
Most martial arts associations today offer very similar benefits: rank recognition, instructor certification, school charters, style recognition, etc. Our Association offers the same credentials to our members, and there's nothing wrong with that, but unfortunately that's where the benefits of most organizations end. Some will give you a patch, feature you on their website, give you the opportunity to host them for a seminar at your school, opportunities for rank advancement and all of this is great but where is the real benefit? Everything I've just listed is superficial. Don't get me wrong, having legitimate credentials is of the utmost importance but what else can an organization offer you besides that? Unfortunately, the biggest incentive of these organizations is to be able to name drop, to say you're affiliated with some well known people. It's a big ego stroke, but nothing more.