"If I look like I am about to quit, I want you to force me to come!"

Mr. Oliver:

In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of the student/teacher relationship is trust. The student trusts that the teacher will give quality instruction in a safe atmosphere and the teacher trusts that the student will learn consistantly and with sincerity. To sum up, a good teacher has the student's well being in mind and the student trusts and follows the instructor's lead. Both the student and teacher must have respect for each other or the dearest aspect of the art dies.

In my 20+ years of training, issues have occured along the journey with not only my instructors, but also my own students. I resolved most of these issues, but it did not come from avoidance. It came from confronting the issues in a positve manner. I have seen many people quit training because of one thing or another and I feel very sorry for these individuals.

Before you give up training, please speak with someone concerning your issues. If you have quality instructors, they will attempt to understand and respect your point of view and hopefully all will be resolved. Remember, if the instructor is true, you are a valuable investment to the art, not a dollar sign.

Good luck

While a lot of your answers have been helpful, and have given me some things to think about, unfortunately the "on the ground" situation in Korea is somewhat different. My KJN has apparently left the Federation and joined a splinter group, following his own instructor. Against his judgement (and at the same time driving a wedge somewhat between us) I chose to test under the Federation in Seoul because I trusted their standards and methods. My KJN was not present at the test, nor was there anyone else who could have qustioned/explained what happened.

I also chose to not test with the splinter federation because they lost my respect when they took a clearly sub-standard student, lower in rank than me, and gave him 3rd dan teaching status. (He is affectionately known as "Danger Boy" because he is a danger to himself and others.)

When the Federation passed me, I asked my KJN why I was passed and his reaction was typical of most Koreans (pardon any offense this may cause, I am only speaking from experience), "Don't worry about it. You got the rank so keep studying". I am not obsessed with rank, nor promotion. I waited to test until I felt ready. I screwed it up and was passed anyway. I try to hold myself to certain standards of behaviour and my own ("skewed" I'm sure Anthony would say) sense of honour. I am offended that I was passed. I am not sure if that makes any sense to you. If not, I will try and explain later.

Another issue in Korean MA (again from practical experience), everyone passes. There is much less of the "Western" Master-student relationship here in my experience. It is mostly a teacher who is running a school like a business. As such, it is important to keep the classes full. With the kids at geup level, fine I can accept it to a certain degree. It is unfortunately necessary to keep them enrolled. If they do not pass, they do not return. Subsequently there are some truly terrible examples of kids practicing in the dojangs I have seen. (By the way, I am certainly no genious at the art, I am only stating my highly judgemental opinion.) After witnessing the last round of testing at my dojang, I told Anthony that I would not want to be part of a dojang that accepted that CLEARLY low standard of training. Hence my avoiding the new splinter federation.

I'm rambling and complaining now, so I will stop and think about this some more. If you made it this far... thanks and sorry.

Lorne,

Sorry to hear that.

If you were training at my school, I would have gladly failed you
Indeed, I do not pass the the students in both color and black belt gradings when the qualifications are not met. Here is an interesting observation though. The rate of people who drop out after being failed has been close to 100%. Well...basically everyone with an exception of one guy.

Now, you are saying that you are not obssessed with the rank nor promotion. However, to me, it sounds like you are. You are unhappy because your were given a belt when you knew that your performance at the grading was not up to par (in your own standard). You wanted to have a belt that means something and that signifies your training history and you are upset because now you end up having something that does not reflect the honour. That is an obssession with belt from my viewpoint.

Belt is a piece of cloth that you wrap around the waist to secure the uniform. What some kids in dojang wrap around their waist has NOTHING to do with your training. What belt you are wearing does not indicate nor control your achievements. The only benefit of achieving higher ranking is that it lets you to learn a few more patterns. If you don't think you are ready, just practice the old patterns few more years.

MA is overall training of both MIND and BODY. There is no way to have a standardized test for your advancement of mind and only you would know where you are in your journey. I have not been under a teacher for 11 years. No one tells me what to practice or how hard I have to practice. I do it on my own. Also, I do not tell my students what to do other than leading the exercise and providing some teaching and feedbacks on techniques. If I was making an army, I'd be extremely concerned about the level of individuals but that is not the case. How hard they push their body is their own business. They have been taught what to do if they want to persue a perfection or to push themselves to the limit.

You cannot be carried away by what others are doing. It is your own training and your own life. Sorry if the post sounds too harsh but I just wanted to share a straight opinion.

Wow... when put like that, it makes much more sense. You are right. When I meant I wan't obsessed by the belt, I meant that I was not obsessed with "getting" the belt, but I did want it to mean something. In a way, maybe the Federationhas done me a favour... it certainly means nothing to me now.

Food for thought... and I need time to digest. Thanks Master Gihm!

I tend to be tougher on myself than the test is. For instance, in the kwan to which I belong the testing for the Kumdo side of the house is actually rather cursory. For this reason I tend to become very compulsive about doing the form and the cutting. I'm not altogether sure my KJN understands this but it has never gotten in the way of my test performance. However, I DO remember serving as a partner to another person who was testing and I was in formal kneeling position for quite sometime while he went through the first half of the test. When it was time to present myself as his partner for the two-person forms--- you guessed it---- my feet were asleep. I struggled to my feet and sorta half-hobbled out onto the floor. He did a fine job, but not due to any help from me!!!

Best Wishes,

Bruce