How to know whether the certificate of Tae Kwon Do rank given to you is fake or not?

Answer 1

In order to determine if your Taekwondo rank certificate is a fake or not, you should do the following three things:

1. Examine everything that is written on it, including having any foreign language writings translated.

2. Make sure that any claims of affiliation to any officially established organizations, associations or federations are truthful.

3. Contact any such named organizations to verify that your rank has been duly authorized, awarded, and recorded with that organization.

It is important to understand that there are three types of rank certificates issued in Taekwondo: 1. Geup (grade - represented by color belt - sometimes spelled "gup," or "kup"). 2. Dan (degree - represented by a Black Belt with various numbers of stripes, or writings stitched on one end to indicate the level of degree). 3. Pum (Junior Black Belt, often represented by a half red and half black belt, issued in lieu of an adult Dan certificate for those under a specific age, such as 15).

Geup certificates can be, and often are awarded by the Dojang (school) at which you attend classes, and only in the name of the Sabeomnim (school head master). Sometimes, the geup is backed by a larger organization, or association, and if the name of such an organization is on your certificate, you can contact them to verify the authenticity.

Black Belt "Dan" certificates are typically backed and issued through a major association or federation (IE: Kukkiwon - World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul, Korea, ITF - International Taekwondo Federation, or any number of Kwan or other associations). If you pay for certification from a major legitimate source, you should be able to contact that organization's headquarters by e-mail, postal mail, or phone with the certificate number, and verify its authenticity.

Aside from a certificate being a possible "fraud" or "fake," by making claims of association, or backing of credentials that are false, there is also the issue of the significance of the certifying body. In other words, a Black Belt student who has little or no training and/or credentials as a certified instructor, can open a school, and issue geup or dan certificates in their own name without making any "false" claims connecting them to any other organization. They will state that their certificates are not "fake," but this does not mean that the certificate carries any weight. These type of certificates are typically considered "unauthorized" or "not backed" by a recognized source rather than being "fake."

If the certificate is cheap copy of a made-up document, printed off a home computer, or duplicated at a local copy company, then this should be a red flag as to the certificate having any real value. Also, if there are no indications on these school issued certificates of having any backing from a major organization, then this too should be a red fag, or concern that the certificate has no meaning outside the school where it was issued.

For some people, that doesn't matter, and the only important thing is if the Instructor who issued the certificate is a good teacher, and the student is learning well the art described on the rank certificate. However, without officially sanctioned standards being verified by authentic credentials, you have to trust the word of your instructor, and there are too many fraudulent people lying about their own credentials, and defrauding the public with imitation training, resulting in poor knowledge, and inadequate skills.