Founder's Message

We sincerely welcome and congratulate you in joining for the Certified Taekwondo Master's program and becoming a member of the Master candidate group. Also, for you to become a Certified Taekwondo Master (Certified 6th Degree Black Belt) in about 7 years, you must well understand the following details and be able to comply with them.

1. In order for you to become a Certified Taekwondo Master, you must well complete "standard curriculum" for the total of 3,500 hours of education course which includes 3,000 hours of physical and 500 hours of mental training required by NCTMC. Also, during this period, you must conduct a minimum of 1,600 hours of volunteer service for your community. This volunteer service is an essential course of conduct required by the NCTMC and is more important than any other education course.

2. You must always observe a strict code of conduct for courtesy and manners toward your Taekwondo Master and all instructors in and outside the school in all places, and you must respect them in all aspects as much as it is possible. The point you must clearly know and comply with is that the Asian martial arts start and end with courtesy and manners. As most of existing masters do, a true master must be able to stake one's life to observing the rules of good manners and courtesy. If not, the Asian martial arts would not be able to continue in the tradition of such spirit, the Asian martial arts would have already disappointed from this world. And that is why I have been first and foremost emphasizing this point to all candidates striving to become Taekwondo Masters. That is because when you respect manners and courtesy and your master and instructors are strictly respected, your students will then respect you as well and will be able to become great become great Black Belts, martial artists and masters such as you. I emphasize once again that if it is especially truly desirable that your students obey their parents, be filially pious and become students who respect others at school and neighborhoods, then you must uprightly and thoroughly teach them good manners and courtesy. However, what is even more important is that before you teach your students manners, you must first become a person who possesses good manners in each and all circumstances. You must keep in mind that people are looking for a great master with well-learned manners as well as a good school that well teaches manners.

3. In order for you to become a Certified Taekwondo Master, you must conduct a community volunteer service for at least 1,600 hours as the NCTMC "STANDARD" requires. What you must not forget as a master candidate is that the significance of becoming a Black Belt means starting a life of a volunteer service for one's community and country. The meaning of becoming a master has a significant point of one becoming a leader who stands at the forefront of community service and works volunteer service for one's community and country. It is for this reason that NCTMC requires 1,600 hours or more of volunteer service from master candidates. Masters of NCTMC must certainly become volunteer service workers for their community and country and must become leaders who practice volunteer service. Before you speak about and teach volunteer service for community to your students, it is hoped that you would first show the example of taking the lead. If you do not take the lead in showing the example, your students also will not follow your teachings regarding the volunteer service for your community. Purposes of Taekwondo training are not limited to individual physical strength discipline, self-defense and other personal benefits, but we must also keep in mind that it also includes living a life of volunteer service for the good of the community and country based on the cultivated spirit of Taekwondo.

4. In getting one to possess self-confidence, spirit of service, furnishing of benefits to others, from the historical viewpoint, there were many which were bsed on the Christian spirit. Although I am not necessarily asserting that Taekwondo must become the Christian martial arts, I believe that it is reasonable to follow the historical truth and evidence. Namely, in each place where the Christian faith had entered and the Bible was read, there were achievements of freedom, equality, service for the society, sacrificing love toward neighbors, abolition of societal evil practices, equality in educational opportunity and so forth, and a brighter world has come forth according to the truth and evidence spoken through the history. We are only striving to learn and follow the teachings of such history. I hope that Taekwondo Black Belts and Masters put to practice such historical teachings to become individuals who will help the world become more peaceful and brighter. It is a very much well-known fact that schools which taught both the Christian spirit and Martial Arts produced a lot more greater Black Belts, Instructors, and Masters. It is also well-known fact that Christian martial arts has brought a more effective maximization of all-round overall education, and accordingly, it was also innovative in the change of character disposition and revision of human characteristics. We must remember that many parents are sending their children to Taekwondo studios in order to cultivate true human characteristics and upright character disposition for growing into great adults and becoming social leaders. Finally, we must keep in mind that the path toward becoming a Taekwondo Master is definitely not easy and the successful path can only be paved by those who emerge victorious in the battle against self. However, it is hereby hoped that you would become a great certified Taekwondo Master in about 7 years as a leader who serve and lead our society, and that you would become the teacher and a leading light for young American and it is also a firm belief that such could be possible.

Grand Master Paul J. Kim
Founder & president