Is your Tae Kwon Do dan validated?

Answer 1

A Taekwondo dan (black belt degree) or poom (junior black belt, usually under age 15), can be "validated" in many different ways, depending on who your instructor is, what is the lineage of your instructor and/or school to earlier, recognized Kwans (family of schools), and any connection to an established Taekwondo organization, association, or federation.

For many students, the mere acknowledgement from their personal teacher (especially if the teacher is a venerated master with legitimate training, and proper credentials), is enough to satisfy their own validation. However, to avoid falling victim to the many frauds, and scam artist who claim to know the Korean art of Taekwondo, and to be qualified to teach, there are many well-known sources of official Black Belt Dan certification. The best way to be sure is to verify the unbroken chain of lineage from the original 9 Kwans recognized in Korea (internet searches of the name of your school / association can help with that)

Since Taekwondo is recognized as a Korean Martial Art (the national martial art and national sport of Korea), the only official certification of Black Belts in Korea (also made available to students world wide) is the through the Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul, Korea).

Kukkiwon Taekwondo black belts should be registered with the Kukkiwon in Korea. You can verify someone's dan level by visiting the Kukkiwon website (see related link below), and going to "Dan Check". You'll need the person's nationality (from pick list) full name (as it appears on their Kukkiwon certificate) and their birth date (in the correct Asian date format of YYMMDD).