As explained at the Symposium. Any black belt seeking a promotion to 5th dan or higher needs to apply to the curriculum committee. This application should be made for most of you as soon as you receive your last promotion. I have attached the form that should be submitted to the curriculum committee, and I recommend that everyone complete it and forward it to Larry Whelan and Todd Freeman. They will meet with you to arrange a curriculum for your next promotion. Below are my notes on the comments I made at the symposium.

Email addresses to send the attached form to. The form is a fillable PDF file.
Shihan Larry Whelan (lwhelan155@gmail.com)
Todd Freeman (nidan827@aol.com)

Curriculum Committee
I would also like to say a few things about senior dan ranking. We require a 9-month notice of promotion. Some feel we should be able to confer such a promotion at a whim. But let’s take a look at this. To go from 4th to 5th degree, a karateka should have 4-5 years of training, 5-6 for a Rokudan, etc. Thus, the high dan promotion is not a surprise. There are years of preparation and readiness. Anyone who has time in grade knows a promotion point may come up as notice was served years ago. To require a 9-month notice for someone who has been in grade the minimum has nothing to do with the promotion. Only the time necessary to complete the organizational process: A review of what that person has done and what that person is doing for the Kwanmukan.

Importance of the Curriculum Committee
It makes no sense for the Kwanmukan to automatically dole out a high dan rank if the individual is not contributing to the Kwanmukan. Then, there is also the need to ensure they comply with first aid, concussion training, and abuse training and can pass a background screening. The time to contact the curriculum committee is immediately upon receiving your Dan promotion. This gives you a chance to create your plan of action and requirements for the next promotion and confirms your commitment to Kwanmukan in some fashion.

Patrick Hickey