What is Accreditation?

Often i am asked what is someones accreditation?

Well sometimes that is difficult to answer to a person that doesnt understand Martial Arts.

So here we go.

A person can only be graded by someone higher then themselves.

A person who carries out the grading must be atleast 4th Dan in most styles

Some people breakaway from their parent organisation and seek to make up their own and expect it to be
accepted as legitmate. You wouldnt just go and start your own driver licence issuances would you?

You can start your own organisation just dont expect the rest of the Martial Arts community to take you seriously...pleease.

The accreditation should come through organisations like; World Taekwondo Federation, World Karate Organisation or forebearers like ChungDoKwan or JidoKwan or OhDoKwan; schools like this preceeded the World bodies many years ago. They are government supported and affiliated to bodies like the IOC and other sporting world assocaitions.

Your Master Examiner should have atleast accreditation in one of these orgs and you should be able to see it. It is not to say that they can't offer their own school certificate but you really want the Masters signature to mean something. It is not coming from a kellogs packet and other schools would then accept it a legit...

Dan/Degree levels; i love the way some people and it is often that they leave their Martial Arts School/ Organisation and then proceed to make their own style. They then go and start their own style lets call it CroBarDo... etc

Maybe they had a 3rd Dan in TKD, a 1st Dan in Karate, a 1st Dan in Aikido and so on (maybe..). All of a sudden they a adding up the Dans 3+1+1 = 5th Dan. It just doesn't work like that at all. If you continue to do a style and stay in that style then you can go and add to your Dans after relevant waiting and training periods, one would think under your Master Instructor.  But if you swap and change then you must go through the process and get the levels required in each and do your time in each (actively). If you stopped Taekwondo at 3rd Dan and then started your own style you cant just give yourself a grading promotion.  You cannot add them up!

Interestingly while there is someone who wants a shortcut to higher Dan/Degree status there will be organisations with dubious credentials to grade and give out certificates. Most people in the public will be none the wiser.

Be honest with yourself. My credentials are my dojang wall for all to see and time frames adhered to.