Modified Gup and Dan Rank Testing Requirements
Effective xx/xx/xxxx the following modified rank requirements will go into effect.
The Technical Advisory Committee has consulted the Kwan Jang Nim multiple times and proposes a much higher degree of Certified Instructor / school owner discretion about when and how gup level "'curriculum content" is introduced.
For discussion and conceptual understanding about the instructional flexibility that the TAC is proposing in the modified testing requirements, the reader needs to conceptually distinguish "curriculum content" from "rank testing requirements."
For example, the official Soo Bahk Do® curriculum may contain 1000 pieces of content but the "rank testing requirements" for a particular rank may only cover 2 curriculum content areas. "Rank testing requirements" serve as milestones to evaluate technical proficiency that the TAC expects students to achieve by each rank and to be standardized across practitioners of the same rank. Other traditionally higher ranked or lower ranked "curriculum content" may be introduced to students at the discretion of Certified Instructors / school owners.
One goal of the modified "rank testing requirements" is to provide Certified Instructors / school owners with greater flexibility and discretion about when and how the introduction of "curriculum content" occurs so that Certified Instructors / school owners can better match the introduction of content to the size of their student body and the nature of program offerings at their school and increase focus on student retention.
By providing increased flexibility and discretion about the timing of the introduction of "curriculum content" and minimizing the specific "rank testing requirements" Certified Instructors / school owners will have more opportunities to explore creative training methods intended to improve student retention by assuring that lower gups have a training experience that is fun, the students gain skill and achieve quality suitable for rank promotion.
External data suggests that a number of successful competitor schools operate with a 6% to 10% student dropout rate while Federation data indicates nearly 50% dropout among many Soo Bahk Do schools. Additionally, the results of a Federation pilot program indicated that when students were registered as members within 30 days, tested for their 1st rank within 30 days and ceremonially awarded their certificate in front of their peers within 30 days of beginning training that TWICE AS MANY STUDENTS were still training at the 90 day mark when compared to students who were not registered or tested within the first 30 days of their training experience.
"Curriculum content" that has already been published for different ranks can still be taught if Instructors are inclined to do so or find benefit in introducing it to students, but it may no longer be a "rank testing requirement." In short, Certified Instructors / school owners may introduce "curriculum content" as it is currently published for introduction or as it is presented for introduction in this proposal and/or it may be introduced in other manners deemed beneficial by Certified Instructors / school owners.
Under this proposal, the Technical Advisory Committee's focus is primarily on the specific performance standards, a.k.a. "rank testing requirements" that should be achieved by a student testing for a particular rank. The TAC is NOT concerned about when or how the student may be introduced to traditionally lower rank or higher rank "curriculum content" that is not a specific "rank testing requirement" for a particular rank exam, rather the TAC's priority is to assure that Certified Instructors / school owners are able to produce students capable of demonstrating the TAC's expected degree of quality and proficiency on the specified "rank testing requirements" for a particular rank.
- Certified Instructors who are testing and recommending students for rank promotions shall apply the modified "rank testing requirements" in examinations as the basis of pass or fail recommendations.
- Regional and National tournaments shall adhere to the revised hyung requirements.
- The published Member Manual shall be updated on the next scheduled reprinting. In the interim the modified requirements shall be published on the Soo Bahk Do® institute and other web resources for member reference.
- With this additional flexibility, instructors are invited to share your ideas with each other about how you compose the content of various programs in your school and/or how you might repackage gup curriculum content within your various school programs and/or ideas about advantageous ways fellow instructors might consider introducing different parts of the curriculum, etc.
