This discussion of the test is moot for several reasons. For one, no one is forced to take the test, it is purely voluntary. There are other associations to join if it is that important. Besides, as Delbert has intimated, allowances can/will/have been made for all of us one way or another, and it really is not as vicious as people tend to think. If the testee does his part, beforehand and during the test, he will have no problems whatsoever. It is in the preparations that most people let themselves down. Another very key point is this: there will ALWAYS be this test for instructor certification in the TBA. It was designed almost 40 years ago by Master Chai, his father (at that time a lawyer/judge to the Supreme Court of Thailand) and his uncle (then the head of muay Thai/Krabi-Krabong training for the Thai army), taking into account legal, moral and physical obligations. It is now OUR tradition. No matter one's opinion, and they are all valid and justifiable, any TBA instructor would be welcomed into any muay Thai association in the world. Master Chai resisted for decades the application of a testing fee, contrary to every other martial arts organization I have heard of. Even now it is just $50. Yet people who do not wish to show themselves for 6 minutes have offered thousands for a certificate, even people with many fights in Thailand. The answer has always been and forever will be the same: No Way! Study the curriculum, learn the wai kru, get in the ring and show us your heart. And we will welcome you as one of us. It is your choice.
|