Dear Taekwondo Masters / Students & JSTARC Patrons:

For the past few years, I've always held the view that transparent Black Belt Grading may well be a bottleneck in India's Taekwondo growth story than anything else. But for some reason that I haven't been able to understand, the challenges Indian Taekwondo Masters and students face on black belt grading seldom receives the kind of attention it deserves. And it is evident from the non-transparent approach all the string of associations and federations have historically taken in the matter that is of prime importance and No. 1 agenda for Kukkiwon, World Taekwondo Headquarters.

I was at Kukkiwon twice within a time-frame of six months; firstly in September 2009 for the '1st Seoul World Taekwondo Forum' and later in February 2010 for the 'Kukkiwon Overseas Branch Program' and what was evident from the series of sessions that expectation of Kukkiwon from India is far beyond what India has so far achieved. As an Official Overseas Master of Kukkiwon it is hence my prime responsibility to provide a transparent and speedy platform for participating in the grading process and clear communication on timelines of receipt of certificates. My team has hence made all modalities of the exams proposed to be held on May 2, 2010 available on our website including exam fee.

In the past there have been two board aspects in Black Belt Grading Exams that have perturbed many Masters & students and I have advised my team to ensure that both aspects need detail attention and transparency.

1. Fees for exams: basic fee was unknown to the student, who invariably used to pay huge sums to get the certification. We have hence displayed the fee structure on the website.

2. Awarding certificate: many associations have in the past issued their own certificates and the official Kukkiwon certificate was never given. In many cases Kukkiwon certificates where given after a year. All this has led to disrepute to the Masters and Taekwondo fraternity in general. To ensure that we walk our talk on this matter for the very first time in India we are offering a "Money Back Guarantee". The details of this guarantee are stated on the website for public viewing.

I am confident that my fellow students and Masters would take this opportunity to upgrade their Taekwondo knowledge and grade themselves to International and universal certification from Kukkiwon.

The launch of much awaited IMPACT series is also our initiative to share with Taekwondo masses here in India world class concepts and events that propagate our vision to create World Champions from India. In the first series we are introducing 'The World Taekwondo Hanmadang' and later world events like Korean Open and world concepts like Extreme Taekwondo. Also on May 2, 2010 in a special seminar we would share with all of you forthcoming events planned by JSTARC and also preview into the much awaited and sought JSTARC franchisee model.

I end my note by a quote by Swami Vivekananda……

"Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it and live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success; that is way great giants are produced."   

Warm regards,

Nilesh Jalnawala
CEO & Technical Director | JSTARC