee get higher as you get higher? Because your getting higher I expect.
Sorry to not have answered you sooner, Pugil, but I was relying on notification of added posts to existing threads and therefore didn't notice your NEW thread. It used to be that you could teach someone all that you knew, essentially recommending them to test for the same grade level as yourself. I believe the new restriction on cho-dahns not being allowed to open a school may mean that now a KSW BB can only teach to one grade below whatever level s/he has attained. Just about any BB with a licensed school can test and promote colored belts, but for BB rank, it's pretty much restricted to a panel of judges held during a formal quarterly test cycle (the first test is when the application form and test fees are submitted to WKSA). And to qualify for the panel, any one judge need only be the same rank as what the candidates are testing for, since such a judge should know the required form and techniques up to his/her own level and can therefore mark pass/fail checkboxes on the test form accordingly. Usually, there's a high-ranking BB a few degrees higher (if not an actual master-ranked BB) heading the panel. Often there are different panels for the different levels (Group A: DBN testing for 1st dahn, Group B: 1st dahn testing for 2nd dahn, Group C: 2nd dahn testing for 3rd dahn, etc.). Kids are also separated from the adults when testing for 1st degree only, since they qualify under a different syllabus. The syllabus isn't modified for children WRT higher ranks, so no separation occurs for younger candiates testing for 2nd degree, 3rd degree, or higher. Starting a few years ago, the rules for higher degrees of BB changed so that now they require a "recommendation" from at least two other higher ranked BBs. However, the candidate's instructor and the instructor's instructor (or master) could easily fulfill this requirement. So as not to be confusing, a 2nd degree could recommend a 1st degree for ee-dahn, since the 2nd degree is higher ranked than the 1st degree (I know this sorta contradicts what I stated above about schoolowners and NEW rules, but I think it's correct - if not, maybe someone can step in and correct me). I'm not certain, but it's possible that one of the two BBs that sign off on the application needs to be at least 2 levels higher (this would correlate better to what I said about the new rules). I've always wondered about this myself. My instructor says it goes back to when people were so poor that they rarely paid for lessons (or maybe paid by doing simple chores for the master, or perhaps paid with poultry, livestock, or such). Promoting dedicated people who deserve it to higher rank at progressively higher fees for the subsequent ranks, was a MA instructor's way to be properly compensated in such circumstances. There's no real reason such a "tradition" should be kept alive nowadays, as tuition for training is paid separately. Fees need only cover the expense of the various resources - office/clerical work, judges (their time is worth something, even if volunteered - or perhaps their travel expenses), breaking material (e.g. boards and/or bricks), the actual new belt to be awarded, an ornate certificate, etc. There's no rhyme or reason for the 2nd degree test fee to be more than that for 1st degree, 3rd to be more than 2nd, and so on, up the various degrees of BB.
I believe that in most schools, the test fees for coloured belts are on a sliding scale upwards depending upon rank. One sensible justification for this is that it takes longer to test someone for dahn bo than it does for white belt, therefore to compensate for the judges time and cost of the venue etc it IS logical to charge more. Whether the much larger differences between what HQ charges for dahn grade testing was originally for the same reason, or whether it is for the same reason that a dog licks its private parts (British joke...PM me if you don't understand) I don't know. the time factor certainly doesn't apply these days though as most national tests seem to be over and done within a couple of hours, whereas they used to take all day.
:topic: I think Geoffrey Chaucer said it best, “Radix malorum est Cupiditas” even if merely restating Bible verse (1 Timothy 6:10 - The love of money is the root of all evil). This moral always makes me think of Chaucer rather than the Bible, as I'm a glutton for irony and I love that story of treachery told by The Pardoner. :evil:
Sorry, KIWEST, but that joke is not unique to GB. Q: Why does a dog lick his private parts? A: Because he can. So you're right, as long as people are willing to fork over the dough, WKSA can charge whatever they bloody well want.
Shearing time? I still prefer Eli Wallach's statement in the film The Magnificent Seven: If God did not want them shorn, he would not have made them sheep!
