I don't know who John D. is, or if that is even your real name, but you are incorrect about your certificate. There are over 5,000 orgainizations in the United States alone that certifies their black belts. Just because your certificate is not from the Kukkiwon (WTF) in Korea, does not mean that it is worthless. Organizations like the ITF (International Taekwondo Federation) with over 4 million black belts worldwide, or ATA (American Taekwondo Association) with over 400,000 black belts in the United States, or the 5,000 organizations in the United States DID NOT register with the WTF (World Taekwondo Federation) in Korea. Are you telling them that they are not REAL black belts?
The fact is that you chose to register with the ITMA (International Taekwondo Masters Association). You had a choice between the WTF, USTW (United States Taekwondo Won) and the ITMA. I keep all black belt applications on file. If you got a black belt from me, I have your application file. I will show you that you chose to register with the ITMA, and not the WTF or USTW.
However, I think your misunderstanding is that some instructor told you that the ITMA certificate is a fake and only the Kukkiwon, WTF certificate is real. The real motive with that instructor is business, the so called business that you condemn. He or she tells you that you are not a REAL black belt so that you have to begin all over again with them, and pay tuition and testing fees.
Most legitimate instructors and school owners respect other organization's certification. They can call the organization to verify the rank, or simply transfer the rank to their organziation. This might mean that the student has to learn different forms or techniques. That's because ALL schools and organization have different criterion for rank.
You don't deserve to be an ITMA black belt. Send the certificate back to me and I will cheerfully give your money back, or recertify you with the WTF. If you think that will make you a REAL black belt, you have missed the whole point of your training. It is not about the belt or certificate, but about what you learned and how you changed to become a martial artist.
You are right in that your parents wasted their money. Not because they paid me for your tuition, but because YOU didn't learn anything. Next time do some research before slander an organization like the ITMA. The 3,500 ITMA black belts and the millions of non-kukkiwon, non-Korean, black belts think you are an idiot.
God Bless America and may God Bless You.
Master Richard Na
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