Pioneer Taekwon-do Association

Membership

Full Membership is open to any school of Tae Kwon Do that are willing to incorporate the Key Stages system into their syllabus, as well as adhere to a few basic guidelines to keep all clubs equal. A Full Member Instructor/Club must be able to grade their students to Dan level and beyond via the requirements of this organisations at its recognised gradings, adhereing to its guidelines and principles. The criteria we have in place is to ensure high standards are the norm at all dan gradings, so please read the following PDF to understand what is involved for Full member schools.

Associate Membership is available to any Tae Kwon Do school (including ITF, Ch'ang Hon, WTF or other) that wishes to be involved with this association but either can't change their syllabus or wish to remain part of another organisation as their main body, but is able to incorportae most or all aspects of the 'key stages' into their regular training at their own schools, even if their association doesnt enable them to be gradable.

There are three levels of membership:

Full Membership:
Full membership is FREE. A full member cannot be a part of any other major Tae Kwon Do Association that dictates what they can and can't teach within their schools, or insist that you attend Dan Gradings run by them ie. a Full member is fully committed to the Pioneer Tae Kwon Do Association. However, Full members can remain part of their current organisation as long as they grade dan grades via the Pioneer Tae Kwon Do Association requirements (basic requirements of some organisations, such as the WTF/ITF can & will be included as part of the gradings to ensure they are covered for certification purposes). A full member is also able to stay with whomever they currently use for insurance and grade recognistion.

Loose collaborations of local clubs is allowed, though they must all be in agreement with the policies of the Pioneer Tae Kwon Do Association and agree that Dan grade students grade until a Pioneer Tae Kwon Do Association panel following its regulations.

Full members gains the following benefits:
- Full association voting rights
- Membership includes both instructors & students within that club
- Discounted costs of group training sessions & seminars*
- Free training for instructors at group training sessions*
- Discounted costs of courses/seminars put on by fellow Pioneer Tae Kwon Do Association members*
- Help, support and advice on incorporating the key stages and other training elements into their current syllabus
- Free training in the key stages for instructors*
- Optional help and support with Kup gradings if required*
- Non-interference policy on Kup gradings
- In-depth and quality black belt gradings
- Full endorsement of black belts graded under this organisation

Associate Membership:
Associate membership is FREE. An associate member may be part of an organistion already, but Dan grades are not endorsed by the Pioneer Tae Kwon Do Association (though are recognised). Instructors are listed as members (optional). An associate member does not have voting rights with regards to how the organisation future direction develops. Their students are able to grade at one of the association gradings if they wish (at cost) to obtain certification via the Pioneer Tae Kwon Do Association (this is an optional extra not a requirement). Associate members are invited to closed group training sessions/seminars may be offered discounts to group training sessions & seminars.

Note:
Instructors/Clubs wishing to join the association will be required to present proof that they train in a manner consistant with the associations aims ie. a video or photos etc. OR, a club that is trying to change itself to the way the association requires may join (on approval) but will be required to show that they have changed their training methods inline with the association after the first year of membership. This included both Full & Associate members.