Where We Stand On - Instructor Qualification

WHERE WE STAND ON ..... INSTRUCTOR QUALIFICATION

The policy of ChungTongKwan Yudo, with regard to qualification as an instructor, mirrors that of the other traditional military art kwons in Korea. Unfortunately, the standards for becoming an instructor in these traditional arts do not appear to be well-understood outside Korea.

First, let me discuss what an instructor is not. A traditional military art instructor is not a coach. Conversely, a martial sports coach - as in Olympic Judo or WTF/ITF Taekwondo - is not a military art instructor. The proper venue for the training of a sports coach is the physical education or athletic training department of a college or university, depending upon the population served by the coach.

Coaches conducting youth programs or training youthful athletes should receive special training in coaching children or young adults. The abuse and injury rate among children involved in organized sports in the United States represents virtually an unreported pediatric epidemic. The failure of parents to adequately investigate the qualifications of the individual(s) they allow to instruct their child amounts to nothing less than potential child neglect.

Few things are more dissimilar than the professional training and development of an athletic coach versus the education and training on an instructor for a military art. The philosophy, purpose, and mission of sport training is totally divergent from the diversity and depth of education required for the lifelong study of the military arts. It is only logical, therefore, that the eligibility and qualification criteria for martial sports and military arts differ dramatically. We will concern ourselves herein, however, only with the military arts.

The minimum teaching rank in the Republic of Korea is 4th Dan (4th degree black belt). Does that mean therefore that a 4th Dan holder is an instructor? Not hardly! Not even close! Attaining the minimum required rank does not make one an instructor any more than it makes one a Master or a Grandmaster. Fulfilling all of the requirements, and receiving the proper license, makes one each of these things.

A candidate for instructor must also successfully complete the Instructor Course conducted by his or her national Yudo association, or an international instructor course conducted by the International Yudo Federation. This course builds upon the instructor training which the candidate has already received as an element of the ChungTongKwan Yudo rank requirements.

The candidate must also possess a minimum of two years of college education. This will be raised, over time, to a bachelor’s degree - or its equivalent - with a master’s degree in education being preferred.

ChungTongKwan Yudo is a military art. We teach the ability to maintain, or help restore, one’s health on one end of our spectrum and the ability to kill or cripple, when your own life or that of another, hangs in the balance on the other end of our spectrum. You would not send your child to learn to read, write, and do arithmetic, from a teacher who is not a college graduate, why then would you entrust your own highly specialized education to an individual who does not meet contemporary society’s minimum educational standard for a teacher of children?

Is our degree requirement a barrier to otherwise qualified candidates who would like to become an instructor of ChungTongKwan Yudo. Not at all. Notice that we included the phrase “or its equivalent”. By the time an individual reaches the rank of 4th Dan in our style, they have achieved the equivalent of the specialized content area knowledge of a four-year degree. All that is missing is the general education requirements, i.e. the skills that mark an individual as an educated person. The credits for these courses can easily be obtained during the time-in-grade period between 3rd and 4th Dan, if they were not already obtained prior to this. They may be acquired by classroom attendance, distance learning, on-line education, or simply by taking the examinations for these subjects at authorized testing centers.

Our purpose is not to exclude good instructors, but rather to insure that ChungTongKwan Yudo instructors collectively represent the highest caliber teachers in this field of human endeavor and, that in doing so, they meet and exceed the standards expected of teachers in the 21st Century, not those of the 19th Century, as is the current standard in this field. The recognized military art organizations in Korea have adopted academic standards for their instructors, also.

As the final word on this aspect of instructor qualification, let me also point out that ChungTongKwan Yudo is working very diligently to establish appropriate educational opportunities for our practitioners to obtain academic credentialing commensurate with their military art studies. Although there is no regionally accredited military art degree program in the United States today, there are officially-approved degree programs in Europe and Asia. We are working with these programs.

The candidate for instructor must also have the written recommendation of his or her own instructor. This recommendation is weighed in future considerations, also. Should the candidate prove to be a poor instructor, or even a poor practitioner, the judgment of the recommending instructor may be taken into consideration in future decisions regarding their own ChungTongKwan Yudo career.

The candidate must be a graduate of the Instructor Course. Each national Yudo association must conduct at least one Instructors Course annually. The purpose of the Instructor Course is to insure that the candidate has at least the minumum knowledges and skills necessary to conduct education and training in ChungTongKwan Yudo. The International Yudo Federation standards for the conduct of the Instructor Course meet the standards established by the Korean Martial AArts Instructors Association, the ROK Yudo Association, and the Korea Hapkido Federation. One technical observor from the Federation must be present at every Instructor Course conducted by a national Yudo association.

To receive an instructor license, an individual must be a member in good standing of the Korean Martial Art Instructors Association (KMAIA), which is headquartered in Shihung City, ROK. “Good standing” includes payment of current dues, complying with the continuing education requirement, and maintaining the conduct and ethical standards established by the KMAIA. The KMAIA establishes the training and instructional standards in Korea, which are agreed to by all of the governing military art bodies and the smaller recognized arts in Korea. The ROK Yudo Association, Korea Hapkido Federation, and Korea Taekwondo Association are all members of the KMAIA. ChungTongKwan Yudo is also a member body of the KMAIA. As a member, we strictly adhere to the existing standards of practice in Korea for all of our world-wide programs.

Instructor licenses are issued by each national Yudo association to meet their program needs. Issuance of the license constitutes approval by the national Yudo association. The license is valid for a designated period of time and remains the property of the issuing association. The license may be withdrawn for cause, including (but not limited to) having been obtained by fraud, failure to meet continuing education requirements, or misconduct. The International Yudo Federation also issues instructor licenses as needed to accomplish its purpose and objectives.

Once an instructor receives his or her Instructor License, may he or she open a school and teach? No!!! A school requires a school license.

The knowledge, training, and skills, necessary to operate a school for the military arts are separate and distinct from the knowledge, training, and skills required to be a competent instructor. It takes a pretty big ego to think that one can be a successful teacher and run a successful school at the same time, and do all of this with the same set of skills. Unfortunately, a big ego is not a harbinger of success. Perhaps that is why most schools fail. We do not believe in supporting or suborning failure. We would rather see people succeed in their ambitions.

We also have a reputation to protect. Some instructors do not mind moving their school every 60 or 90 days, as the landlord throws them out.....but, we object to it. This is not a proper learning environment for a ChungTongKwan Yudo student, nor is an unsafe or an unhealthy training facility.

Kano Jigoro, Founder of the Oriental Martial Art of Judo, desired to be referred to by just one honorific title, that of “Sensei” or “Teacher”. He held it to be the highest accolade. We agree, that is why teaching is one of the key career tracks in ChungTongKwan Yudo, whether for the full-time professional or for the avocational part-time instructor, pursuing another full-time profession, occupation, or trade. It is also why we have approved a Master Teacher license, for those who continue their education and depth of experience as a teacher of ChungTongKwan Yudo.

Note that we have not mentioned “assistant instructors” or “junior instructors”. That was not an oversight. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Dan practitioners of ChungTongKwan Yudo all receive training in methods and techniques of instruction. Logically, these individuals will be used to help instruct lower-ranking students within a training facility. That has always been the way and probably will always be the way. We do not, however, license these individuals. When they assist in training others, they do so under the license, and liability, of the licensed instructor. Thus it behooves a wise and prudent instructor to keep a sharp weather eye on all instruction taking place under his or her license.

In this essay, we have described how ChungTongKwan Yudo carries out its mandate to maintain the existing standards for the Instructor in a traditional Korean military art. If the reader is a practitioner of ChungTongKwan Yudo and these standards are not being met at your training facility, we at the International Yudo Federation would like to be informed as to your observations. Please use the link on this website to contact us directly. If you are a practitioner of another art or style and the standards described herein are not being observed at your training facility, perhaps you should be asking yourself “Why”?