Message To WMDK Designees
From Larry Seiberlich

DESIGNEES,

I hope this message finds you and your families doing well.

It has been four months since the 2014 WMDK Zone Symposium, and it is time to revisit some of the initiatives that were established at that time, and update you on the plans for the 70^th Celebration.

Designees should be checking the WMDK website regularly.  A secured “Designee Section” and "interactive discussion forums" have been developed for your use.  You will need to be registered on the site and have proper access privileges to access the content in these areas. Phil Duncan can provide more information in that regard.

The Soo Bahk Do® Institute is a critical resource for all WMDK members and it is important that it is accessed by WMDK members in order to enhance their skills in, and knowledge of, Soo Bahk Do® and the WMDK.  The other aspect is their responsibility to contribute their own material to the Institute for the knowledge of other members worldwide.

Countries planning to send demonstrators to the 70th Celebration are to submit your demonstration videos on the Soo Bahk Do® Institute and instructions can be found here.

The members reading this secured site have demonstrated through their actions that they are in one way or another, stewarding the future of SBD and the WMDK.   The Minutes of the 2014 Symposium identify four areas that need the support of all national organizations to ensure a secure future for our martial art and its home.

• Support the Young Leaders Program in your country and cultivate those with the potential to take over what you have worked so hard to create and maintain. Each country has unique methods in this regard and are encouraged to share these approaches with other Designees and those in charge of national Young Leader Programs.
• Submit to the WMDK, the appropriate fees for the use of the License that only your organization has been given to teach and control Soo Bahk Do and access to the WMDK in your country.
• Your organization has been issued the sole License to use all of the WMDK Intellectual Property in your country. And when your organization accepted that License it agreed to protect that IP in your country by its registration, as required by the agreement.  This is a significant benefit for all of your members and particularly your studio owners.
• In 1989, a few of us asked the Founder what our mission should be as we stewarded the Art and the Moo Duk Kwan into the 21^st He said that he would think about it and let us know.  That started the Mission 2000 Program, which I facilitated.  When we had documented his vision, we agreed that:
  1. Although Mission 2000 was a product of the US Organization, the objectives and goals that he presented had meaning to Moo Duk Kwan Organizations throughout the world.
  2. Our members needed to ACT on these objectives and goals quickly and decisively.
  3. The Document would require an in depth review about 15 years later, as in 2015, and that new/revised model might be even more reflective of the WMDK as an “international members organization”.

At the 2015 Symposium, Glenn Sa Bom, representing Zone 1, introduced the idea that now is the time to develop a new/revised vision and thus a Mission 2025.  He kindly volunteered to coordinate the development of this document which will become, as did Mission 2000, our guide for many years to come.  This is an opportunity for all of you to help to create the future of the WMDK.

It is important that you are able to plan well in advance for your attendance at the 2015 Symposium.   Please find a Preliminary Symposium Schedule for your use in the planning process.  We do not anticipate that this Schedule will change significantly if at all.  Start and end dates are locked in as is the participation of the Korean Organization.

If you have not yet registered to attend, Designees need to complete this registration form, but do NOT need to submit payment. Your name will appear on this page after you have registered.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR THE 2015 WMDK SYMPOSIUM, SEOUL, KOREA

• Monday 26 Oct. – Arrive at hotel (same as KDJSS) – dinner at 6:00 – first meeting at 7:30.
• Tuesday 27 Oct. -- Meetings and clinics
• Wednesday 28 Oct. – Meetings and clinics
• Thursday 29 Oct. – Attend the KDJSS in the AM – meetings as necessary the rest of the day.
• Friday 30 Oct. – bus to another hotel.

The Korean Organization will provide ground transportation from Inchon Airport to the hotel and later, to the second hotel.

The Korean Organization will provide lodging at the hotel for the nights of 26, 27, 28 and 29 Oct, and all meals from dinner the 26^th to breakfast on the 30^th.

Please consult the WMDK Website for Frequently Asked Questions, schedules of other events which you may want to attend, such as the KDJSS, the 70th Anniversary Celebration and additional training.