before this turns into a kumdo/kendo discussion: 1.)kumdo is just the korean word for kendo derived from the same chinese characters. 2.) Kumdo's main association, the Korean Kumdo Association is a member of Kendo's IKF, and so the majority of kumdo dojangs in the US are recognized as certified schools by the other kendo dojos in the same country. 3.) The techniques are pretty much the same, but it's the styles that can be easily recognized as different when you watch a kumdo match vs. a kendo match. However, when you start watching the high level professional matches amongst japanese and korean senseis and sabumneems, there's no longer any real difference, seeing as they often practice with each other anyways. If you're going to feel like crap learning from a kumdojang instead, then just don't go, but you should probably know what more about what you're judging before you make any final statements.