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I can remember a time when certifications & lineage were held on a pedestal. Those who had them –- at least in my young eyes –- were the elite. There were only a handful of authentic Masters offering certifications, Lineage ceremony's, and those holding them were the few and the proud. You had to earn them and become intrusted with the skill your Sifu was teaching you; and you better be careful in entering a relationship with the Sifu and not turn it into a Primadonna situation of here I am make me into your disciple. Most authentic Masters would do this for anyone after a long training relationship of several years as a parting gift to you in what you have skillfully accomplished. To ask for it is very American &  just rude.  

I will also ad that most of the time the fee was very low money cost, not like what is going on these days with the Qigong marketers aka Qi of big $$$'s. 

Now look at where we are. The seemingly hundreds of certification courses, DVDS, books etc. and now the colleges all trying to make a quick buck by marketing Asian Traditions & Culture... are know held by seemingly countless numbers of people. It's as if the Qigong Community, are trying to encourage the uneducated to spend literally thousands of dolllars for  these badges of honor so people will notice them. "Look at me! Look at me! I'm "certified" and worthy of your employment!"

Well, any logically thinking seasoned East Asian traditions Practitioner (that's all of us, right?) will tell you that certifications aren't really all that. Sure, they prove that you know how to come to classes, workshops, study, & know how to memorize a few concepts, and has good test-taking skills. And I I'm not saying that Qigong certifications are a waste of time & aren't difficult to pass you for sure must develop your skill & prove yourself.

I am saying, however, that simply passing a certification course doesn't necessarily prove what the person really knows and can execute in real-world scenarios. It especially doesn't prove what type of practitioner/teacher the person is going to be. There are many knowledable teachers that look great on paper but couldn't run a group if there life depended on it; and sometimes they are so self involved its all about them and not sharing anything tangible.

School of Lineage

I've known many, many people with no great Certification training whatsoever who have gone out healed and taught many people from their experiences from their private teachers & boom they do a superior job, their reputation build very quickly-"they get it what is takes" to work in real life experiences. They're now considered an "expert" just like anyone else in the field. And this is regardless of their so called credible training experience and true know-how, from what I believe what I believe to be skeptical institutions .

The real kicker is that the Western Community is sidelining the tradition of lineage and true acomplishment  for the fast certification. To me that's just wrong. It waters down the tradition and indirectly punishes those who really know their stuff. Qigong Certification Marketing practices by a few organizations is just plain wrong and does not work ; and if the country ever goes into regualtion of Qigong practices this will ruin this imported tradition. Who will regulate them?

The Big money side of Qigong Certifications

Let's look at the business side of Qigong certifications. Are certifications a marketing ploy by so-called Qigong organizations to beef up their revenue? Likely so. But who cares? People are coming up with ways to make money, so more power to them. What about the flip side? Are certifications a marketing ploy used by practitioners to get potential students and clients to recognize them? Well, why not? There's nothing wrong with that. We humans do things for our own selfish reasons anyway. If it works for us, why question it?

When you get down to the nuts and bolts, certifications do have something to offer. I can think of several benefits right off the top of my head:

• You'll learn new material whether you believe you know all there is to know about a topic.
• You'll show others that you have the ability to learn new content or at least brush up on old ideas.
• You'll demonstrate that you're interested in bettering yourself and may just possess the personality traits required to succeed in teaching.

Even with these benefits I'm still down on what certifications stand for. They're a product of a marketer that's trying to define itself -- for good or for bad. The Western culture is trying to sideline lineage, years of training & devloping community for the fast buck. That being said, I do realize that certifications are an important tool for helping each and every one of us succeed in our pursuits. I have certifications and lineage documentation, but they were not down in a fast learn environment, thats the difference from the days of today.   The same can be said for degrees, continuing education courses, and so on. It's just how things work. It's not a perfect world.

So, does certification really matter? Thats really for you to decide. If you choose to get certified, then make the most of it. Take the time to learn every aspect of the material rather than just focusing on whatever it takes to pass the test/class. Making a habit of giving everything you've got helps instill traits of leadership and success that far surpass the value of any certification you could ever obtain. By mastering the material, you'll learn more, earn more, and create an environment so you can truly enjoy what you do.

In the final anaysis is not how imortant or great your teacher is...but can they teach you to do what they can do and at what cost.