Black Belt Certification Info
Some of Our Certified Blackbelts...


Michael Boice: Kukkiwon, 1998
Sergio Lopez: Kukkiwon, 2005



April Sinclair: A.A.U., 2006
Brandon Warner: A.A.U.2006



Brian Warner: A.A.U. 2006
Adam Ruppert: A.A.U. 2005



James Ruppert: A.A.U. 2006
Kaitlin Ruppert: A.A.U. 2006


Karri Langston: A.A.U. 2006
Dylan Serna: Kukkiwon 2006

John
Serna: Kukkiwon 2006
KICKS follows Grand Master
Kit's guidelines and requirements. You chose to learn Martial Arts at
KICKS and you
have diligently performed your training, so you
are now eligible to advance to your next DAN. Certification was not an
issue or discussed at the time of your first
registration. In the same sense, specific certification was not guaranteed
or
promised to anyone, as advancement is up to Grand
Master Kit. However, you are now on your journey to becoming
a TaeKwonDo Black Belt and Master, so we will
cover such certificate issues.
In reality, all certificates
are close to equal (as long as the Grand Master signing the certificate is
recognized by a
world organization), but remember if you move or
transfer to a school that belongs to another organization, you might
be required to pay for that particular academies
federation or union certification dues (just like an Union dues).
If you are certified under
KICKS Organization, Amateur Athletic Union, National TaeKwonDo Union or the
World
TaeKwonDo Federation offered by KICKS, KICKS does
not 100% guarantee that every martial art or TaeKwonDo
academy will accept your certification given that
many academies have different requirements (different forms), guidelines
and rules.
Even though Grand Master Kit
feels deeply that KICKS meets or exceeds all TaeKwonDo requirements, there is
always a chance that you will have to certify
under another organization. Ask first to see if there is a Federation,
Association, or Union academy in the area you are
planning to move to. If you can't find an academy near you or you
relocate to a new academy, Grand Master Kit will
try to assist you with your transfer and if needed, at an additional cost,
register you with that organization.
Many things have changed with
many organizations over the last 4 years, but 95% of schools today accept your
ranking under their system even though they will
still require you to learn their guidelines and principles of instruction
and teaching.
Here is an example: If
you come from an ATA academy to a WTF academy or from a WTF to an ITF or TI
academy, you will have to have to certify under
each specific organization to further your ranking under each federation,
association, or union. There is no such
thing as an ultimate, universal certificate.
There are also no "better" or
"worse" certificates, just a separation between Martial Art and Sport
Certificates.
Grand Master Kit feels that learning the Martial
Art is far more important than just the sport. Grand Master Kit
recommends a prestigious AAU certificate or WTF
certificate. This certificate encompasses not just the sport, but the full
art and philosophy or TaeKwonDo.
Note: KICKS does offer other
certifications
Note: We are members of NTU,
AAU, WTF, & KICKS Org.
The Amateur Athletic Union
accepts all world recognized certificates (TI-AAU-WTF-ITF-ATA and Kwons), but
most
certificates tend to be from the WTF.
Either way, they both control the sport aspect of TaeKwonDo and any recognized
Black Belt may compete at the Olympics or any
other tournament if they qualify.
Thank You,
Grand Master Kit Mattson