USTC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S CORNER

Greetings to Taekwondo family members at home and abroad! USTC is adding to its list of milestone achievements by having hosted 4 Kukkiwon Master Instructor License Courses in the USA, and in four different cities- Herndon, VA; Tampa, FL; Oakland, CA; and Chicago, IL. Naysayers and fence-sitters are waiting for some disastrous occurrence to happen to USTC so that they can say "I told you so!" Instead, many Taekwondo practitioners are taking advantage of the opportunities being offered by USTC to promote Taekwondo education and certification by bringing Kukkiwon Instructor Courses to the USA. Kukkiwon President Seung Wan Lee was in attendance at the Kukkiwon Instructor Course conducted in Oakland, CA!

USTC is the parent organization for U.S. Kukkiwon. As such, we will begin to accept Kukkiwon Dan Applications in the very near future. Email notification will be sent out and there will be information available on the USTC website regarding that next important step in the future of Taekwondo education and certification in the USA. U. S. Kukkiwon is actively working with Kukkiwon President Seung Wan Lee in overhauling the previous system of Kukkiwon Dan Certification that left thousands of Taekwondo practitioners alienated from the Kukkiwon Certification Process. It is our hope that, working with Kukkiwon, we will be able to be more inclusive, rather than exclusive, where it relates to accepting Kukkiwon Dan applicants from other national organizations and other international organizations as well. Expect to hear more about this in the near future.

Again, I encourage all Taekwondo practitioners to come and participate in USTC educational courses and also consider becoming certified at the Kukkiwon World Standard through the courses that we seek to bring to USA Taekwondoin. Together we can maintain traditional martial arts traditions of Taekwondo and also ensure the global perpetuation of Taekwondo for generations yet to come.

~Bruce C.K.W. Harris

USTC Executive Director