TKD Policies

Tae Kwon Do Program

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Revised 09/09

 About Our School:

Pil-Sung Tae Kwon Do is a small family oriented Tae Kwon Do school. Our program is a careful mix of very traditional techniques, philosophies and respect while incorporating new modern ways of thinking and laid back fun. Our curriculum is a combination of both the original International Tae Kwon Do Federation (ITF) and modern World Tae Kwon Do Federation (WTF) series. Students can look forward to learning the traditional origins, original forms and point style fighting methods of Tae Kwon Do as created by the ITF, as well as the modern forms and modified Olympic style sparring and kicking techniques stemming from the WTF.

About Tuition Fees:

Tuition is due the first week of each month. Students are expected to pay tuition on time. Students who do not maintain their account in good standings will not be eligible for promotions, or participate in classes.

We live in a cash and carry society. We buy goods and services, and once we’ve paid the vendor, we feel no further obligation to them.  But martial art training is different.  Yes you pay fees to support the School, but your traditional instructor is not selling a service. He is giving you a part of his life.  Qualified instructors and masters devote many years to mastering their craft. They spend countless hours in training halls, usually following days spent at full time occupations. They pay for their expertise with sweat, blood, and even broken bones. In fact a master instructor is probably the most highly trained professional in our society.  So monthly dues cannot pay for his wisdom. You see, the money you provide doesn’t pay for your training, it only supports your instructor and the school, making it possible for him to offer you his art.  The martial arts teacher-student relationship is one of ever growing “strength”. The instructor gives the student more then they can ever hope to repay. Subsequently, the student assumes an incredible responsibility and the only way they can bear this burden is through their unwavering “respect” and “loyalty”. 

A $10 Late Fee will be charged to any tuition payment made after the 7^th of the month. Tuition payments can be made as early as you wish; however, they must be paid by the 7^th of the month to avoid a late fee. In order for the school to keep tuition fees low, we need to have payments made in a timely manner.

Class Attendance:

Students are expected to attend classes on a regular basis. Twice a week is recommended. Students may come different nights each week and do not have to stick to a routine.  Please keep in mind; students who attend less then twice a week will usually not have enough practice, not fully learn their material and will not have put in enough time to promote as regularly as students who attend twice per week. Students who miss or plan to miss more than a week of classes are expected to contact Master Grogin and inform him either by email or phone.

Evaluations & Promotion:

Evaluations are conducted quarterly, every three months.  All students must partake in the evaluation event. Students who the Master feels are ready to advance in rank (some criteria: put in enough training time and have learnt the required material, skills that have grown beyond their current level) will be given a promotion notice, informing them that they have earned the right to test for the next rank.  STUDENTS ARE NEVER TO ASK TO BE PROMOTED.  Traditionally, asking to promote is a sign of disrespect. When a student is ready, the master will approach the student.  Ranks are taken very seriously and only those students who have a solid understanding of their required material, and whose skills are shown to be deserving of the next level, will be told they are ready to test for promotion.  There is no rush for promotion and the time each student remains at any given rank will vary. The ranks and belts merely indicate what curriculum the student knows.   Evaluations are conducted in front of judges who are black belts, masters and school owners from outside our school.  The judges evaluate all of the students on what they can improve upon as well as what they are doing well. They also decide whether or not the student is ready to be promoted to the next rank. However, Master Grogin has the final say, seeing as he understands what the students’ skills are on a regular basis.  Any student who attempts to be evaluated for rank, and does not pass the promotion will be given another opportunity at the next evaluation three months following the current (assuming they work diligently for those three months). 

All color belt & black belt students are REQUIRED to attend and participate in every evaluation. The majority of the students at any given evaluation will not be being evaluated for promotion; this is commonly referred to as Maintenance Testing. During a Maintenance test students do not have to break a board or perform any new material perfectly.

Evaluations take place during the following Months; February, May, August and November (Usually the first or second weekend), with our Anniversary Celebration being the May date.  With this in mind, it is expected that you attend all evaluations seeing as you know the dates in advanced.  The exact date will always be set and announced a minimum of six weeks prior.  Understanding things come up that are unavoidable, students will be allowed to miss evaluations, make-ups are allowed once per year. Any additional evaluation absences and the student will have to wait until the next evaluation date.  During evaluations, masters, black belts and school owner give up their free time to come and judge our students.  For these martial artists to attend an event for the benefit of the students, and the students to not attend is disrespectful.  The Martial arts are activities that require dedication.  School sports such as Baseball and Basketball require participants to attend games each and every week or more.  It is not too much to ask, to make four quarterly evaluations a priority over other activities.  Students who will be absent for evaluations, are expected to inform Master Grogin well before the day of the event. They must also schedule their make-up, if available, before the day of the regularly scheduled promotion ceremony. 

Promotion Ceremony follows evaluation.  It is during this event that students who were evaluated for rank will find out if they passed and all students will receive back their evaluations. Students who passed the promotion exam will be presented with their new rank at this ceremony. Usually, promotion ceremony will take place approximately one week after testing. However, at our annual anniversary celebration and other special cases, promotion ceremony will be the same day as the evaluation and is always scheduled to immediately follow. Just as with Evaluations, all students are expected to attend.  Students who are not present at promotion ceremony, will be presented with their new rank at the next class they attend, no rank will ever be given other than at the ceremony or in class.

Special Events: 

Special events are outside class activities designed to be a supplement to the students training, or group activities to build bonds and have fun as a martial art family. 

Activities such as workshops, seminars and tournaments are activities which usually have fees associated with them and are available for those students wishing to further expand their martial art training and skills. These activities when appropriate for the student are encouraged, but not required (with the exception of the tournament requirement). 

Activities such as and including; Promotion Ceremonies, Movie Nights, Parades and Demonstrations are activities that will usually have NO cost associated with them.  These are events, which the instructors are providing, are extra, above and beyond the students’ usual training.  While some students may not feel that these activities are necessary, they all possess a deeper objective of their training. This is exemplified though helping build unity within the school, utilizing different methods to motivate, inspire and aid in training, as well as educating students further on the martial arts and its history.  These activities are just as important and critical to the students training as regular classes. Knowing this, all students are expected to attend these events and treat them as requirements, with the exception of extenuating circumstances.  Students’ dedication to the school is considered before each and every rank promotion, as well as highly weighed when considering readiness to test for black belt.

Tournaments:

As the history of our school and students has shown, competition is an invaluable resource for students’ to learn. In the past, tournaments were never required; just made available and encouraged. Those students whom were interested were given the additional training they needed to prepare. Over time we have seen a significant growth in those students who decided to train and compete in tournaments. It is said that “the experience a student can gain from a single tournament is roughly equal to six months of regular classes.” This being said, starting at the rank of Blue Belt, all students are required to compete in one tournament a year. Students can choose which event, be it local or far away (we now have at least two local tournaments a year). They can also choose their events; sparring, breaking, forms, etc. To be considered for promotion beyond Blue belt, students must compete in a minimum of one tournament a year.

Martial Arts Outside of the DoJang:

Master Grogin and our school are very traditional with respect to many aspects of our Tae Kwon Do training; however he does have many modern open minded philosophies that conform to the changing time. Traditional, the Master/Student relatinoship was so sacred that training under any other instrcutor or in any other style was an unacceptable act of disrespect. Master did not allow their students to train with any other instructor, to perform their martial arts at any events not overseen by them, etc.

Having himself trained in many different styles of martial arts, Master Grogin is a big advocate for the benefits of cross training, guest teaching/visiting as well as forming connections with other martial artists outside of our own school. Master Grogin fully encourages all of these activites with one rule. PLEASE ASK PERMISSION.

Students asking permission to cross train in other styles, attend classes at another school as guests, attend a tournament without the presence of Master Grogin, joining martial arts organizations, etc. will never be denied. However Master Grogin will give you his honest unbiased opinion as to the appropriateness of your inqueiry. In return, it is expected that students never become involved in martial arts activity outside of the Do Jang without first letting Master Grogin know, and thus showing respect for the Master/Student relationship. Students’ discovered to have violated this sacred trust will be asked to leave the school.

Report Cards:

While we do feel that the lessons we teach at the school are invaluable to children and young adults, nothing can compare to the importance of regular education. Students’ performance and behavior in school is very important. All students are expected to carry the lessons and behaviors we teach in Tae Kwon Do class, over to their home and school lives. Students are expected to work hard, prioritize their school work over everything else, keep their grades up, and be role models in their classes, as well as being helpful and treating others with respect. In order to ensure that this is happening, students are required to bring in their report cards to be looked over by Master Grogin. Students are not all expected to have perfect grades, however they are expected to keep their grades up and not allow them to drop. The teacher’s comments on the report cards will be the items most focused on. Any students, who are not taking our philosophy and teachings out of the school with them, will be asked to take time off from classes to refocus on their school work before they can return.

Quarterly Cleaning:

On a quarterly basis in conjunction with out quarterly evaluation, an extensive cleaning is conducted on the studio. All adult students are required to assist with this in a traditional effort to build a respect and appreciation for our school.  This cleaning may take place in place of a regular class or at a time outside of regular classes. The adult students are required to assist unless an extenuating circumstance exists. Adults whom miss more then one of the four cleaning days will not be allowed to promote for their next rank.

Sparring Gear:

Light contact sparring practice is an essential part of the martial arts. No student’s training would be complete without extensive practice in making contact with their techniques and learning to be hit in a controlled friendly atmosphere.  In order to ensure ALL students’ safety (executer and recipient of kicks/punches) protective gear is required in order for students to participate in sparring. When students are ready to start sparring, they will receive a list of the required pieces of equipment.  Students may purchase their gear and start light contact sparring at the yellow belt level, but are not required to until green belt level. Students must have their own equipment and be actively sparring before they can test for ranks above Green Belt. 

All Sparring Gear MUST be purchased through the School to ensure conformity to safety standards as well as uniformity among the class. Students may choose ONLY black, white or red gloves/boots.

Student Reference Binders:

Students are expected to obtain a 1” or larger three ring binder.  Students should keep all curriculum based hand outs in this binder for reference.  In addition, other documentation for study will be provided, including information on history and the philosophies of martial arts and Tae Kwon Do.  The binder may be brought to class or kept at home. Binders will be checked quarterly before each evaluation to make sure they are current.  Students whose binders are not current will not be able to be promoted.  Items to make sure are in your binder; all forms and self defense requirements up to your rank, Rank Requirements, School and Tae Kwon Do Program Rules, etc. Please check our website or ask Master Grogin for a detailed list of all items required to be in the binder.

Rules:

Studio Rules & Tae Kwon Do Program rule sheets are available at the school and on the website. All students should pick up these sheets & review them with their parents. Any questions or concerns should be addressed with Master Grogin.  The rule sheets should be kept in your reference binder. 

Amendments:

Any changes to the above policy will be announced and distributed with a time allowance before coming into effect. 

Students and parents, please make sure you thoroughly read through these policies and completely understand them; any questions please feel free to talk to Master Grogin.  Any issues or concerns with these policies should be addressed with Master Grogin and only Master Grogin.