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Taekwondo instructors realize that each individual student possesses different natural abilities, such as size, strength, coordination, agility, etc. Once students have developed a proficiency in Taekwondo basics, instructors individualize their training to match their physical and mental capabilities so they may maximize their skills. While working as a part of a team, each student not only develops his or her individual skills, but shares these skills with other team members.

This does not mean there is a weakening of Taekwondo standards. A system of "social promotions" is prevalent in many boards of education and, regrettably, it is also prevalent in many dojangs. Social promotion involves promoting a student to the next level even if the student is not performing at that level. The reasoning is that the student will stay with his/her peers and will not feel like a failure. This is the equivalent of lowering the promotion standards, which weakens the significance of the promotion to the student and to other students who have worked hard enough to meet the original high standards.

When approached by students complaining that they have not been promoted in a long time. Ask them if they were doing their best. If they say no, then increase your efforts to help them to do their best. If they said they are truly doing their best, then it is your responsibility to explain to them that they have reached the limits of their abilities and that they may never be promoted again. Standards should never be lowered for a student; the student must rise to meet the standards. A student should not be promoted to a level that is not justly earned. Life is tough; not everyone gets what he or she wants.

The Peter Principle states that people achieve their highest level of incompetence. People get promoted until they reach the level where they cannot perform properly. When students are socially promoted, at some point they will reach a level of total incompetence where they are an embarrassment to themselves, the dojang, and the instructor.

Traditionally, the Taekwondo instructor is the "master" who teaches class as an autocracy (it is either my way, or no way). In modern Taekwondo, the instructor should teach class as a democracy. The instructor should be a coach who, while maintaining strict control and adherence to rules, teaches and guides both individual members of the team and the team as a whole toward the common goal of Taekwondo proficiency. A Taekwondo instructor should open to new ideas and techniques suggested by students and encourage students to question anything they think may be ineffective.

A fisherman heard a thump on the side of his boat and saw a snake with a frog in its mouth. The fisherman grabbed the snake and released the frog. The frog was happy and hopped away. The fisherman felt badly for the snake losing its meal so he poured some whiskey down its throat and let it go. Later, he heard another thump on the side of the boat and looked over the side. There was the snake—holding up two frogs in its mouth. This illustrates two lessons:

• You get more of the behavior you reward. It is easy to fall into the trap of rewarding the wrong behavior.

• Remember: Things that get rewarded get done!

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