I read that the ITA (Independent TaeKwonDo Association) offers Kwan certification through their Kwan Registration and Accreditation Program. Basically, what they do is offer recognition to Masters who have created their own style, curriculum, and interpretation of the art.

I think this is kind of a nice idea. Being accredited is a big thing for any business endeavor, and the Martial Arts industry is really no different. It kind of echos back to the days of Korea before the Kwans were eliminated and brought under the umbrella of ITF TKD.

What does everyone think? Good idea, or bad idea?

It's good from a business stand point. But is there any way the orginization really knows these certifications are going to masters? It sounds like I could send in to be certified. I'm certainly not a TKD expert, but I could claim to be just to gain certification. Do they have any standards such as providing documentation of rank?

I am not exactly sure what the standards are, however, I would think that the applying instructors would have to provide a curriculum, along with other requirements to be considered for accreditation.

The board that approves the accreditation included GM John Pellegrini, GM Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, GM Floyd Burk, along with many others (for what its worth, George Dillman is included, as well).

As far as directly answering your question, I can't at this time. I will continue to look around, and see what information I can find about the topic.

Looks like another money-making scheme.

R. McLain

Well, that's easy to say, however, do we know what kind of money is being made off of the deal? I think more research would be in order before jumping into assumptions of that type.