General Choi Hng-Hi, Founder of Taekwon-Do

Attendance & Training

When I was a kid, like all other kids I couldn’t resist the temptation of running up the down escalator at the mall (I take the 5^th on whether I have done that as an adult). It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how that works. In order to make it to the top, you have to run up faster than the escalator is moving down. There is however, no way to stay in the same place if you stop running, as everyone knows, if you stop running you end up going down, backwards!

Taekwon-Do training is a lot like running up the down escalator. You are either going up or down, there is no standing in the same place. This includes flexibility, endurance and knowledge. That is why I have created the attendance policies at Centennial Taekwon-Do. They exist both to give students goals to meet and a metaphorical lesson to learn. The attendance and training policies are based on what General Choi taught; “constant and consistent training!”

At Centennial Taekwon-Do we do not use contracts like many “McDojos” and “McDojangs” (Dojang is the Korean word for school or gym) to force our students into training by obligating them to pay every single month whether they attend class or not. I have studied the business models used by many of these types of schools as put out by MAIA (Martial Arts Industry Association owned by Century Marital Arts Supply) and NAPMA (National Association of Martial Arts Professionals owned by Stephen Oliver). They use contracts not to ensure student training, but to ensure income. In fact, these types of schools count on students NOT training. They can rent small locations and get paid by people who aren’t even there. If their attendance (not enrollment) were to increase they would have to rent a larger location which would cut significantly into their profits.

My students may attend as few classes or as many classes each month as they want to. At Centennial Taekwon-Do we encourage people to attend classes as often as possible to gain the full benefit that Taekwon-Do has to offer. Our tuition is month to month with no contracts. No one at the school is forced to train nor pay if they do not attend during the month.

We do have an Attendance Policy at Centennial Taekwon-Do, which some students have criticized as harsh and unfair. Some have even quit over it. It is a simple one; students are expected to train actively. I have adopted a simple, widely accepted philosophy that twice a week for the Taekwon-Do hobbyist is acceptable as active training.  Students who cannot or are not willing to train often are always welcome in class because I feel that some training is always better than none at all!

The other part of the Policy that really has struck a nerve with some students relates directly to testing requirements. Each rank has a minimum number of months and number of classes they must train in order to be ELIGIBLE for testing. I like to remind my students that being eligible to test doesn’t mean they are ready to test. The other part of our Attendance Policy states that if a student does not actively train for 30+ days they are considered inactive and lose any accumulated classes prior to the inactivity that counts towards testing eligibility. I have had several students get quite upset and quit over this part of the Policy. Unfortunately, they believe since they have paid for and have taken the classes they get to “keep” them. What they don’t understand is that taking a month or more off is like stopping while trying run up the down escalator. I am trying to illustrate to my students using concrete numbers that you cannot take a month or more off and come back where you left off. Any student taking more than just a couple weeks off begins to lose flexibility, endurance, muscle memory and knowledge. They can’t “keep” the physical and mental progress made in those classes by taking extended breaks from training.

I had a couple of 4^th Gup Blue Belts quit over this Policy. The parents of these two teen students were quite upset. They had taken a month off without even saying anything to me. So after 30 days of no classes I assumed they had quit and their files were automatically deleted from the computer. Their annoyed mother complained that losing those classes was harsh and unfair. She asked if this was a common policy at other martial arts schools? My answer was; I don’t know or care what other schools do, my only concern is to provide the best training I possibly could at my school.

She continued to complain about the number of classes and frequency of training required to test. Let me reiterate, these are teenage 4^th Gup Blue Belts, not 6 year old White Belts. She said here 17 year old was focused on her studies and could not meet the requirements. I absolutely understand that. In fact I encourage academic excellence, it is a part of Taekwon-Do culture. I applaud her focus and diligence in her academic pursuits. However, both mother and daughter seemed to have missed an important lesson. They understood that hard work brings excellence in academics, but they didn’t understand the same principle applies in all other endeavors including Taekwon-Do. There is an old saying goes; “you get out of it what you put into it.” I find too often Taekwon-Do students expect to get more out of Taekwon-Do than they are willing to put into it. It’s like expecting to go as many miles on a half a tank of gas as you would on a full tank. That is a foolishness. The student that trains hard several times a week will obviously learn and progress more quickly than the student who shows up 3 or 4 times a month, that is simply the nature of life. Students who cannot or will not train as frequently should understand that their progress in skills and knowledge will be slower.

I am a full-time Instructor now and many of my students don’t think I understand the pressures of their lives like jobs, families, school and other hobbies that demand their time and attention. Indeed I am now blessed to devote much of my time to Taekwon-Do. However, when I was 18 and preparing for my I Dan test I was a senior in High School (Kent Denver, well known for its demanding work loads), I played Varsity Soccer, held down a job and was dating as much as I could. When I was prepping for my II Dan I was holding down 2 jobs and was newly married. I understand!

The amount of time each student can dedicate to Taekwon-Do varies and as an Instructor I try to accommodate their training. I have never told a student to quit because they can’t train more. I have however, told students that they cannot test for the next rank because they weren’t ready, and most of them have quit, demonstrating a complete lack of understanding of Perseverance, Self Control and Indomitable Spirit, obviously not Black Belt material. In my years of training I have seen many people from different backgrounds achieve Black Belts, businessmen and women, full-time mothers (and home school teachers), High School, Middle School and Elementary Students, soccer, football, basketball and baseball players. All of them had busy lives but found sufficient time and were willing to make the necessary sacrifices to earn their I Dan and above. The simple fact of the matter is that the less time you have to dedicate to Taekwon-Do training the more patience you will need. You may not get there as quickly as others or as quickly as you would like but you will someday make it!

This brings me to the next misconception that many students have; CLASS ATTENDANCE = TRAINING. Just because a student is physically in class does not mean that he/she is training or learning. Unfortunately, some students may be physically present in class but are not engaged in the training. When I chose the attendance requirements I relied on standards used throughout the martial arts. Having a number to point to gives me something quantitative that everyone can relate to, for example 24 classes. However, actual learning and progress can be much less quantifiable but as an Instructor I must judge based on my knowledge and experience if a student is ready to test and move on. To allow someone to move on before they are ready is, in my opinion unethical and actually stealing from the student. I will never allow a student to test if I know they will fail (unless I think it will teach them a valuable life lesson). This is usually where students decide to quit rather persevere, if they can’t test now they won’t test ever again. That logic has always escaped me.

Training and learning mean progress. That progress may be fast or slow depending on the person. Some students who are physically talented often progress quickly in the early stages White through Blue Belts. However, it has been my experience that most these type of students (they represent less than 10 % of the students in any given school or organization) rely almost totally on talent not on training and hard work. They are the same ones who “walk” through classes then put on the “A” game at testing. They may fool other students and even themselves but experienced martial artists see them for what they are. Inevitably, this type of student will get out of Taekwon-Do what they put in, they will falter and eventually fail. I have never seen one of these students make it past I Dan Black Belt.  The goal of training for any student at any level should be, "to be better today than I was yesterday and better tomorrow than I am today." -Thomas Smith

On the other hand the vast majority of us who do not have the natural born talent must work hard for everything we gain in physical skills, knowledge and experience. This type of person will eventually become a Black Belt, appreciating the experience for everything it’s worth. They will have learned to love learning. They will see challenges not as obstacles but as opportunities. They will truly excel in Taekwon-Do leaving the “talented” students behind.

What type of student are you?