Where We Stand On - Legitimacy and the Traditional Korean Military Arts

WHERE WE STAND ON - "LEGITIMACY" AND THE TRADITIONAL KOREAN MILITARY ARTS

In the traditional Korean military arts community, outside the Republic of Korea, we tend to hear the term "legitimate" used quite a bit. This term seems to ruffle the feathers of some folks, especially those who appear to practice the martial arts on the internet rather than on the mat. Let us examine the meaning and use of this term and look at the use of this term outside the martial arts. Let's look at it in three different areas, government, the professions, and religion.

In a monarchy, the presumed successors to the throne are those with a descending order of legitimacy. This succession is based upon the cultural and political tradition and values of the country involved, but generally relate to the blood-line of the royal family and the gender and order of birth of the claimant. In the modern world, the "legitimate" order of succession to a throne is well settled and understood by one and all. Any person outside that succession is considered not legitimate. Even a person in the line of succession, making a claim on the throne 'before their due turn' would not be considered to be making a legitimate claim to the throne. Thus, this concept of legitimacy determines who may wear the crown.

Lest anyone think this concept of legitimacy applicable only to a monarchy, let me bring to mind the fact that there are many in the United States who still question the legitimacy of the incumbent President of the United States. This is based upon real or purported irregularities in the last presidential election, even though the matter is now well-settled in law. Whatever view one may hold regarding that matter, the element of "legitimacy" became an important issue in 2000 as is seldom seen in an American election.

In the law of nations, a government must be considered "legitimate" in order to be recognized as having an accepted place among other nations. There are many people and groups in the world today who are denied nationhood on the very basis of this somewhat intangible concept. For such people, the absence of legitimacy as a nation has a cruel and very real effect. Inequities ranging from political isolation or denial of civil rights to servitude, privation, and even starvation or illness and death, can be the price for a lack of political or diplomatic legitimacy.

In the professions, two separate issues of legitimacy arise. The first as to legitimacy as a profession, the second as to an individual's legitimacy within a profession. It is generally accepted that to be a profession, a field of endeavor must have a unique body of knowledge that is studied over a number of years in a formalized manner, usually in an academic setting; that there is a strict - and enforced - code of ethics among practitioners; and that the body of practitioners is self-regulating. In the modern world, it is fairly settled that entry into a profession requires a graduate degree from a university and acceptance into the professional society representing that profession within the nation or province of one's professional practice.

The second set of questions then, relates to one's personal legitimacy within a profession. This is usually witnessed by possession of the appropriate graduate degree or degree's, membership in the appropriate professional society, and proper licensing where required. Misconduct may lead to censure and even expulsion from a profession, but matters of legitimacy do not relate so much to conduct as to proper credentials. To be sanctioned may be a social embarrassment, but to be exposed as not legitimate in one's purported profession is to be disgraced.

In Tibetan Buddhism, there is but one Dalai Lama. When one Dali Lama dies, the search begins for his successor. When a candidate for successor, always a male child, is found, he is examined in a process by which the claim of his legitimacy for this position, made for him by others, is measured. If approved, he is accepted as the legitimate successor to the deceased Dali Lama and the new Dali Lama.

In Islam, the division which now splits the Muslim world into Sunni and Shia results from a disagreement as to who was the legitimate successor to The Prophet. Once a political issue, contemporaneous to the life of The Prophet and those who knew him, his family, and relations, the passage of time has caused this question of legitimacy to become a divisive religious issue.

In the Christian community, issues of legitimacy have been debated for over 2,000 years. Eastern Church versus Western Church, English King versus the Pope, Pope versus Pope, the issues are historical, religious, political, complex, and always, very, very personal.

At the most personal level, the term "legitimacy" also applies to one's own parentage. Under English common law, which still is the law in many lands, including the United States of America, to be legitimate, one's parents needed to have been married at the time of one's birth - to each other. The legal term for an out of wedlock baby was, and remains, a "bastard".

As these examples attempt to point out, legitimacy is, or can be, an important issue. In some cases, it is literally a life and death issue. Further, the question of legitimacy is a very visceral issue. "Not legitimate" is not an epithet to be idly applied. How then do we use this term in the traditional Korean military arts.

At its core we apply the same standard to the military arts that are applied in government, the professions and religion. Let us examine the question carefully. I will use ChungTongKwan Yudo as an example.

Let us say that you are an administrator in a medium-sized hospital. Part of your responsibility is for a small security staff. A student at the nearby college applies for a part-time position as a security officer. You prefer to hire individuals with formal training in the fighting arts, especially for those who will be working the evening hours, as this applicant would, if hired. You are concerned, however, since you - and the hospital - will be responsible for what this person does while on duty, especially if anyone is injured in the use of a martial art technique. Among the items you ask the applicant to provide is a photocopy of the certificate for the highest martial art rank received. The next day, you receive the requested items. The rank certificate is from the national Yudo association for your country.

On your office computer, you e-mail this national Yudo association. They confirm that the certificate number you provided was issued to the person named on the certificate of which you have the copy. Thus, the rank is legitimate, within that organization. The association also confirms that the individual named on that certificate is a life member of the national Yudo association. Thus, you know that the individual will still be a member, should any liability issue ever arise.

Next, you go to the internet and contact the International Yudo Federation. The federation confirms to you that the national Yudo association for your country is a current and valid member of the federation, representing your country at the international level.

You also learn, from the International Yudo Federation website, that the particular "system" or "style" or "school of thought", the Koreans call it a "kwon", taught under the International Yudo Federation is called ChungTongKwan Yudo. You also learn that ChungTongKwan Yudo is the only Yudo kwon of the traditional Korean military arts that is authorized to teach Yudo outside Korea. Further, that it is called a military art because it is taught strictly for self-defense and has no sport aspect. Even further, you learn that ChungTongKwan Yudo has no attack and uses the attack itself to defeat the attacker, making such defense easily justifiable in any courtroom situation. Obviously, the military art training of this individual makes them an excellent candidate for the position you are looking to fill. We will leave the hospital administrator behind at this point, but let us continue along this path.

Who authorized the creation of the International Yudo Federation? ChungTongKwan Yudo both authorized the creation of the International Yudo Federation and directly supervised its initial organizational efforts. It will continue to monitor the activities of and provide philosophical direction for the federation as it grows.

Specifically, then, what is the name of the individual who started ChungTongKwan Yudo? No one! It simply does not work that way. The true Korean military arts are not cults of personality. Let us go back a little bit.

The Republic of Korea is a nation officially still at war. There is a universal male draft. Every new draftee knows and understands that he may be required to defend his country, and his home and family, with less than an hour's notice. Under such circumstances, the government has a compelling interest in the training of its citizens in the military arts.

Training in the military arts in Korea is training in warriorship. The traditional military art organizations are training citizen warriors in the classical tradition, not athletes.

Training in the military sports, i.e. Kukki (or national) Taekwondo, Olympic Judo, shooting, the biathlon, cross-country skiing, fencing, etc., is sport training. Training and competition for these sports takes place under the Olympic committee in Korea. These are separate and distinct from the military arts and the organizations which regulate the military arts in Korea.

The standardized curriculum for the military arts in Korea include all of the aspects of military training. This includes such things as survival swimming, emergency medical care, traditional medicine, map reading, tactics and strategy, etc., etc., etc. The military art kwon is quite literally the school of the warrior. That is the intention.

Martial arts and martial sports are much more limited in the training they provide. That is also the intention.

The Republic of Korea (ROK) Yudo Association is the organization in Korea for the traditional practice of the oriental art of Judo. Many of the elders of this organization personally trained under Kano Jigoro, the individual who founded the oriental martial art of Judo. They were promoted by him. After his death, and still later after the removal of the Japanese from the Korean peninsula following World War II, these senior black belts formed the Judo organization which continued to teach the martial art taught by Kano Jigoro, even after Kano's former students devolved the former martial art into an Olympic sport. To my knowledge, the ROK is the only country wherein Kano's own style of Judo is still officially taught.

When the Korean government determined that Korea would participate in the Olympics, and internationally in the sport of Judo, the Korea Judo Association (KJA) was formed. The KJA is the national governing body for Olympic Judo in Korea, and is Korea's representative in the International Judo Federation (IJF). The IJF is headquartered in Seoul, Korea. The IJF is the international governing body for Kodokan Judo as it is practiced in the world today.

In the decades since the division between the fighting system of Kano's judo and the Olympic system of sport judo took place in Korea, each has developed into highly complex systems. What began as something imposed upon the Korean people, has been changed into something uniquely Korean, and in both the art and the sport, Koreans have done very, very well.

In the Year 2001, the Koreans implemented a decision made a year before. The ROK Yudo Association and the Korea Judo Association, representing both sides of the historical lineage, jointly chartered Chung Tong Yudo or "Original Style of Judo" as a kwon, and for the first time in the history of the Korean people they headquartered a Korean art outside the Korean peninsula, in the United States. Further, they selected a non-Korean to head the new kwon. They also promoted this ChongKwanJang or Founding Grandmaster to the rank of 9th degree black belt in both their organizations. This event was recognized by the presentation of a "stone certificate", literally marking these events in stone for all future generations.

Given these easily verifiable facts, any reasonable and prudent person would be hard pressed to suggest that ChungTongKwan Yudo is not a "legitimate" Yudo kwon or that the rank, title, position, and privileges of the Founding Grandmaster of ChungTongKwan Yudo are subject to any shade of question.

There is an obscure but important additional point to be made here, before we move on. We have written that the home of the traditional Korean military arts is in Korea. Does this mean that ChungTongKwan Yudo or the International Yudo Federation are not legitimate because they are located outside Korea? Not at all.

The International Yudo Federation is a creation of the kwon for the purpose of conducting its programs internationally. It's authority derives from the kwon irrespective of its actual location.

ChungTongKwan Yudo, is a kwon of the ROK Yudo Association which, as we know, is located in Korea. ChungTongKwan Yudo is also a kwon of the Korea Judo Association, which is the national governing body, as we know, for Judo in Korea. ChungTongKwan Yudo's connections in Korea go even deeper, as we will learn. Except administratively, ChungTongKwan Yudo is headquartered in Korea.

[For the sport judo purists out there, let me point out that ChungTongKwan Yudo does not participate in the practice of Olympic Judo outside Korea. Further, that the International Yudo Federation does not represent itself as a sport judo organization, any more than the International Judo Federation (IJF) represents itself as a military art organization. The IJF derives its authority (as does its counterpart the World Taekwondo Federation) from the International Olympic Committee, which is clearly not a military art organization. National Yudo associations are, however, encouraged to make provision with the governing body for sport judo in their country, for those Yudo practitioners who would like such experience. Mutual benefit is a core value of Kano's art.]

Let us then look at the elements involved in the legitimacy question.

(1) Does the organization have a direct lineage to the Founder of the art?

(2) Is the organization licensed or "approved" in writing by the governing body for that military art in Korea?

(3) Is the organization a military art, a martial art, or a martial sport organization?

(4) Is the organization a member of the Korean Martial Arts Instructors Association (KMAIA) or a kwon of a KMAIA member body?

If an organization has a direct verifiable lineage to the founder of the art, is a member of the governing body for that art in Korea, is a true military art, and is a member or a kwon of a member body of the KMAIA it is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, a "legitimate" traditional Korean military art organization.

Let me mention the KMAIA and put its place in the scheme of things into perspective. At one time in Korea, disputes between schools or organizations were settled n a soccer field on Sunday afternoon, without a soccer ball. Egos being what they are in this field of human endeavor, disputes were quite common. Rather than see the military arts be banned entirely, by the government, an organization arose to address the issues facing the arts. Eventually - some might say with age and maturity - the personality issues gave way to larger issues. Today the role of the KMAIA is to act as an ombudsman for the arts and as the standard-setting organization for the traditional military arts. In many ways it acts in the same manner as the regional college accrediting agencies act in the United States, except at the national level for Korea.

The ROK Yudo Association is a member of this body. The Korea Hapkido Federation (KHF), the governing body for Hapkido is a member. The Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA), the governing body for Taekwondo is also a member.

The licensed instructors of the member bodies of the KMAIA, such as the ROK Yudo Association, KHF, and KTA, are individual members of the KMAIA. As such they must meet the continuing education requirements established by the KMAIA, or lose their license.

I used to write that in order to open a school in Korea, you had to be a member of the KMAIA. A webmaster, who maintains an internet bulletin board-type site, wrote me and informed me in no uncertain terms that I was in error. He asserted that he has martial arts contacts in Korea who had never heard of the KMAIA. He is right of course. But his words, rather than serving to condemn the KMAIA, advertise the lack of knowledge and standing that his friends have in the military art community of their own country. Unfortunately, the 1,500 readers that this individual has on the worldwide internet do not seem to understand that. Nor do they understand that this individual blocks all e-mail contributions from those who oppose his personal agenda or who write to correct his unorthodox views and specious opinions, presented as fact.

Some "Korean" organizations operating outside Korea maintain a "school" that is only open one week a year, when their members travel to Korea to train at the "headquarters school". Often this "school" is rented out to similar organizations during the rest of the year, to make the money for rent payments. These "schools" to which I refer are not legitimate schools, nor are the organizations which use such "schools" any manner of a legitimate organization.

Now you know what I mean by "legitimate". For a student of the traditional Korean military arts, "legitimate" means having a properly licensed instructor, in a licensed school, under a kwon or other recognized organization of a member body of the Korean Martial Arts Instructors Association. If this is not your situation, please understand that - regardless of what your instructor may call what you are learning and practicing - you are NOT participating in the traditional Korean military arts.

Very few people in the United States, and few who travel to the United States to attend a college, university, or trade school, would choose to attend an unaccredited school. Why then would a person choose to attend a school purporting to educate one in a traditional Korean military art, knowing that such a school was not accredited by the proper authorities in Korea and that their instructor was not properly trained and credentialed as an instructor?

Nor does it matter that the instructor or head of the organization was once properly qualified, many years or even decades ago perhaps. Beside the fact that the Korean arts are constantly evolving and getting better, would you pay for a college diploma from a person who retired as the President of a college or University some twenty or thirty years ago? If you would not do that for your professional or occupational education, why would you do it for your education in the military arts?

As the first, but no longer the only, international kwon of the traditional Korean military arts, ChungTongKwan Yudo felt the need to formally and officially associate itself with the existing national standards for these arts in the Republic of Korea. In 2002, after careful and deliberate consideration, ChungTongKwan Yudo was admitted as a member body of the KMAIA.

We have also been privileged to become only the second Yudo kwon to be cross-registered as a member kwon of the Korea Hapkido Federation. This is in keeping with the intent and the philosophy of Kano Jigoro, who founded the oriental martial art of Judo from which our traditions and lineage derive.

As a member body of the KMAIA, ChungTongKwan Yudo will be continually evaluated to ensure that we are providing to practitioners on a world-wide basis, that same high level of education and training that is being received by similar practitioners in the ancestral homeland of the traditional Korean military arts. Membership in the KMAIA is unequivocal proof that ChungTongKwan Yudo is not just recognized as legitimate within the Judo/Yudo communities, but that we are accepted by the entire traditional Korean military arts community, in the homeland of those arts. That, my friends, is what any reasonable and prudent observer must admit represents the ultimate "legitimacy", at the end of the day.

____________________

Postscript.

Some additional thoughts regarding legitimacy, which really do not belong in the above:

1. Does "legitimacy" make any particular instructor a better instructor? Not, necessarily. Public school teachers in the United States are generally required to have at least a baccalaureate degree and undergo the teacher certification process. Does this make every teacher a good teacher? Of course not, but they are "legitimate" members of the teaching profession.

2. Does lack of "legitimacy" make an organization a bad organization? Not necessarily. Lack of "legitimacy" does, however, immediately bring into question the content of its program, as to what is being taught and the quality of the instruction. Why would an organization which could achieve "legitimacy" in the Korean military arts choose not to be legitimate? It is irrational.

3. If you are approached by any individual or organization who or which purports to represent all of the Korean military arts, do not walk away. Run!

4. If you run across a person representing any organization which purports to be the only martial arts organization recognized by the Korean government, be polite. Do not start laughing until you have at least started walking away. The poor fellow may actually believe it.

5. There is another term for "legitimacy". It is called 'truth in advertising'.