How do you measure Taekwon-Do?

[Sanko]

How do you measure success in Taekwon-Do? For many success is
quantified by the number of medals won. The club that wins the most
medals at a championship is clearly the most successful, would't you
agree?

Actually, I do not agree and some instructors I've spoken to on my
travels so far in South Africa seem to share my concern. Because the
sport aspect of Taekwon-Do is the easiest to measure, it has
basically become the only measure of success. The problem is that
Taekwon-Do is more than a sport. It is also an art, a means to build
character, a medium through which to teach philosophy, morality,
virtue. Not to mention its function as a self-defence training tool.
All of these are very difficult to quantify. How do you measure self-
defence? Or morality?

I talk a little more about this dilemma on the Soo Shim Kwan blog:
http://sooshimkwan.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-do-you-quantifu-taekwon-do.html

How do you measure Taekwon-Do?

[Sanko]