Question 099: Certificate mills

It is most acceptable today in the industry as my friend put it to get your higher an grades through correspondence because people move and want their independence. In the growing industry of "Mixed Martial Arts" people do not want to stay in traditional organizations...kids today want the UFC not the old school of being "sub ordinate" to a Master until you are released at 60 yrs old and are a 9th dan or the Master dies.

Maybe in your state people like to stay put under someone else’s umbrella and someone else’s pocketbook I do not know but in the old USA people move around, people want their independence, want to train in other styles, share knowledge, teach and gain their own credentials.
I am a very strong advocate for hard work..I have done 31 yrs of it..I hate these McDojo schools out there that give rank especially some of these TKD schools around the country that give out black belts after 4 yrs of training two nights a week. That is not a black belt that is a joke!
I have been training in Martial Arts since I was 15 yrs old..I trained in a school that was close to the "true warrior spirit" as any.....we fought "no holds barred" bare knuckle most of the time. It took me 11 yrs to get my black belt...probably why at 25 I was state champion brown belt!? I am 46 now. That’s a total of 31 yrs. What gets me is there are Grandmasters out there in TKD who have less time. These are higher ranked black belts in TKD out there that have half the time and training/experience and broken bones I have had. And there is a long list of higher ranked black belts out there that I use to beat on a consistent basis at full contact open Martial Art tournaments and they may have gotten their higher rank "in person"