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World Taekwondo Federation
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Dear global taekwondo family members :
For the World Taekwondo Federation, the year 2007 was meaningful to the development of taekwondo as the WTF resolutely carried out its reform and development programs as part of efforts to bring about a renaissance in taekwondo. The WTF places the highest priority on ensuring fair judging and refereeing at all taekwondo competitions. In March 2007, the WTF organized the Electronic Protector International Taekwondo Championships in Chuncheon, Korea to help determine the feasibility of adopting the electronic protector system at major taekwondo competitions in future. Continuing efforts by electronic protector manufacturers to perfect their technologies and positive evaluations of the use of electronic protector systems at taekwondo events at home and abroad will help pave the way for the introduction of an electronic protector system in future WTF-promoted and sanctioned championships. Also in July 2007, the WTF organized a week-long training camp at Woosuk University in Jeonju, Korea to select international referees who will officiate at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The event drew some 200 international referees from 57 countries. As a result of the WTF’s enhanced referee training, for the first time in the federation’s 34-year history, not a single protest was lodged at the WTF World Taekwondo Qualification Tournament in Manchester, England, and at subsequent continental qualification tournaments in Africa, Asia and Oceania. As you are all well aware, fair judging and refereeing is the key to the future of taekwondo as an Olympic sport. The WTF successfully hosted the 2nd WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Incheon, Korea, which greatly contributed to the expansion of the global taekwondo community. A re-energized taekwondo as a sport for all is expected to help increase WTF membership from the current 188 countries to well over 200 in the near future. As part of efforts to further promote the image of taekwondo and the WTF, the federation’s General Assembly adopted a WTF taekwondo anthem in Beijing in May 2007. In May 2007, the WTF also held its first International Symposium for Taekwondo Studies on the occasion of the 18th WTF World Taekwondo Championships, which was held in Beijing from May 18 to 22. The two-day
symposium was held at the Capital Institute of Physical Education in Beijing, under the theme “The Pursuit of World Peace Through Fair Play.” To be reborn as a genuine international sports federation, the WTF will continue to improve its financial transparency and administrative procedures to the highest global standards, as well as ensure fairer judging and refereeing. For taekwondo to guarantee its continued status as an Olympic sport, a successful taekwondo competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is crucial. Fair judging and model behavior by athletes and coaches based on fair play would greatly help enhance the image of taekwondo in international sports circles.
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From the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee has decided in May 2007 to increase the number of bronze medals to be awarded at the Olympic taekwondo competition from one per weight category to two, thus helping taekwondo give more hope and dreams to aspiring Olympians around the world. Taekwondo aspires to inspire generations through the practice of this sport.
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The WTF will continue to expand its assistance programs for taekwondodeveloping countries. In this regard, I proposed the creation of a “Sport Peace Corps” while attending the 1st International Peace Sport Forum in Monaco on December 6, 2007. The proposal envisions expanding the WTF’s taekwondo assistance program to involve all sports on a global basis, in cooperation with such international organizations as the IOC and the United Nations, as well as other international sports federations. Dear global taekwondo family members, To usher in a bright future for taekwondo and the WTF, I ask for your continued support and concern. I wish you good fortune and health. Best Regards,
Chungwon Choue President World Taekwondo Federation
Europe (49) 1.Albania 2.Andorra 3.Armenia 4.Austria 5.Azerbaijan 6.Belarus 7.Belgium 8.Bosnia & Herzegovina 9.Bulgaria 10.Croatia 11.Cyprus 12.Czech Republic 13.Denmark 14.Estonia 15.Finland 16.France 17.Georgia 18.Germany 19.Great Britain 20.Greece 21.Hungary 22.Iceland 23.Ireland 24.Isle of Man (Associate Member) 25.Israel
26.Italy 27.Latvia 28.Lithuania 29.Luxembourg 30.Macedonia 31.Malta 32.Moldova 33.Monaco 34.Montenegro 35.The Netherlands 36.Norway 37.Poland 38.Portugal 39.Romania 40.Russia 41.San Marino 42.Serbia 43.Slovak Republic 44.Slovenia 45.Spain 46.Sweden 47.Switzerland 48.Turkey 49.Ukraine
Asia (41) 50.Afghanistan 51.Bahrain 52.Bangladesh 53.Bhutan 54.Brunei 55.Cambodia 56.China 57.Chinese Taipei 58.Hong Kong 59.India 60.Indonesia 61.Iran 62.Iraq 63.Japan 64.Jordan 65.Kazakhstan 66.Korea
67.Kuwait 68.Kyrgyzstan 69.Laos 70.Lebanon 71.Macao (Provisional Member since 2002) 72.Malaysia 73.Mongolia 74.Myanmar 75.Nepal 76.Pakistan 77.Palestine 78.Philippines 79.Qatar 80.Saudi Arabia 81.Singapore 82.Sri Lanka 83.Syria 84.Tajikistan 85.Thailand 86.Turkmenistan 87.United Arab Emirates 88.Uzbekistan 89.Vietnam 90.Yemen
Africa (43)
Pan America (42)
91.Algeria 92.Angola 93.Benin 94.Burkina Faso 95.Cameroon 96.Cape Verde 97.Central African Republic 98.Comoros 99.Cote d’Ivoire 100.Congo 101.D.R. of the Congo 102.Equatorial Guinea 103.Egypt 104.Ethiopia 105.Gabon 106.Gambia (Provisional Member since 2007) 107.Ghana 108.Guinea 109.Kenya 110.Lesotho 111.Liberia 112.Libya 113.Madagascar 114.Malawi (Provisional Member since 2007)
134.Antigua & Barbuda 135.Argentina 136.Aruba 137.Bahamas 138.Barbados 139.Belize 140.Bermuda 141.Bolivia 142.Brazil 143.British Virgin Islands 144.Canada 145.Cayman Islands 146.Chile 147.Colombia 148.Costa Rica 149.Cuba 150.Dominica 151.Dominican Republic 152.Ecuador 153.El Salvador 154.Grenada 155.Guatemala 156.Guyana 157.Haiti 158.Honduras 159.Jamaica
115.Mali 116.Mauritius 117.Morocco 118.Mozambique 119.Niger 120.Nigeria 121.Sao Tome & Principe 122.Senegal 123.Somalia 124.South Africa 125.Sudan 126.Swaziland 127.Chad 128.Tanzania 129.Togo 130.Tunisia 131.Uganda (Provisional Member since 2007) 132.Zimbabwe 133.Zambia
160.Mexico 161.Netherlands Antilles 162.Nicaragua 163.Panama 164.Paraguay 165.Peru 166.Puerto Rico 167.St. Lucia 168.St. Kitts & Nevis 169.Surinam 170.St. Vincent & the Grenadines 171.Trinidad and Tobago 172.Uruguay 173.U.S.A 174.Virgin Islands 175.Venezuela
Oceania (13) 176.American Samoa 177.Australia 178.Fiji 179.French Polynesia 180.Guam 181.Kiribati 182.Marshall Islands (Provisional Member since 2007) 183.New Zealand 184.Papua New Guinea 185.Solomon Islands 186.Tonga 187.Samoa 188.Vanuatu
CONTENTS OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WORLD TAEKWONDO FEDERATION 2008, lssue NO.95 / ISSN 1599-3779
PART 01 COMPETITIONS
2008 Beijing Olympic TAEKWONDO Gymnasium
GOOD LUCK Beijing 2008 International
TAEKWONDO Invitational Tournament
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WTF Events Calendar 2008
011 128 Taekwondo Athletes Ready for Beijing Olympic Games 014 WTF Taekwondo Qualification Tournaments - Results 021 WTF Events Calendar for 2008 024 “Good luck Beijing”2008 International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament 026 2007 Beijing WTF World Taekwondo Championships 030 1st Int’l Symposium for Taekwondo Studies in Beijing 032 2nd WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
PART 02 PICTORIAL 038 Elements of TAEKWONDO ■ Moment of Triumph ■ Etiquette ■ Fair Play Spirit ■ Self-Discipline ■ Coaches ■ Referees
PART 03 INTERNATIONAL
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Anti-doping : Importance of ADAMS Referee Selection Training Camp for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games INTERVIEW : Internaitonal Referees & Athletes Overseas Non-Korean Taekwondo Masters ESSAY COMPETITION Joint Meeting of WTF Continental Unions Peace and Sport Forum 1st Korean Fair Play Award Ceremony New WTF Leaders Thai Taekwondo Association Offers Free Training for Orphans WTF President Offers Condolences to Bangladesh, Chile Victims WTF President’s Donation 2 Bronze Medals for Taekwondo Competition at Beijing Olympic Games Taekwondo Promoted to Category D for Greater Olympic TV Rights Revenues WTF Adopts Taekwondo Anthem WTF Names Megadeth Leader as Goodwill Ambassador Taekwondo Poomsae to be Included in Official Program of Belgrade Universiade 2009
01 PART 01. COMPETITIONS 128 Taekwondo Athletes from 64 Nations Ready for Beijing Olympic Games WTF Taekwondo Qualification Tournaments - Results World Qualification Tournament African Qualification Tournament Asian Qualification Tournament Oceania Qualification Tournament Pan American Qualification Tournament European Qualification Tournament
WTF Events Calendar for 2008 “Good Luck Beijing”2008 International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament 2007 Beijing WTF World Taekwondo Championships 1st Int’l Symposium for Taekwondo Studies in Beijing 2nd WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
2008 Beijing Olympic TAEKWONDO Gymnasium GOOD LUCK Beijing 2008 International
TAEKWONDO Invitational Tournament
128 Taekwondo Athletes from 64 Nations Ready for Beijing Olympic Games Come August 20-23, 2008, the taekwondo competition at the XXIX Olympiad will feature 128 aspiring Olympic champions from around the world. A total of 64 countries earned at least one berth for the taekwondo competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, compared with 51 countries at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and 60 countries at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Between September 2007 and January 2008, the World Taekwondo Federation organized its world and continental Olympic qualification tournaments to select the most worthy nations for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The qualification tournaments confirmed the
WTF’s ongoing efforts to enhance the standard of refereeing in the sport of taekwondo. Throughout the six qualification tournaments, only two protests were lodged; in both cases, the Competition Supervisory Board found no wrongdoing by any of the concerned refereeing officials. With renewed confidence and vigor, the WTF will persevere in upgrading the quality of refereeing in the Olympic sport of taekwondo. Through the world and five continental qualification tournaments, a total of 120 athletes from 60 countries were selected. Host nation China automatically earned four berths for the taekwondo competition at the Beijing Olympic Games. Four Tripartite Commission invitation places, which is better known as wild cards, went to
Afghanistan (Nesar Ahmed Behave, the men’s 68kg category), Belize (Alfonso Martinez, the men’s -58kg category), Niger (Lailatou Amadou Lele, the women’s -57kg division) and the United Arab Emirates (H.H. Sheikha Maitha Al Maktoum, the women’s +67kg division). The three parties are the International Olympic Committee, the Association of the National Olympic Committees (ANOC) and the WTF. Out of 107 applicants submitted to the IOC from about 60 national Olympic committees, the three parties selected the final four countries. Of the 64 qualified countries, 17 countries will participate in the Olympic Games for the first time. They are Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Belize, Honduras, Peru, Portugal, Switzerland, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Niger, and Senegal.
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Beijing 2008 Olympic Taekwondo Game Schedule
Comparison of Olympic Participating Nations 2000 Syney
2004 Athens
Games shows that the level of taekwondo techniques has been evenly improved, which is good for taekwondo,”said a ranking WTF official. The official said,“By continent, Africa made the most remarkable progress in taekwondo as nine African countries are qualified for the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, compared with nine at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and eight at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.”
2008 Beijing
Eight countries won four berths for the taekwondo competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. They are Australia, host nation China, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Korea, Turkey, the United States, and Venezuela. A total of 14 nations clinched three tickets for
Clarification on Repechage System The International Olympic Committee decided to award two bronze medals in the taekwondo competition at the Olympic Games beginning with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Ecuador was once deleted from qualified-nation list because of the result of positive doping case, but was later reinstated as the B sample was found negative.
and wishes all aspiring Olympians the very best in their endeavors for Olympic glory.
Papua New Guinea replaced New Zealand as the qualified nation for the female -49kg division, as New Zealand relinquished the berth.
In terms of the number of the qualified nations, Asia topped other continent with 17 countries, compared with 15 for Europe and the Pan American region each, 13 for Africa and 4 for Oceania.
The WTF hereby extends its congratulations to all the qualified national Olympic committees,
“The sheer number of qualified national Olympic committees for the 2008 Beijing Olympic
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However, the repechage system will not be abolished. The IOC Sport Department clarified on July 3, 2007 that two bronze medals have been allocated to taekwondo to avoid the winners of the two repechage tournaments having to fight another match to determine the (one) bronze medalist. The repechage system will be maintained and the difference will be that both winners of the respective repechage matches will receive a bronze medal, according to the IOC.
the 2008 Olympic Games. They are Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Great Britain, Greece, Iran, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Twelve countries earned two places for the Beijing Olympic Games. They are Afghanistan, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, France, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Sweden. A total of 30 countries won one berth for the upcoming Olympic Games. They are Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Benin, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Libya, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Argentina, Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, the Marshall Islands, and Papua New Guinea.
At the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, a total of 32 medals are up for grabs, as the IOC accepted in June 2007 the WTF’s request for an increase in the number of bronze medals to be awarded during the Olympic Games from one to two. In February 2006, the IOC decided to increase the number of taekwondo competitors by two male and two female athletes to 128 for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The decision came after the WTF’s request to the IOC for the increase in the athlete quota for taekwondo competition at the Olympic Games after the establishment of the WTF’s fifth continental union, the Oceania Taekwondo Union, in July 2005.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. 103 athletes from 51 countries competed for 24 medals, compared with 124 athletes from 60 countries for 24 medals at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
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WTF TAEKWONDO QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENTS - RESULTS
2007 WTF WORLD QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT September 28-30, 2007 / Manchester Evening News Arena / Manchester, U.K. The WTF World Olympic Qualification Tournament was held in Manchester, U.K. on September 28-30, 2007. With only 24 athlete berths up for grabs, competition was rife between the 301 athletes from 93 nations. Among the outstanding tournament results was Mali’s successful qualification through the strong showing of 2007 WTF World Taekwondo Champion Daba Modibo Keita, who became the only African athlete to qualify through the world qualification tournament.
TOP - RANKED ATHLETES
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World Taekwondo Federation
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2007 WTF AFRICAN QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT November 1-2. 2007 / African Union Hall, Tripoli, Libya The WTF African Olympic Qualification Tournament was held with the participation of 77 athletes from 26 nations in Tripoli, Libya on November 1-2, 2007. The tournament was Libya’s first ever opportunity to host an Olympic event, and the organization of the tournament is commendable. Libya’s Belgasem F. Salem was a driving force in successfully qualifying for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, thus ensuring that Libya will be in its third successive Olympic Games: the first in Sydney 2000 via a wildcard invitation and the second in Athens 2004. Salem was eventually named as Samsung’s Blue Passion Award Winner, which is awarded to the most valuable player of the tournament. The surprising qualification of two athletes’berths for Senegal was also another highlight of the tournament that deserves commendable mention.
TOP - RANKED ATHLETES
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2007 WTF ASIAN QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT November 28-30. 2007 / Phu Tho Stadium / Ho Chi Minh Ctiy, Vietnam
The WTF Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament was held with the participation of 83 athletes from 28 nations in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on November 28-30, 2007. The tournament will be remembered for the exciting performances of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan; both nations qualified for one and three athlete berths respectively.
TOP - RANKED ATHLETES
World Taekwondo Federation
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2007 WTF OCEANIA QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT December 1. 2007 / Anse Vata Sports Hall / Noumea, New Caledonia
For the first time ever in its history, New Caledonia played host to an Olympic event, although it is not yet a member nation of the WTF. A total of 19 athletes from nine nations participated in this inaugural Oceania Olympic Qualification Tournament. A fairytale-like story unfolded. Marshall Islands, which had just become the latest member national association of the WTF prior to the tournament, secured one athlete berth in the face of dominant performances from Oceania powerhouses Australia and New Zealand. The future is indeed bright in Marshall Islands. New Zealand secured four places in the taekwondo competition, but it relinquished one berth. Automatically, Papua New Guinea earned one berth.
TOP - RANKED ATHLETES
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2007 WTF PAN AMERICAN QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT December 8-9, 2007 / Velodrome, Cali, Colombia A total of 85 athletes from 34 nations took part in the WTF Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament in Cali, Colombia, on December 8-9, 2007. The passionate crowd helped generate excitement throughout the two-day tournament. While the traditionally strong nations took away with most of the athlete berths, it was the performances of first time qualified nations Ecuador, Honduras and Peru that stole the limelight.
TOP - RANKED ATHLETES
World Taekwondo Federation
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2007 WTF EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT January 26-27, 2008 /Ahmet Comert Sports Hall, Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul, Turkey, played host to the European Olympic Qualification Tournament on January 26-27, 2008. It was also the largest continental qualification tournament, with participation of 131 athletes from 43 nations, thus confirming taekwondo’s appeal in Europe. The standard of taekwondo was at such a high level in Turkey that many nations could have been deserving winners. The performances of the host nation, as well as the passionate crowd support it received, created a carnival-like atmosphere of fun and excitement. In addition, the organization of the tournament was well-planned, thus ensuring a hugely successful tournament.
TOP - RANKED ATHLETES
Series of Taekwondo Events Set for 2008 A series of major taekwondo competitions are set for the year 2008. The highlight is the taekwondo competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which is scheduled for August 20-23 in Beijing, China. China hosted the“Good Luck Beijing”2008 International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament on Feb. 26-29, which served as a test event for the Beijing Olympic Games. On April 26-28, the 18th Asian Taekwondo Championships will be held in Zheng Zhou, China. The 7th WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships are set for May 7-11 in Izmir, Turkey.
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World Taekwondo Federation
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Pascal Gentil of France
responds to spectators during the victory ceremony in the men’s +80kg category on the final day of the Good Luck Beijing 2008 International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament at the University of Science and Technology Beijing Gymnasium in Beijing, China, on Feb. 29, 2008. Pascal Gentil won the division.
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World Taekwondo Federation
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Olympic TEST EVENT
OLYMPIC TEST EVENT “Good Luck Beijing”2008
International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament
A taekwondo match is under way at the Beijing Science and Technology Beijing Gymnasium in Beijing, China for the“Good Luck Beijing”2008 International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament on February 26-29, 2008.
USTB Gymnasium
A total of 126 athletes representing 26 countries participated in the Good Luck Beijing 2008 International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament, along with 29 international referees from 26 countries.
The University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB) Gymnasium, which will play host to taekwondo and judo at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, is a state-of-the-art building with a seating capacity of 8,012 seats, out of which 4,080 seats are permanent.
Highlighting the growing popularity of taekwondo in China since its inception in 1995, a total of 618 Chinese journalists and photographers covered the tournament, thus comprising the majority of the 730 accredited media.
The gymnasium is designed to be environment-friendly; in fact, the gymnasium boasts an impressive installation of 148 fiber optic light pipes, more than any other venues to be used for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Beijing TV, the host broadcasting network for the tournament, broadcasted three hours of live competitions everyday.
On days when sunlight is strong and abundant, the light pipes will transmit natural light throughout the gymnasium. During the night, the light pipes will transmit light through the roof, thus achieving a striking nightscape within the university campus.
The 2008 International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament served as a test event for both the WTF and the BOCOG, which viewed the success of the tournament as a crucial evaluation of the operational readiness of the host nation. Through years of immaculate preparation and dedication of the BOCOG, the tournament received full marks in numerous categories, making it a resounding success in more ways than one.
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The USTB Gymnasium will also be used for the Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby competitions at the Paralympic Games in September 2008, which is why it is designed with the consideration of persons with a disability.
Letter of Appreciation To Presidents of Member National Associations & Global Taekwondo Family
Results of 2008 International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament
I would like to extend my greetings from the WTF headquarters in Seoul, Korea. I am proud to inform you that we had a very successful“Good Luck Beijing”2008 International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament on Feb. 26 - 29. I would also like to take this opportunity to give my appreciation to each of you for your support for successful WTF World and Continental Olympic taekwondo qualification tournaments over the last several months. Mainly thanks to your strong leadership and cooperation, as well as the concerted efforts of
the international referees, we brought a more orderly environment to the taekewondo competitions, in which athletes felt that they had been judged fairly and equally.
If we successfully carry this spirit of fairness through the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, we will convince the world how wonderful taekwondo is for the mankind.
As a result, there were only two protests at the World and five Continental Olympic qualification tournaments.
Once again, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to each of you for your continued support and dedication to the betterment of taekwondo and the WTF.
The Beijing test event was significant in that we showed the whole world that we were able to achieve fairness in our competition.
I wish you the best on your taekwondo activities. Sincerely yours,
We have together achieved our goal of no protest at the competition.
Jin Suk Yang Secretary General
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2007 Beijing World Taekwondo Championships
Attract Record Number of Countries, Journalists
matches were broadcast daily both live and in a delayed format around the world,”he said. A total of 16 gold medals were at stake at the Beijing World Taekwondo Championships, which was broadcast live for several hours per day during the five competition days by Beijing Television, while Korea’s KBS and Eurosport broadcast either in a live or delayed format. He said,“We also witnessed a great improvement in judgment and refereeing at this championship, but we have to do more to ensure fairer judgment and refereeing.” “The success of refereeing at major taekwondo championships is crucial for taekwondo to retain its Olympic status.” At the closing ceremony, the Fair Play Awards were presented to Croatian Filip Grgic, the gold medal winner in the men’s bantamweight division, and Chinese Jingyu Wu, the gold medalist in the women’s finweight category. Venezuela, Australia and Egypt received Good Fighting Spirit Awards, while Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan were chosen as recipients of Active Participation Awards. The 2007 Beijing WTF World Taekwondo Championships were a great success for good reasons. The championships, which were held at the Changping Gymnasium in northern Beijing, were held on May 18-22, 2007. It was the largest both in terms of the number of participating countries and the number of journalists. “The Beijing World Taekwondo Championships were a great success. The championships, which served as a rehearsal for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, drew about 1,400 athletes and officials from a record 116 countries,”said WTF
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President Chungwon Choue in his remarks during the closing ceremony at the Changping Gymnasium. Dr. Choue continued to say,“The opening ceremony was especially spectacular, which involved more than 1,500 performers and 800 volunteers.” The opening ceremony featured taekwondo demonstrations by Chinese and Korean taekwondo practitioners, as well as people with disabilities, as well as Chinese traditional performances, which all involved a mammoth
1,500 people. The Beijing championships became the first WTF-promoted taekwondo tournament, in which the WTF’s taekwondo anthem was played. The WTF approved a taekwondo anthem at its General Assembly held at the Loong Palace Hotel just four hours before the opening ceremony. “Reflecting the rapidly growing popularity of the Olympic sport of taekwondo, the Beijing championships attracted a record 335 journalists from 46 countries. The taekwondo
Francisco Martin of Spain and Jamie Dossantos of Canada were selected as the best male and female coaches, respectively. Five referees were chosen as the best referees of the Beijing championships -- Soo-kon Oh of Korea, Carmen Navarro Ingles of Spain, Ian Leafe of United Kingdom, Mohamed Hosni Ahmed of Egypt and Nelson Brizuela of Costa Rica. Daba Modibo Keita of Mali, the gold medalist in the men’s heavyweight division, was chosen as the recipient of the Samsung Blue Passion Award. In the men’s division, Korea ranked first in terms of overall medal tally, followed by Iran, Spain, Chinese Taipei and Thailand. In the
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2007 Beijing World Taekwondo Championships
Results of 2007 Beijing
World Taekwondo Championships
women’s category, Korea also clinched the team title, followed by China, Canada, Spain and Chinese Taipei. In the men’s division, Korea won one gold, one silver and four bronzes to win the men’ s crown, followed by Spain, Croatia, Cuba, Chinese Taipei, the United States, Turkey and Mali, which earned one gold medal each. In the women’s category, Korea ranked number one as it grabbed three golds and three silvers, followed by China with two golds and one bronze, and Spain with one gold and one bronze. gold.
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1st Int’l Symposium
1st Int’l Symposium
for Taekwondo Studies in Beijing
The inaugural International Symposium for Taekwondo Studies was held in Beijing, China, on May 16-17, 2007, drawing great interest from both the media and the public. The inaugural International Symposium for Taekwondo Studies was held in Beijing, China, on May 16-17, 2007, drawing great interest from both the media and the public. Under the theme“The Pursuit of World Peace through Fair Play,”the twoday event took place at Capital Institute of Physical Education in Beijing, China. The symposium, jointly organized by the WTF, Kyung Hee University in Korea, and Capital Institute of Physical Education in Beijing, took place two days before the start of the 2007 Beijing WTF World Taekwondo Championships. The biennial championships kicked off on May 18 for a five-day run at the Changping Gymnasium in northern Beijing. remarks during the opening ceremony of the symposium. The symposium, which featured two breakout sessions -- one on academic session and the other on the practical session - drew more than 300 people, including WTF Council members. Prof. Franjo Prot of University of Zagreb in Croatia and Dr. Willy Pieter, a professor of the School of Health Science, Science of University of Malaysia, served as keynote speakers of the symposium. About 30 papers were presented during the two-day symposium. “This symposium will serve as an excellent opportunity for taekwondo experts and academics around the world to exchange ideas and opinions, helping taekwondo be firmly positioned as an academic discipline in its own right,”said WTF President Chungwon Choue in his congratulatory
Dr. Choue continued to say,“The theme underscores the significance of this inaugural academic event of the WTF and the symposium will help promote the cause of fair play, and through this, contribute to world peace.” “As the first president of the Korean Committee for Fair Play set up last year, I believe that the fundamental philosophy of the Olympic Movement is to engage in fair play.” “In this regard, the WTF is enthusiastically striving to promote fair play in a number of ways,”he said.“As part of the WTF’s efforts to ensure fairness in judging and refereeing at taekwondo competitions, we have taken steps to introduce an electronic protector system.” In the practical breakout session, five people served as panelists. They are Prof. Prot, who also serves as president of the Croatian Taekwondo Federation; Mr. Rene Leveaux, a professor of University of Technology in Sydney, Australia; Mr. William Sullivan, a professor of Montclair State Univeristy in New Jersey in the United States; Mr. Usman Dildar, chairman of the London Taekwondo Academy; and Ms. Anne Gray Chase, an international referee of the WTF. The WTF plans to hold the second symposium on the occasion of the 2009 WTF World Taekwondo Championships.
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2nd WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
2nd WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships were Resounding Success
“We have witnessed a great improvement in the overall level of poomsae techniques this time, especially the volume of movement and energetic expression.”
The 2nd WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships, which concluded in a resounding success in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Nov. 6, 2007, showed a great improvement in the overall level of poomsae techniques. The three-day event, which took place at the Incheon World Gymnasium, drew about 500 athletes and officials from 50 countries. It also attracted great interest from both the media and the public. The WTF-promoted Poomsae Championships, which launched in 2006, as part of the WTF’s efforts to further expand the global taekwondo population, featured 16 divisions. The Incheon WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships, promoted by the WTF and organized by the Korea Taekwondo Association, saw a great improvement in the overall level of poomsae techniques, compared with last year’s inaugural Poomsea Championships.
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“We have witnessed a great improvement in the overall level of poomsae techniques this time, especially the volume of movement and energetic expression,”said WTF President Chungwon Choue in his closing speech. He continued to say,“It, however, requires a further improvement in the power and speed, and the coordination of rhythm and tempo.”
“Poomsae is a discipline of taekwondo that combines dynamism, accuracy and grace. My vision for poomsae is to make it a global sportfor-all,”WTF President Choue said.
At the Incheon Championships, Korea earned 11 golds and one silver. Spain won one gold, six silvers and three bronzes, while Iran clinched one gold, two silvers and four bronzes.
In the closing ceremony, WTF President Choue honored five best referees, who officiated the 2nd WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships.
Iran grabbed one gold, two silvers and four bronze medals, followed by Chinese Taipei with one gold and five bronze medals.
The five referees are Korea’s In-ok Yang, Australia’s Sin Boo Kim, Mexico’s Santiago Escutia, the Netherlands’Mustapha Moutarazak and Egypt’s Aly Mohamed Taher Nour.
Germany came next in the medal tally as it clinched one gold and three bronze medals. Denmark won one gold medal. Turkey grabbed six silvers and one bronze, while the United States earned one silver and two bronze medals.
The third and final day of the Poomsae Championships featured five categories. The three days of competition put a total of 16 golds up for grabs.
Australia came next with four bronze medals, followed by France with three bronze medals and Italy with two bronze medals.
Host Korea, which swept the 16 golds in the inaugural Poomsae Championships in 2006, did not send their players to three categories.
Five countries clinched one bronze medal each. They are China, Japan, Mexico, Russia and Vietnam.
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Poomsae Demonstration Taekwondo seeks beauty in skill and beauty in manners. In poomsae training, one executes a set pattern of techniques that have been designed in increasing levels of difficulty. The objectives in poomsae training are to master the techniques that make up the form and , ultimately to become so familiar with the form itself that the performance possesses aesthetic value.
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02 PART 02. PICTORIAL Elements of TAEKWONDO ■ Moment of Triumph ■ Etiquette ■ Fair Play Spirit ■ Self-Discipline ■ Coaches ■ Referees
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Elements of TAEKWONDO
Moment of Triumph
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Etiquette
Fair Play Spirit
Self-Discipline
Coaches
Referees
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Elements of TAEKWONDO
Moment of
Triumph The martial art-sport of taekwondo places great value on etiquette, self-discipline and respect for elders, among practitioners. For the sake of our athletes and for the sake of taekwondo's future, it is our responsibility to ensure that only the best athletes become worthy champions.
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Etiquette
Elements of TAEKWONDO
Etiquette Taekwondo's emphasis on etiquette is symbolized in training by the bow. Athletes bow to each other before engaging in sparring. Taekwondo is a martial art-sport whose ultimate goal is to make good people through training.
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Fair Play Spirit
Elements of TAEKWONDO
Fair Play Spirit Through taekwondo training, practitioners learn the importance of fair play. Fair judging and model behavior by athletes and coaches based on fair play is greatly helping enhance the image of taekwondo in international sports circles.
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Self-Discipline
Elements of TAEKWONDO
SelfDiscipline Through taekwondo training, practitioners learn how to overcome oneself. Taekwondo is a lifetime pursuit and it takes years of training to develop beautiful techniques and even more training to keep it.
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Coaches
Elements of TAEKWONDO
Coaches The role of coaches is gaining more importance. Fairer refereeing and model behaviors by both coaches and athletes based on the spirit of fair play are helping bring a more orderly environment to taekwondo competitions, in which coaches and athletes will accept the competition results and follow proper protest procedures, if necessary.
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Referees
Elements of TAEKWONDO
Referees WTF referees have the responsibility to uphold the integrity of our sport of taekwondo through fair and transparent refereeing. We should not allow a referee's intentional or unintentional mistake to change the color of an athlete's medal. The WTF places top priority on ensuring fairer judging and refereeing, as it believes that the future of taekwondo largely depend on fair judging and refereeing.
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PART 03. INTERNATIONAL Anti-doping: Importance of ADAMS Referee Selection Training Camp for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games INTERVIEW:Internaitonal Referees & athletes Overseas Non-Korean Taekwondo Masters ESSAY COMPETITION Joint Meeting of WTF Continental Unions Peace and Sport Forum 1st Korean Fair Play Award Ceremony New WTF Leaders Thai Taekwondo Association Offers Free Training for Orphans WTF President Offers Condolences to Bangladesh, Chile Victims WTF President Choue Donates 2 Bronze Medals for Taekwondo Competition at Beijing Olympic Games Taekwondo Promoted to Category D for Greater Olympic TV Rights Revenues WTF Adopts Taekwondo Anthem WTF Names Megadeth Leader as Goodwill Ambassador Taekwondo Poomsae to be Included in Official Program of Belgrade Universiade 2009
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Anti-doping Importance of ADAMS
ADAMS is a web-based database management tool to assist stakeholders and WADA in their anti-doping operations. ADAMS is a system for data entry, storage, sharing, and reporting which allows athletes and antidoping organizations (ADOs) to fulfill their responsibilities under the World Anti-Doping Code.
ANTI-DOPING
Importance of ADAMS
The World Taekwondo Federation will soon be embarking on a new project, as it aims to integrate the Anti-Doping Administration & Management System (ADAMS) developed by the World Anti-Doping Agency into its operations.
Core functions of 1.Athlete Whereabouts
ADAMS will be introduced in the 7th WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships to be held in Izmir, Turkey, in May 2008. ADAMS, what is it? ADAMS is a web-based database management tool to assist stakeholders and WADA in their anti-doping operations. ADAMS is a system for data entry, storage, sharing, and reporting which allows athletes and anti-doping organizations (ADOs) to fulfill their responsibilities under the World Anti-Doping Code. ADAMS supports the key anti-doping areas of test result information: result management, administration of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), athlete whereabouts information, and test distribution planning.
ADAMS
3.Clearing House
collect athlete whereabouts information by allowing easy-to-use online whereabouts submissions, by athletes or athlete-designated third parties
entry and sharing of doping control data for in and out-of-competition testing
monitor failure to provide adequate or accurate information
sharing of information on TUEs
send notifications directly to athletes as necessary make information accessible to other relevant organizations
sharing of information on Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF) and other Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRV)
track all modifications made in the system
matching of doping control data and laboratory results
conduct searches and print reports
making information available to relevant parties within the framework of the Code
2.TUE Management online submission of TUE requests (signed application still required)
entry and sharing of laboratory results
generating statistical reports for public disclosure 4.Doping Control
online management of TUE requests notification to athlete of receipt of abbreviated TUE
management of Registered Testing Pool (RTP)
notification to athlete of denial of TUE
creation of a Test Distribution Plan (TDP)
provision of TUE certificate to athlete
athlete selection
online notification to relevant parties of TUE expiry/change of status
creating and issuing Mission Orders
sharing of TUE information to all relevant parties
data entry of tests conducted
linking of valid TUEs to Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF)
results management, including hearing/sanction/appeal processes allows creation of detailed athlete profile and test histories
All data in ADAMS is stored in a highly secure environment, and access is carefully controlled to ensure that data is available to relevant parties only.
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Referee Selection Training Camp for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games A training camp to select international referees for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was held at Woosuk University in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, on July 29 - Aug. 4, 2007.
Referee Selection Training Camp
Reflections on WTF International Referee Training Camp By Martin Kenneally (Canada)
Referee Selection Training Camp
Referee Selection Training Camp for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
The week-long WTF International Referee Training Camp for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which continued until Aug. 4, drew a total of 187 international referees from 57 countries.
A training camp to select international referees for the
2008 Beijing Olympic Games kicked off at Woosuk University in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, on July 29, 2007. he week-long WTF International Referee Training Camp for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which continued until Aug. 4, drew a total of 187 international referees from 57 countries.
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Through the intensive training session, which served as the first stage of screening, the WTF ranked all the participating international referees. For the second stage of the screening, the WTF sent highly ranked referees to the WTF World Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Manchester, United Kingdom, in late September last year, and the WTF's five continental qualification tournaments. "We organized this week-long, intensive referee selection training camp as part of our efforts to ensure fair and transparent selection of international referees for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games," said WTF President Chungwon Choue. For the first time in the WTF's referee education programs, the training camp conducts basic medical checkups, such as visual acuity, colorblindness, blood pressure and hearing, and fitness tests, like a 50-meter sprint and standing long jump. For the evaluation of practical tests, the WTF set up an eight-member ad-hoc evaluation committee. WTF President Choue emphasized the importance of fairer judging and refereeing at taekwondo competitions in his speech for the participants in the training camp on Aug. 1, 2007. "The success of judging and refereeing at major taekwondo competitions is crucial in order for taekwondo to retain its status as an official Olympic sport," WTF President Choue said.
"The WTF has devoted much of its energy and time in working to ensure the fairest judgment and refereeing possible through stepped-up referee education programs," WTF President Choue said. "The WTF is also striving to introduce an electronic protector system." He continued to say, "We have seen much improvement in the WTF's operation and management of international referees at major WTF-promoted taekwondo events, including the 2007 Beijing WTF World Taekwondo Championships." Dr. Choue said, "To bring about fairer judgment and refereeing, the WTF adopted several measures at the 2007 World Taekwondo Championships. Among them were the introduction of the WTF-produced referee selection program and the evaluation of referees by coaches of national teams at the competition venue. Strong disciplinary action was also taken on the spot at a competition when undesirable incidents related to judging and refereeing took place."
Despite such improvements, however, he said, we still have to work hard to further improve our refereeing and judging.
the sake of taekwondo's future, it is our responsibility to ensure that only the best athletes become worthy champions."
"We should not allow a referee's 'intentional' or 'unintentional' mistake to change the color of an athlete's medal at the Olympic Games. We have to minimize referees' human error in judging and refereeing," he said.
"That is the reason why we have organized this training camp," Dr. Choue said. "Following this training, we will rank all participating referees and then send a certain number of highly ranked referees to the World Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games scheduled for Sept. 28-30 this year in Manchester, United Kingdom, and the WTF's five continental Olympic qualification tournaments."
"As WTF referees, you have the responsibility to uphold the integrity of our sport through fair and transparent refereeing. This is a code that both you and myself should abide by in our mutual task of bringing the spirit of fair play to our sport," Dr. Choue said. "The martial art sport of taekwondo assigns great value to manners and discipline among practitioners." He said, "Fairer judging and refereeing will help bring a more orderly environment to the taekwondo competition sites, in which athletes and coaches will accept the competition results and follow proper protest procedures, if necessary." "For the For the sake of our athletes and for
As part of our efforts to select the most qualified Olympic referees, WTF President said, we conducted basic medical checkups and fitness tests on all participating referees on July 31 for the first time ever in its referee program. "Once again, I would like to stress that the future of taekwondo largely depends on your fair judging and refereeing. A successful refereeing and judging at taekwondo competitions will help ensure that taekwondo is included among the IOC's 25 core sports for the Summer Olympic Games," he said. "In this regard, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games should be the most exemplary event for taekwondo ever in terms of refereeing and judgment," WTF President Choue said. "I wish each of you the very best result from this training camp and ask for your continued support for the further development of taekwondo and the WTF."
WTF President Chungwon Choue poses with participants in the WTF International Referee Training Camp for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at Woosuk University in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, in Korea on Aug. 1, 2007.
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R
EFLECTIONS
on WTF International Referee for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
Training Camp
By Martin Kenneally (Canada)
The author is an international referee and former international military competitor with CISM medals from Seoul (1991) and Lima, Peru (1994). He commands a 500man Infantry Battalion, TheThird Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Among many awards, he was the 1990 Army Athlete of the Year, and the 2006 Army Official of the Year. He holds a masters degree in Asian studies. --- Ed. t the call of the WTF President, 187 invited referees aged from 25 to 67 from 57 countries assembled in central Korea for a week of intensive training conceived by the vision of WTF President Chungwon Choue and personally directed throughout by the dynamic new Secretary General Jin Suk Yang and a distinguished 8-member selection panel.
Everyone felt the heavy responsibility of referees for their part in the future success of taekwondo and focused their efforts on high performance in the camp. Soon after, a hand signal session was held with Yong Gu Shim, the venerable and highly respected referee icon, who gave his lecture noting common errors based on careful study of recent international events. Training People to Become Good People
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The selection camp was held at Woosuk University and the Woosuk University taekwondo team made an important contribution to the success of the camp. Man A So Pan Gap Simnida!! Saturday July 28: Referees assembled at the legendary Kukkiwon headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where they were taken in two separate bus parties to Jeonju. Secretary General Yang personally met the buses and welcomed all to the university. The Beginning: Committed to Excellence Sunday July 29: The first day of training began with opening addresses in the main auditorium. Referees made new acquaintances and renewed many old ones. The VIPs present who comprised the 8-man selection committee during the opening ceremonies included Secretary General Jin Suk Yang and Technical Committee Chairman Eui Min Ko of Germany; Mr. Rene Bundeli of
Switzerland, chairman of the WTF Games Committee; Mr. Hong Ki Kim of the United States, chairman of the WTF Referee Committee; Mr. Kyong Myong Lee of Korea, chairman of the WTF Education Committee; Mr. Man Seek Choe, deputy secretary general; Mr. Myeong Koo Shim , KTA and WTF Senior Referee Instructor; Prof. Ik-ki Jeon, vice chairman of the WTF Education Committee; Mr. Steven Capener, SA; and Dr. Song of Woosuk University. Secretary General Yang in his remarks emphasized that the WTF was unanimous in their commitment to developing and selecting the best officials in the world. He emphasized that the selection would be challenging, fair, and would demand a 100% effort from the referees during a series of tests including a physical, written, English language, and practical tests. The purpose of this was to ensure that the best athletes in the world were recognized as champions and did not lose due to ignorance or error by officials. This was emphasized by the leadership as being crucial to the future success and Olympic status of taekwondo as a core sport.
After lunch, Secretary General Yang gave a stirring lecture on ethics and the recent history and status of taekwondo and the Olympic movement. A passionate speaker, Mr. Yang draws upon a lifetime of achievement, as a law enforcement official, counsellor, and Mayor of a large American city. He noted that taekwondo had been upgraded recently from E category to a D Category sport, but that intense efforts were still required to preserve Olympic core sport status, within the International Summer Olympics Federation. Secretary General Yang and Professor Kim explained the scientific process behind the physical fitness tests; the broad jump, 50-metre dash, and longer distance run that was cancelled due to the very high temperatures in a heat wave. Mr. Steven Capener, a former U.S. taekwondo champion and completely fluent in Korean, explained the written test format and the first day of training was over. Some referees were still adjusting to long distance travel and time differences, but many were able to explore the local town for Korean culture and technical meetings. The Second Day: Dynamic Action Training -- The Real Thing! Quickly moving into dynamic training, the morning was spent perfecting and calibrating
hand signals with Mr.Yong Gu Shim. The afternoon was fantastic: Woosuk University taekwondo team members fought live matches and in a sophisticated scoring system, four sets of corner judges were simultaneously able to score the match and everyone could watch the scores.
The dynamic session engaged referees in voicing their opinions and the interchange of ideas in the international environment was very educational. Not everyone agreed on everything, but everyone was united in their desire to improve taekwondo and officiating standards.
This revealed some discrepancies in assessing points that were observed and corrected. The overall reluctance to score punches was one salient observation. A very practical and rewarding day, thanks to the excellent technical preparation and the enthusiasm and efforts of the Woosuk University taekwondo team.
The Fourth Day: A few Sore Muscles!
In the evening, a memorable pickup basketball game was held, with Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Canada, USA, and Jordan referees making great friendships through sport. The Third Day: Say Ahhhhh The morning was spent conducting vision, hearing, blood pressure, tests and finding out the 1,200-m run was cancelled due to the above 40 degrees weather. In the afternoon, in groups the 50-meter dash and the broad jump were held. The broad jump standards were 2.10 m and the 50m standard 8.5 (men) and 10.5 (women), based on scientific studies of 35-40 year old non-athletic populations, but the standards were high and not everyone was able to reach them. A very interesting discussion started by Mr.Capener in the auditorium ensued about some of the recent developments in international competition and their impact on taekwondo popularity. A desire to return to the more exciting and complex techniques of the 80s and 90s was expressed with some potential rule changes for the future to make matches more dynamic and encourage athletes to fight desirable and necessary to maintain and increase taekwondo popularity.
The discussion on competition rules carried on with stress on scoring punches, the negative effects of kicking to the back on the excitement and flow of the game, ways to overcome fighters' passive styles and increase the actual time spent fighting rather than bouncing. During the Q&A session, it was agreed that the key to consistency and calibration was to have judges from many countries react in the same way to the same situation and agree on the levels of accuracy and power required to score a point all in under a second. No small task! For many the Q and A session was a highlight of the camp. A video session was also held in which key international events were analyzed in slow motion to show how some movements were shielded and to ensure standardization of kyonggo and ring management. The President Himself Speaks to the Referees WTF President Choue himself then gave a passionate speech to the referees. The highlights included his welcome and thanks to the referees who gave up their time and for many paid their own way. He personally articulated his vision to produce the best referees possible, a desire heightened by some of the negative experiences in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and the 6th WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 2006 He stressed that the quality of officiating would directly influence the success of taekwondo in
the Olympic sport status and how committed he was to the development of the referee education and training efforts. He wished the team well and thanked them again for their work. After a group photo session and lunch, the referees went back to work and after hand signals practise rehearsed the team entry and exit procedures to the ring. This paid great dividends in Manchester where the referee entry and exits were very professional. Secretary General Yang gave another motivational address, and then a new WTF publication, The Book of Teaching and Learning Taekwondo, by the WTF Education Committee was put on sale and immediately sold out to eager referees. The official tailor dropped by for referees to get the new blue uniform in case they had not already. Another evening came and a few more basketballs were thrown and technical meetings held. The Fifth Day; More Video and Analysis: "Don't be a rose in a garden of tulips"
The morning was spent with Professor Chun reviewing international matches and the afternoon with Referee Chairman Hong Ki Kim calibrating through video scoring practice. Mr.Hong Ki Kim gave an end of day lecture and outlined his thoughts on how to unify criteria and achieve consistency, whereby in similar situations different referees will take similar situations. The Referee Committee Chairman summarized his remarks by noting that the best referees work for years in dedicated practise, blending technical knowledge with experience, thoroughly understanding the rules and making quick, accurate, and consistent decisions. Effective referees review their performance and study their own strengths and weaknesses in order to improve. Immediately following Mr.Hong Ki Kim's lecture, the entire group quickly changed into formal clothes and went as a group to a reception at the Jeonju Cultural Center that included authentic and delicious Korean traditional food followed by a Pan So Ri (Korean traditional singing style), Farmer's Dance, and interpretive ballet performance. On the way back to the university, the Middle Eastern referees sang with gusto traditional songs. The Sixth Day: Hand Signals and The Scoring Test Day-Game On! There was some tension in the air as referees lined up for the hand signals testing. Five at a
time in front of the entire selection committee with video cameras on as they had been for most of the testing. The referees went through hand signals which by this time had become a sort of Referee poomse. After lunch - and a welcome ice cream snack for a hot humid daythe Woosuk University taekwondo team put their heart and soul into providing matches all afternoon that were judged by four corner judges at a time. The judges timing, decision-making, and consistency were all assessed. While waiting, I learned that we had three married couples in the camp, from Malaysia, Cyprus and Australia, making refereeing a family affair! The Seventh Day: The Written Test and Closing Ceremonies The final day of the camp consisted of an interview and English testing, the written test, farewells and closing ceremonies in which the stellar efforts of the support staff and hard work of the referees was recognized. The referees all received a number of gifts to take home with them, and the next major event would be to wait and find out which 54 referees were selected for Manchester! Manchester: The Olympic Team Trial Success Story Fifty-four referees were invited individually to assemble in Manchester and I was lucky enough to be among them. There were two days of training and three days of competition.
There were no protests and the senior leadership was delighted with the results in which the athletes decided the outcome in a fair and safe environment. More specialization was used as certain referees were used for center and others for the corner, inspection, and weigh ins. Morale was very high and the outstanding results were certainly directly related to the investment of time and effort in holding a referee camp and the continued efforts of the President, Secretary General, Referee Committee Chairman and other key leaders. The organizing committee did a super job of hosting the referees who especially enjoyed the banquet at a local Greek-Turkish restaurant.
Citius Altius Fortius: The Road to the Olympics and the Way Ahead The road to Beijing now has five key events in Tripoli, Ho Chi Minh City, Noumea, Cali, and Istanbul before the Olympic test event next year and finally, the Great Days of August when the Olympic Games will be held in Beijing. Selected referees will be invited to these events and the selection committee will make final decisions before a list is submitted to the IOC in February. The final 29 referees will do the test event in Beijing, (May) and then the Games themselves!
for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
Time for A Break
Athletes refresh themselves during a break in their competition schedules.
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Referee INTERVIEW
IMojtaba NTERVIEW Nazmdeh (Iran) Referee
Taekwondo is our beloved martial art and sport; we should support it as far as we can. Q : When did you start practicing Taekwondo? A : I started practicing taekwondo in November 1973 in Khorramshar City, Iran, at the age of 17. Q : What are the reasons for practising Taekwondo? A : First, I started for self-defence, but soon my master (Seyyed Hossein Safarian) taught me the right meaning of a martial art, which is discipline in body and mind. Now, after a long time of training and studying, I believe that taekwondo is a way of life and It Has Seriously Changed My Social Life to what it is now. Q : How important is Taekwondo to your career?
Mojtaba Nazmdeh
A : As a retired sport teacher, taekwondo has become my only career. I am now working as Chairman of the Education Committee, Hanmadang Committee, and Taekwondo Promotion Committee in the Iran Taekwondo Federation. As well as being a member of the Technical Committee and Technical Director to Games Committee, I am a full-time Taekwondo Man. Q : What is your Taekwondo philosophy?
Kukkiwon 7th Dan WTF 1st Class Referee WTF 2nd Class Poomsae Referee Taekwondo Federation of I.R.Iran Chairman Education Committee
A : I believe that I have got many things from taekwondo; now it is time to pay back. I believe that taekwondo masters should serve the young ones, push and lead them forward, and make them better masters than they are now. So, I am ready to serve taekwondo any time and in any bureau that I can .
Chairman Hanmadang and TKD Promotion
Q : What are your training activities? Any special training?
Committee
A : As a student of taekwondo, I focus on training basics, some sparring as well as poomsae and taekwondo Muye, which we call Hanmadang. I also practise Step Aerobics three times per week.
Member Technical Committee Technical Director of Games Committee
Q : Do you think the WTF refereeing system has been improved?
Q : What are your plans for 2008?
A : Sure, I have been a national referee since 1982 and an International Referee since 1991. There have been many changes in the Rules and Regulations, as well as to the equipments and protectors, as well as introducing new systems of training referees. In my opinion, the WTF may some day decide to separate referees from judges, as football did. It will help to ensure more skillful judgements. Also I believe that there should be a psychological test for referees, so as to determine whether one is suitable to judge in a competition or not. I am studying it rhigt now and when the results are ready, I will forward it to the WTF.
A : From an international perspective, I have started 2008 with the 20th Fajr International Tournament in Iran as the Organizing Committe. I will continue with the Bahrain Open, 4th Al-Hassan in Jordan, Taekwondo Muye and Hanmadang. In the domestic front, I have prepared many seminars on different subjects, such as Kyorugi, Poomsae, and Hanmadang in different provinces, as well as National Championships throughout the whole year. I think I will have no chance for real holidays in 2008.
Q : What is your opinion of introducing an electronic protector system at taekwondo competitions? A : Well, as in existing refereeing systems, human errors occur from time to time. Usage of electronic protectors may reduce misjudgements. The electronic protectors need to be fixed. but WTF can do it. Q : Who was your most memorable contestant and what impression did you have of the athlete? A : It was the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and I was the center referee for a female division match between Denmark and Australia. The Danish contestant went out of the boundary line from time to time and I had declared Kyong-go before. With about 15 seconds remaining to the end of the 3rd round. She ran out again. I knew if I declared another Kyong-go for her, this Kyong-go could make her lose. I did it and she lost. I don't feel guilty, because I did the right job. But as it was the Olympic Games, and if she was the winner, she could have fought in the final match. I still feel sorry for her. Of course, she got the bronze medal and the Australian got the gold medal. I have only two photos from my refereeing in Sydney, and both are from this competition.
Q : Do you know anything about the anti-doping and from where did you get this information? A : Yes, as the Chairman of the Education Committee in Iran, I gathered a booklet on doping and added it to the Instructors Seminar Textbook. I got the information from the NOC Anti-Doping Committee and the Medical Committee. Q : Do you have any suggestions for the development of taekwondo and the WTF? A : There are many people training taekwondo around the world, even disabled people. Only champions are recognized and encouraged by the WTF and most federations or associations, but we should pay more attention to normal taekwondo practitioners who have no titles. They are the real supporters of our society. By the way, the WTF should introduce and encourage real coaches of the champions as well as parents. Parents are our regular sponsors whom nobody cares about.
Q : What is your message to other athletes and friends? A : Taekwondo is our beloved martial art-sport; we should support it as far as we can.
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Referee INTERVIEW
IVictoria NTERVIEW Wu Serbin (U.S.A.) Referee
aekwondo came to me late in my life. I was a mature woman with a family when I began taekwondo training. At that time, I was doing my workouts at a health club where taekwondo classes were offered daily. I thought it would be nice to work toward the goal of a black belt. I never dreamed that taekwondo training would become a way of life for me. The added bonus was that my 9-year-old son, who already had a black belt in karate, decided that he too would like to take up taekwondo. From that day forward, we practiced together and went to tournaments, where he could compete and I would judge. I believe that because of our training, we developed a special bond and mutual respect that differs from what I enjoy with my other two sons.
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When I am not training, I am the director of Clinical Ancillary Services for my husband, a physician who owns five medical clinics. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the laboratories, X-ray department and nursing department. Because of a very heavy workload, there is little time for any other hobby like music, golf or travel.
Victoria Wu Serbin In 2008, I hope to continue with my referee career in both the United States as well as internationally. There is still a lot to learn and I hope you will say "Hello" if you see me at an event.
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Taekwondo is not just about kicking, punching and self-defense. One develops patience, resilience, discipline, fortitude as well as the outward skills of kicking and punching. Because of my taekwondo training, I believe I have developed extra reserve strength to draw from when difficult situations require immediate resolution. It is pretty much like being a competent referee, when you have to make the correct decision at the right moment with precision and incisiveness. I love to practice poomsae. Practicing poomsae not only strengthens the body with little impact, but also improves one's posture and grace. Practicing poomsae correctly demands that one counters the deleterious effect of the aging process. That is part of the reason why I have also become an international poomsae referee. Happily, my son Scott has also come along and served as a judge at the last two World Poomsae Championships, representing the USA. We must be the only mother and son international poomsae referee in the WTF.
As far as being an international kyorugi referee, like all I judge each time totally without preconception and without bias. Those who fight with their intellect as well as their heart and good sportsmanship always impress me the most. While very promising, I do not think that the electronic hogu is sufficiently developed enough to stand on their own at the time. I believe honest human errors are still more forgivable than errors created by the electronic hogu system; however, I feel that there is a place for the electronic hogu and I am certain it will be deployed after an appropriate period of testing and problem solving. Whatever happens with the electronic hogu, it is very important for all the WTF member countries to participate in the decision of whether to field the system or not. Implementation should never be a unilateral decision. Taekwondo is a lifelong endeavor. Age may catch up with you, but there is always something else you could do. You may not be to kick as well as you did 20 years ago, but you do not need to demonstrate a stand-up side kick to mentor and teach or referee and coach In 2008, I hope to continue with my referee career in both the United States as well as internationally. There is still a lot to learn and I hope you will say "Hello" if you see me at an event.
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IChen NTERVIEW Zhong (China) Athlete
2007 WTF World Champion Double Olympic Champion (F +67kg)
Q :When did you start practicing Taekwondo? A :I started practicing taekwondo on May 4, 1995 Q :What are the reasons for practicing Taekwondo? A :To leave my parents and to cultivate independence, I am the only child in my family, and like the apple of my parents’eyes. However I didn’t want to get spoiled; I wanted to be independent. Q :How important is taekwondo to your career? A :Very important, a life-changing experience. I learned the spirit of being positive and always to keep moving forward no matter how difficult my goal is until I accomplish it.
team’s dream over the years. I had to make it. Though the opponent was formidable, we were fully prepared, and I entered the court with no fear, but 100% confidence.
Q :What is your taekwondo philosophy? A :Failure is the fortune as well as success. Taekwondo is not only very significant in the physical part, but also for building a good personality.
Q :What is your message to other athletes and friends?
Q :Do you think the WTF refereeing system has been improved?
Q :What are your plans for 2008?
A :Yes, I do think so. More fair, with more justice.
A :Fight for my 3rd successive Olympic gold medal.
Q :What is your opinion of introducing an electronic protector system at Taekwondo competitions?
Q :Do you know anything about the anti-doping and from where did you get this information?
A :Advantages: there will be more kicks delivered in the contest. Disadvantages: The effect might not be powerful enough when the protector is hit.
A :Yes, from learning the World Anti-Doping Code and attending lectures about anti-doping.
Q :What was your most memorable contestant and what impression did you have of her? A :The final match of the 2007 Beijing WTF World Taekwondo Championships. The gold medal was not only mine but also my
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A :The most important thing to a taekwondo player is the spirit of “forgetting oneself,”and always have faith and make utmost effort for the faith.
Q :Do you have any suggestions for the development of taekwondo and the WTF? A :More competitions should be held to develop taekwondo and the WTF.
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Athlete INTERVIEW
IDaba NTERVIEW Modibo Keita (Mali) Athlete
2007 Beijing WTF World Taekwondo Championship
Keita wins sub-Arab Africa’s first world taekwondo title
2007 WTF World Taekwondo Champion Daba Modibo Keita snatched the first world taekwondo title, not only for Mali but also for all sub-Arab Africa, after he won the over 84kg weight division at the 2007 WTF World Taekwondo Championships in Beijing on May 21, 2007. In the men's heavyweight, Keita was one of the tallest and strongest guys in the championship. It was an easy final for him as he established a four-point advantage in the first two rounds without allowing his opponent any point. The third round was only trash time. With both contestants losing a point to penalty, Keita grabbed the first world title for his country. Keita had a long hug with his coach on the platform after winning the final. "I would like to thank the International Olympic Committee (IOC). the IOC has an international program to help African athletes, so we have opportunities to train around the world," said Keita. "It's not easy to be here. I just tore my back muscle before I came here to play. I have to wear bandage to train for backache," Keita said. "The heavyweight title is a great honor for Mali and also a great honor for sub-Arab Africa." It was a hard game for Keita in semi final against South Korean Nam Yun-Bae. Keita narrowly edged out the powerful South Korean 2-1 in overtime. "We lost in the disputed semi final in the 2005 Madrid WTF World Taekwondo Championships, so we decided to work harder after that and we proved our strength here," said Keita's coach Ramos Fernando.
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The best award of "the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation Chairman Award" was given to three people. Their names and essay titles are Mrs. Haya Fuad Q. Karadsheh of Jordan ("Teaching Taekwondo to Handicapped and Challenged Children"), Mrs. Anita Seo-Dornbach of the Netherlands ("Influence of Taekwondo on My Life and Attitude"), and Mr. Muhktar Kadiri of Ghana ("Eternal Passion: My Journey with Taekwondo").
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The special prize of "The Kukkiwon President Award") were presented to five people. They are Mr. Norbert Mosch of Austria ("A Taekwondo Life"), Mr. David Bailey of Scotland ("a Life Transformed"), Mr. Felix Ayensu of Canada ("Taekwondo - An Ultimate Test of Spirit that Turns Vision into Reality"), and Mr. Sergio Chavez of Mexico ("Relection").
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series of ceremonies have been held in Korea to honor award winners of the Overseas Non-Korean Taekwondo Masters Essay Competition in November 2007.
On Nov. 3, a farewell dinner party hosted by the WTF president for the award winners of the essay contest was held at the Ramada Seoul Hotel in Seoul.
The six-month essay contest, which started on March 1, 2007 until Aug. 31, was jointly organized by the World Taekwondo Federation, the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation and the Kukkiwon.
"Your strong love for and dedication to the promotion of Taekwondo combined to help Taekwondo maintain its Olympic status," said Mr. Daisoon Lee, vice president of the WTF and chairman of the TPF, at the dinner party on behalf of the WTF president.
Out of 52 entries from 25 countries, the Screening Committee selected 14 winning essays after a month of evaluation. On the occasion of the welcoming party for participants in the World Taekwondo Hanmadang 2007, which was organized by the Kukkiwon, the awarding ceremony of the Overseas Non-Korean Taekwondo Masters Essay Competition, was held at Hotel Ritz in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 2. The grand prize of "the Korean Culture and Tourism Minister Award," went to Senegal's Seck Dame, who submitted his essay under the title "This is the Life I have Chosen."
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The special prize of "the World Taekwondo Federation President Award" went to five people. They are Mr. Thomas Eugene Perry of the United States ("Lessons in Life: Lessons in Loyalty Learned through Taekwondo"), Mr. Richard J. Botticello Jr. of the Unites States ("The Martial Arts, My Church"), Mr. Abraham Hernandez Garnica of Mexico ("The Village of the Children"), Mr. Jack Rozinszky of Australia ("Journey of a Lifetime"), and Mr. Perparim Ferunaj of Albania ("Difficulties of Taekwondo Promotion in Albania").
He said, "In this regard, I ask for your continued support for Taekwondo and the WTF." "The WTF will post your winning essays on the WTF Web site and carry them in the WTF Taekwondo magazine, thereby helping them be read by both the global Taekwondo family and nontaekwondo people worldwide." While in Korea, the award winners watched several taekwondo competitions, including the World Taekwondo Hanmadang, the 2nd WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships and the 3rd Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships.
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Grand Prize This Is the Life I Have Chosen
Grand Prize
This Is the Life I Have Chosen. Dame Seck (Senegal)
There are many reasons why I started taekwondo. In order to understand them, it is necessary to review the circumstances of my life at the time I decided to start taekwondo and my life which has changed ever since. Neither my family nor my friends and neighbors predicted that I would become a taekwondo master, but deep in me there was something that led me to taekwondo all along. I have no regrets at all for choosing taekwondo as my career. As a matter of fact, I feel blessed to have chosen taekwondo. Because of taekwondo, I earned my living, met my wife, became famous, and discovered many other people and cultures. Furthermore, taekwondo made me changed for good and I am proud of what I am now. I was born in 1965 in Dakar, Senegal, a country located on the coast of West Africa. Its economy, predominantly based on agriculture, suffered from chronic poverty, unemployment and other social dislocation. Over ninety-two percent of the populations are Muslims. Almost two-thirds of the populations over the age of fifteen are illiterate. Senegal is estimated to be one of the world's poorest countries with unemployment rate as high as forty-three percent. About fifty-eight percent of the population is below the age of twenty, and fifty percent of women give birth before that age. When I made a final decision to be a professional taekwondo instructor, my parents did not approve because taekwondo was not well known in 1991 and could not help me support my family. Furthermore, I was already working as an accountant in a company, and it was very difficult to find a job. That is the reason why nobody in my family approved my decision. But my passion for taekwondo prevailed. Even though my father who served in the army was very strict, I was unruly and turbulent. However, I managed to be admitted to the prestigious military academic school of Saint Louis (Northern Senegal) called Prytanee Military, but was expelled later for the problems with my discipline. But when I returned to civil life, I realized the importance of education and began to study hard. Finally, I got a diploma in accounting.
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Discovering Taekwondo In 1986, I switched to taekwondo from karate which I had practiced for two years. My mother offered me my first taekwondo outfit, but she was doubtful. She thought that I would soon change my mind and leave taekwondo to find another martial art as I did with karate. It never occurred to her that her son would become the first professional taekwondo instructor in my country. I had always wanted my father to send me to a karate school during my childhood, but my mother, knowing my troublesome character very well, never agreed as she thought that it would aggravate the aggressiveness in me. My father served in the army, but sports had not taken an important place in our family. My only sport activities were the weekly physical education at school or football games with my friends. But I would say that I had abilities and qualities to succeed in sports, especially in athletics. In 1977, I voluntarily participated in school and university competitions and won the race in my category. So I proved to have an ability in sport, and that was why chose athletics for my career; however, I was more attracted to taekwondo. Later, in 1984, when I was 19, my parents let me join a karate club. In Korea, children generally start to learn taekwondo from the nursery school. However, I made outstanding progress in karate despite my late start. I worked very hard to lose weight and maintain a good shape. Noticing my progress and passion for taekwondo, my instructor made me take a test for black belt when I was only green belt after a year of practice. However, it would be unfair for other students who trained with me, so our instructor abandoned that idea. After two years of practice, I finally became the champion of the Yukokai club, defeating some members of the national team. The Yukokai club, at that time, was the largest karate club in Senegal with the largest members and champions. The reason why I switched from karate to taekwondo had to do with the lack of changes and challenges. I found myself getting bored and skeptical about the goodness of karate. My
skepticism was confirmed when I first watched a taekwondo demonstration which took place in 1985. I was surprised by the demonstration of the police academy students who were led by Master Sang Jin Lee, the first expert sent by the Korean government. Since there were no civilian taekwondo schools at that time, it was the first time I encountered taekwondo. So I decided to join a martial arts club which had many disciplines including taekwondo, and I was soon impressed by the techniques and skills offered by taekwondo. They appeared to me very dynamic and fit my character.
any rules of taekwondo nor received penalties from the judges. That type of free style competitions was never held again at that place because it hardly contributed to the promotion of taekwondo. Fifteen years later the Federal School of Taekwondo was founded at the same place where that competition took place, and it is an irony that I became the assistant of Master Park, a Korean taekwondo master sent by his government who had arrived in 1993.
Promoting Taekwondo First Experience in Taekwondo I started taekwondo with Master Ahmed DEM. He was the first taekwondo black belt in Senegal. He learned taekwondo in Egypt where his father served as a diplomat. When he came back to Senegal in 1982, he could not practice the martial art that he had learned because there were no taekwondo clubs in Senegal. But, one year after his return, Master Sang Jin Lee, the first Korean taekwondo master arrived in Senegal to teach taekwondo at the National Police Academy of Senegal. Thus Master Dem had a chance to continue to practice taekwondo. Because he had practiced taekwondo during his stay in Egypt, Master Lee asked him to assist him; so he was able to practice in the National Police Academy even though the instruction of taekwondo was not available for civilians. However, some problems occurred between Master Ahmed Dem and Master Lee. Some people also contributed to their conflicts. The problems were that the promotion test given by Master Dem was not recognized, and we could not participate in the national promotion tests. But this situation never blocked my master's desire to spread taekwondo. He managed to obtain the permission from the Ministry of Education to stage demonstrations in all schools in Senegal. He was the first person who brought the national television to the taekwondo clubs and also the first to organize the first martial arts open competition in Senegal which took place in USTD downtown Dakar, which featured taekwondo, kungfu and karate. Our team won the competition. Master Dem also organized the first taekwondo tournament in Senegal. It was an open competition with twenty-two contestants. That was real free style fights, using no protections such as headgears and trunk protectors. My opponent was the son of the French ambassador, and I beat him by KO. As the fight became violent, his mother in the audience criticized my way of fighting. Nevertheless, I neither violated
In 1988, we actively began to organize ourselves to promote taekwondo, creating a national committee which later became the federation of taekwondo. Some of the pioneer taekwondo masters in our country had already opened their private clubs. In this development, many national competitions were organized in 1989. The same year, I earned my first degree black belt. Things began to improve between the Korean Master Sang Jin Lee and Master Dem's students, and some of them had almost joined the police academy taekwondo club managed by Master Traor? who was fullly supported by Master Lee. The Korean master often visited the club. He appreciated my efforts and encouraged me openly. During a promotion test at the military academy, he introduced me as the best athlete in Senegal and predicted that I would win the next ambassador cup which was to take place a month later. The day before the competition, Master Lee came to the club to encourage me, wishing me a good luck, and I won the championship. I am a very ambitious person. The competition that I really wanted to win was the national championship because it was the only one recognized by the the World Taekwondo Federation. Senegal became an official member of the WTF only in 1995. Besides, no sub-regional or continental competitions were available. There was no taekwondo athlete in Senegal who could challenge me. I beat the best athletes one after another including a famous warrior named Samba who belonged to the club Busan. Later his son became
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my student in the national team. Despite the growing self-confidence, however, I was defeated by an athlete from Central Africa in 1991 in the quarter final of the NINA Cup. I had underestimated him because we were in the same club and he had never defeated me while practicing in the club. That experience taught me that I should be always humble in accordance with taekwondo spirit. In 1993 I was hired as a bodyguard for our political leader and presidential candidate. I used that opportunity to teach taekwondo to the candidate's secretary and the chauffeur. We used to go to bed very late but always woke up early and practice taekwondo. My experience as a bodyguard was useful to me. It made me get to know my country better, but also assured me of the usefulness of taekwondo in a number of aspects. Sometimes mobs surrounded our leader's car, but I managed to keep my leader out of danger. That sort of incidents were important because people including the secretary and the chauffeur witnessed the power of taekwondo, and their testimony and advertisement eventually made their friends and relatives interested in taekwondo.
The Birth of Team Dam When I came back from the election campaign, I found that my disciples were training themselves without an instructor. The club did not have a manager anymore since the founder Mr. Niang was hired as a bodyguard for the president of the Republic. He asked one of his assistants to manage the club and introduced me to him. Mr. Niang then asked me to replace him and encouraged me to develop taekwondo. We renamed the club Team Dam, and Mr. Niang agreed to become the president of the new club. The naming of Team Dam was carefully thought out. My idea was to make my name known beyond the level of taekwondo and other martial arts. My aim was to draw the attention of people and make them want to know what was hidden behind the name "Team Dam." I also wanted to pass to my students the knowledge and experience that I got from the masters of different martial arts throughout my career. At the same time, I wanted to teach my students how to touch the original spiritual base of taekwondo but in a totally new and different way. At the beginning of Team Dam adventure, I decided that I would not charge my students any fee for a period of one month; so fifty-two people registered for my class in addition to those that I already had, and the new people were the members of Master Niang's club. The following month, another group of new students joined. When I told the
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president of the club that we had seventy disciples, he did not believe me because I just started running the school. Sometime earlier I had a bad experience in relation to the matter of promotion test. The national technical director who was at the same time instructor of the police academy was not happy about my departure of his club; so he tried to make trouble by canceling our promotion test at the very last minute when everything was ready. The procedure of promoting grades and belts is a regular routine in running a taekwondo club, and that was what we were trying to do. The president of our club finally decided to conduct the promotion test without the supervision of the national technical director. That caused me many troubles; the director expelled me from the national team. Nevertheless, I knew him very well; he loved taekwondo very much, but sometimes, we disagreed on the ways and means to promote or develop taekwondo. When that happened, he tried to vindicate himself by showing his power. During the NINA Cup Competition, which was sponsored by a Korean company named NINA, it happened that one of my students who had won the match was declared loser some weeks later.
Taekwondo in the Army
Making Taekwondo Popular in Senegal
Knowing that the army wanted to spread taekwondo among the soldiers, I went to offer my services to the authorities to the task of making a military taekwondo team. We figured that we could take advantage of the army's infrastructures for spreading taekwondo. Finally we obtained a place much larger than our club at the Gendarmerie. Taekwondo was very important to soldiers because it made them physically strong and capable, but it also enabled them to develop tough combat spirit and leadership. So the Armed Forces officials adopted taekwondo because they were convinced that it could be a solution to many problems in the preparation of our national army.
Since 1994, Team Dam has been growing fast with the opening of clubs in other cities of the country such as Sokone, Ross-B?thio, Matam, Kaolack, and Pout. In Dakar, the capital city alone, there were about twenty taekwondo clubs. This was due to the government policy and the support of the military for the spread of taekwondo. Particularly teaching taekwondo to the soldiers in the army barracks which started in 1995 turned out to be crucial to the spread of taekwondo in Senegal.
The introduction of taekwondo to the members of the national army was a great success. As the chief of the army wanted to see his soldiers practice taekwondo every day, providing best instructors and conditions, the army itself was changed, and more and more outstanding taekwondo athletes began to be produced in the army. This was an important development for the taekwondo in Senegal. As instructor of ASFA (Sport Association of the Armed Forces), my ambition was to make Senegalese army super strong through taekwondo. I knew that our army was not strong in terms of its numerical strength and resources, but through taekwondo, I believed it could command respect from its African neighbors. I was also given an opportunity to train the GIGN and the LGI which are special task forces of the armed police. It was also another great experience.
The taekwondo club of the LGI was opened in 1995 and a few months later, Master Park Ik Soo was invited and I became his assistant. Our club being too small to accommodate and train many soldiers, training usually took place in the field. On Wednesday mornings, after the hoisting of the flag at seven o'clock, we used to start training for about one hour and half before they go to classes. On Saturday afternoons, we had training from 3 to 7 pm. In training, I shouted and yelled, and my students made moves according to my voice signals. They trained hard and were eager to do well because their taekwondo training was taken as an advantage for their promotion. Some of them continued practicing taekwondo even after their military training. We also trained members of the Special Military Troup, which was an elite unit in the army. Teaching them was not easy because they were busy all the time. Most of them being already black belts, however, they trained themselves on their own.
Around this time, a Korean taekwondo master named Park Iksoo, who was the second person sent by the Korean government, opened a club called Federal Taekwondo School, and I was honored to be invited to assist him. So I had to divide my time between Team Dam and the Federal Taekwondo School. It was not easy at the beginning. Without me, the morale of the Team Dam was not good.
Another great success in spreading taekwondo was to open a taekwondo school in Muslim communities. We established a club in the area of Medina Baye in Kaolack, which was 192 km away from Dakar. As a leader of taekwondo representing my country, I always wanted to see taekwondo practiced all over the places throughout the country. I had the opportunity to train the sons and disciples of high-ranking Muslim leaders in the holy district of Medina Baye in Kaolack. I taught them very seriously and passionately for three years. Medina is located in the northern part of the city. It is the center of Ibrahimiyaa (branch of the Tijani order) founded in 1930 by El Hadj Niass, son of Ibrahima Niass, known to his followers as Baye Niass. In Medina Baye, there are many Kuranic schools and one of the biggest schools was run by a daughter of Baye Niass. That school had hundreds of students.
However, I tried my best and eventually both clubs became strong. My students at the Federal Taekwondo School were from various countries; they were Senegalese, French, Lebanese, Koreans, Swiss, etc. Master Park, being very courteous, was a kind of person whom one could work with easily. I really enjoyed working with him.
At first, some other Muslim leaders were strongly against that idea. Luckily, there was T. Niass. He was the only leader educated among them. He pleaded for us citing the words of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, who said that a Muslim should be strong and good in combat, so that he could defend himself against danger. They
I naturally protested and the director made me suspended for six months. This is one of many troubles that I had gone through while leading Team Dam. Despite these difficulties, our club continued to thrive, winning the games at the international level and its membership increasing day by day.
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continued to discuss the matter, but we were eventually allowed to open the club. And a few months later, we organized a promotion test and invited a Muslim leader to preside over the ceremony. On his part, he invited two thousands of his followers from various parts of the country. When I explained to him the meaning of salute to the flag, which is part of the taekwondo tradition and respect for the country, he said that next time, he would be the first to stand up for salute to the flag. After that, I was able to organize a big national competition in this city with a great support from him. Thus, following the schools, the police and the army, taekwondo has reached the most sensitive part of the Senegalese society: the religion. It is a very big step because the Senegalese give strong respect to their religious leaders almost to the degree of blindness. So slowly but surely, taekwondo entered the lives of the Senegalese.
The Contribution of Taekwondo to the SenegaleseKorean Relations As I mentioned earlier, taekwondo has entered many social sectors of the Senegalese society such as schools, army, police, religious community, and so forth. Our people became interested in taekwondo and identified it with their image of Korea. If Korea is well known in our country today, it is mainly because of taekwondo. Korean government had provided Senegal with assistance in various areas, regularly sending taekwondo masters to teach us their traditional martial arts. I am one of the recipients who benefited from such assistance. About forty percent of taekwondo coaches in Senegal took taekowndo as their career, following the path that I had taken. In addition to the job of taekwondo instruction, those who took taekwondo as their career later became bodyguards or personnel in the Korean Embassy or Korean companies in Senegal. So taekwondo was perceived as more than a sport; it was a possibility for the future. Some say that Korea has colonized us. If it can be called that way, the colonization we have now is far different from the ones we used to have in the past. This colonization is made through friendship and mutual
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respect in accordance with the spirit of taekwondo. Taekwondo has a unique charm and preaches humanity; it teaches us to help the weak, cultivate our mind, and defend ourselves from dangers. It also emphasizes the balanced development of body and mind. We have two Korean masters now, Mr. Lee and Mr. Park, and they try to teach us the true meaning of life. They certainly elevated Senegalese taekwondo to a higher level.
Epilogue Our first objective in the practice of taekwondo was simple: acquiring the best techniques and building skills to win the competitions. Looking back, however, my past experience led me to another vision of taekwondo, another objective that I want to achieve: Making contributions to the awakening of my fellow countrymen. I wish them to be educated and become responsible individuals who are willing to serve their country and help their neighbors. I tend to believe that this is the vision that taekwondo actually wants to teach. Taekwondo in some parts of the world, especially European countries, is perceived mainly as a sport or a martial art while its spiritual aspects are ignored. Some years ago, a French taekwondo team visited Dakar. Coming from the country that once colonized Senegal, they still seemed to have a superiority complex because they tried to ignore our hospitality and spoil our cooperation. Fortunately they quickly realized that their behavior was against the spirit of taekwondo, which values brotherhood, friendship and equality. As time passes, I find myself more interested in the spiritual aspects of taekwondo. I want to preserve the original spirit of taekwondo and teach it to our people. In this essay I tried to show how taekwondo changed my personal life as well as many lives of my fellow countrymen; also how it contributed to the development of the Senegalese and Korean relationship, and how this type of positive relationship can be extended to many other people and countries around the world.
We carried part of the prizewinning story because of limited space. You can see the whole story when you visit www.tpf.kr/eng and click the information menu for the essay competition. --- Ed.
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First Prize Teaching Taekwondo to Handicapped and Challenged Children
First Prize
Teaching Taekwondo to Handicapped and Challenged Children Haya Fuad Qubain -Karadsheh (Jordan) Every person is endowed with the ability to achieve certain things. The existence of every human being is purposeful and meaningful. However, the ability is one thing and the reality another. Nothing is granted without challenges and hard work. This is what I have learned from forty some odd years of my taekwondo experience. Taekwondo made me grow physically and mentally. It taught me the importance of helping the weak and unfortunate as well as the necessity of strong will to achieve something meaningful in my life. I have helped Jordan, my fatherland, to learn about taekwondo in a way that was new and beneficial.
Taekwondo as a Challenge to the Traditional Culture I was born in Amman Jordan on Christmas day in 1963, to a medical family from the city of Salt in Jordan with three male children. From childhood, I learned the virtues of being a woman in a man's world. I was always regarded as a tomboy but enjoyed challenging the boys, whether in sports or martial arts or bike riding. My father, unlike other Arab men, always supported me and the goals I set no matter how unrealistic they may be. Unlike my father who was uncommonly tolerant, my mother was strict and disciplinarian. She tried to discourage my interest in taekwondo but was frustrated for her failure; she was unable to separate me from taekwondo, which began to occupy the greater parts of my life. My country Jordan is a country of rich traditions. Unfortunately, these traditions were mostly inhospitable to women. The tradition that I was born into regarded women as weak and inferior compared to their counterparts; hence, the expectations that the society had of women were low. Furthermore, just because of gender, it was reluctant to recognize women even when they made accomplishments. When I was 13 of age, I started practicing taekwondo, which was no less than challenging the norms of the society. Learning taekwondo was very unusual for a Jordanian girl; in fact, I was the only one who dared to try taekwondo. Taekwondo was fascinating to me and in due time it became part of my life. I had traded my dressing table for weights and exercise equipment. Many people asked my parents and
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I started teaching taekwondo to the physically challenged students. People opposed the idea from the beginning since the mentally and physically challenged children were kept hidden by their families. The parents thought and treated their children as if they were a shame; so they would rather conceal them. I often found out the children who had not seen the light of day for months due to the prejudice against them. Under this circumstance, my experiment ran into numerous difficulties; nevertheless I was determined to change the way in which the society treated those unfortunate children.
friends if there was anything wrong with me for they noticed that I was not acting like a "normal" girl would. Jordan is a country of strong traditions and strong cultural bonds. That a girl like myself practice taekwondo was more or less like breaking those traditions and cultural bonds which were sacred to our people. Master Chen was my taekwondo instructor. He was an understanding man who allowed me to learn taekwondo at the beginning and his martial arts center was the only one in Amman at that time which taught taekwondo. I still boast and brag till this day about the bruises, scars and injuries that I received from learning taekwondo because when I starting practicing it, I was unfortunately placed to spar with males. I had a broken nose, broken jaw and various body bruises all purple in color, and my mother was not happy about it. The rules of taekwondo in Jordan at that time were different from the ones we have now, which require males to only spar with males and females with females. Nevertheless, my determination and the encouragement of my master and family helped me pursue my goal. In 1982, I was given the honor of becoming the first female to receive a black belt in the history of our country. The black belt was handed to me by His Royal Highness Prince Hassan in his personal palace. The breaking news shocked the people of Jordan because no one expected that I would succeed in getting a black belt. What was really interesting and remarkable, however, was that the Jordanian Taekwondo Federation had to bring a female taekwondo player from another country (China) to spar with me for the black belt examination. My challenges to the society did not stop there. Because I had to constantly travel around town by taxi or on foot, my parents allowed me to have a motorcycle. Imagine a 15-year-old girl riding a motorcycle through the street of Amman several decades ago. In order to buy a motorcycle I sold all my jewelries and finally purchased Yamaha dirt bike equipped with a red helmet, and I soon became a common sight in the eyes of staring people. I challenged the odds in our society with my sport, and in this sense taekwondo was indispensable to me.
How I Used Taekwondo to Teach the Physically Disabled Upon finishing the Ahliyyeh Girls High School in 1982, I went to study in America, and four years later graduated from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma with two BS degrees: one in speech and deaf education and the other in physical education for the physically challenged.
During the days of my college, my taekwondo experience was a great help to me. I performed demonstrations in order to promote taekwondo. In fact, I helped the university open the first taekwondo club on campus and taught taekwondo. People generally thought that the martial art that I introduced them was karate. So I tried to differentiate taekwondo from karate so that they could better understand it. Using my taekwondo skill combined with my academic training in education, I also taught the deaf students how to balance their bodies. Returning to Amman, I divided my time between my professional life and my passion for martial arts. I took up my first post as deaf education teacher with responsibility for teaching physical education to the students of Raja School for the Deaf. On entering this school, I realized that awareness of advances in deaf education had yet to filter down to certain sectors of the community, where ineffective and limited methods were still in force, including corporal punishment. Challenging the system to introduce a more modern approach to the teaching of deaf children would lead to many arguments with colleagues. I realized that those who needed help were not only the children but also the teachers. After completing the requirements for coaching in 1986, I was able to hold the title of taekwondo instructor. The people around me thought that it was outrageous for a woman to have such a title. They could not accept what I was doing because they thought it was too radical and eccentric. Nevertheless, I did not mind it at all. I believed in what I was doing and continue to combine my instruction with the sports I liked.
While I was working with the challenged students, I continued to follow my path of taekwondo. In 1988, I became the first woman to serve as taekwondo referee in Jordan. Around that time I came to work at the National Speech and Hearing Centre in the east of Amman, established by the Ministry of Health, a modern and highly effective centre which dealt with aural rehabilitation and all aspects of hearing aids. Most of patients were from predominantly low-income families and I saw about thirty patients every day. Under the circumstance, I had to devise my own pictorial manuals and distributed them free of charge to educate illiterate parents not only in Jordan but also in Gaza and Palestine. The manuals that I distributed introduced some new ways of taking care of the problems with hearing in the families. Unfortunately the treatment team that I was assigned to was disbanded in 1994 when a new director was appointed. Furthermore, I was sued by the government for "treating 20 children under one year of age without proper remuneration," i.e., free of charge. It took eight years for the court to find me innocent of any wrongdoings, but the hardships from the litigation as well as the court expenses and time loss only reinforced my principle and faith in taekwondo.
The First Female International Referee in the Arab World While continuing to teach taekwondo to the handicapped children and simultaneously defending myself in the court against the charges brought by the government against me, an incredible thing happened to me. In 1999, I was made an international referee by the World Taekwondo Federation, which was a historical record because no women in Jordan or other Arab countries had ever served as international referee. I won the certificate of international referee in Canada through competition. I competed with the women candidates from around the world and received a score that belonged to the top three. The WTF informed me of the news and congratulated me on my achievements at the honoring ceremony.
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Overseas Non-Korean Taekwondo Masters ESSAY COMPETITION
Taekwondo Manuals for Training Handicapped Children While teaching taekwondo to handicapped children, I wrote a training manual with the sponsorship of Sheikh Khalifa Al Sabah of Kuwait and distributed it free of charge around the Arab world. I hoped that it would spread the idea that handicapped children are no different from regular persons. The manual was the result of 18 years of experience in teaching taekwondo to needy children. I have thrown down the gauntlet on the world, contending that children with special needs can do anything just like everybody else, but only with help. So much time and efforts were put into making this manual but to me it was all worth it, even if it was distributed free of charge. For me, taekwondo is more than a sport; it has given me the means to fight for the rights of others, and I believe it is a godsend. The symbol on the manual and my business card represents the deaf sign for "I love you"; to some it was a joke, but to the children of the Raja School for the Deaf, near Ruseifeh, it was a lifeline to hope and integration. In a short space of time, I was able to help those children while the society they belonged to was reluctant to. They, in fact, proved to be smart and warm people. They honored me with the symbol because I showed them love that other teachers feared to show. It was thought back then that deafness is contagious by touching the body. I corrected this misconception. I used the symbol which my students gave me as the logo of my project, and that is why I keep it until this day, using it on the brochures as a symbol of love and caring. The manuals I wrote are now used as a guide by many taekwondo trainers who deal with challenged children. It would assist the trainers in preparing the training hall to accommodate the needs of their students and maximize the benefits of training session. In my booklet I devised the signs and symbols for the trainers to spot challenged students and find the ways to deal with them. I added a section about sign language and hearing aids so that the trainer would not be confused and surprised if he/she happened to see them or failed to detect the children's hearing impairment. I simplified
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First Prize Teaching Taekwondo to Handicapped and Challenged Children
everything and included only the crucial points so that the message in the brochure could spread nationwide and to the neighboring countries. It was written in simple language to reach out to the general readers. Also, I chose to write in both Arabic and English because Arabic is our native language and English is the language used by the people around the world. I chose to put the points and advices in bullet forms so that it could be easily understood. The points and advices I offered were based on my educational training and years of experience; I made them as simple as possible, particularly for instructors. People often discouraged me from teaching taekwondo to challenged children. They complained about how hard it is to help challenged children memorize movements and make their mind and body function as normal as possible. They also point out the fact that not many challenged children are capable of high level proficiency of taekwondo and having chances to obtain a black belt. However, the success of teaching taekwondo to the handicapped and challenged students cannot not be simply measured by the number of black belts that I helped them to earn, and people may not understand this. I do not teach taekwondo to these children in order to make them black belts. My goal is to help them to grow their own strength to cope with their personal challenges. It is a great pleasure to watch my students enjoying taekwondo. I noticed that taekwondo helped them to have the exercise that they needed in order to maintain their physical function. The notion that the handicapped are capable of taking exercises and need to have exercises regularly was new if not ignored by the medical personnel in my country. Due to taekwondo, it appeared that students in my class felt normal; they felt that way as they worked hard just like regular persons and were treated exactly the same. They did not have to be conscious or scared of the doctor while they practiced various kicking movements. Moreover, my expertise was always available while they were training. The way they struggle to overcome their physical disabilities through taekwondo is really exciting and heart-warming; it gives me enormous pleasure and satisfaction.
Taekwondo as a Hope for the Handicapped Children Taekwondo for my challenged students is an alternative way of learning about the world. Taekwondo offers them a chance to learn names, colors, sounds, sights and most importantly patterns and routines. I incorporate these elements into my instruction. For example, they learn about the colors, at least two main colors, blue and red, which are the colors of their belts. They also learn sequence and pattern while
practicing taekwondo movements. The students manage to memorize movements and after a while some of them are able to do poomsae. With a little time and effort, these kids can achieve the things which were perceived to be beyond their reach. The most positive and rewarding aspect in my taekwondo instruction is the psychological impact on those children. What the challenged kids really need is self-confidence, and taekwondo exactly provides them with what they really need. One can see their self-esteem growing when they learn basic taekwondo movements one after another. When that happens, their willingness to learn also increases and that willingness leads to the meaning and purpose of their lives. These kids, being different from other normal kids, had been excluded from all afterschool activities. However, when they joined the students in my taekwondo class, they feel different; they feel privileged to be a part of a team or a class rather than being outcasts. The parents of those handicapped children are no less self-conscious about the physical disability of their beloved ones; they feel ashamed of their children. But they should know that their children are not useless and hopeless as they think. Once their children are empowered with self-confidence, they can be motivated and achieve many good things in their lives. However, it is a fact that many parents in my country had no idea about the physical and mental challenges which their children experienced. Once a parent told me that his child had a stutter, which was in fact Down syndrome. That was a denial of the fact made out of shame for having a physically handicapped child. Sometimes the parents tried to cover up the painful fact or justified themselves by letting their children learn taekwondo as if their children were taking some sort of therapy treatment. This means how difficult it is for them to get rid of their sense of shame in relation to the handicap of their children.
Prejudice against the Women My impression was that male members in Jordanian taekwondo community were somewhat intimidated by me. They may have believed that I should belong to the work of training the handicapped children
because I was a female with a motherly instinct. They knew that I treated children nicely and encouraged female students to practice taekwondo. They also knew that I could handle the handicapped children competently while they could not due to the lack of knowledge and experience. I also felt proud that my school had more students than any other schools in the neighborhood. With all these things in the back of my mind, I participated in the Olympics as an international referee, and I still had no support from the Jordanian Federation which I belonged to. Unlike the Jordanian Federation which was reluctant to recognize my achievements, the people of Jordan and the outside world were eager to recognize them. In 2002, I was chosen by the Jordan Times, one of the local newspapers, as one of the top personalities in Jordan "who made a mark over the past 12 months." Moreover, I was invited to Lebanon to participate in an Arab show aired on the Middle East Broadcast Company (MBC) called "Kalam Nawa'em" (Sweet Talk). This show, hosted by four women, was aired particularly for women with the purpose of promoting their wellbeing in the Middle East. MBC took me to Lebanon to shoot an episode to encourage women in the Middle East to take a more firm stance in their lives. In the show, I taught women how to defend themselves by making simple taekwondo movements, which would enhance their sense of personal security. When the show was aired, I received a number of phone calls and emails from women who felt inspired by what I do. Arab women were happy to see that a female like themselves was breaking the old habit and doing something great. Newspapers soon used me as an icon for a successful female in the predominant male society. If the parliament did not have enough women running for elections, they would mention my name as a pioneer woman in the taekwondo area and how they need women like me in the political field as well. I became a well-known figure in my country and because of the publicity, many girls began to practice taekwondo. As this happened, I was deeply gratified, and more desirous to attract girls as well as the handicapped to taekwondo. We carried part of the prizewinning story because of limited space. You can see the whole story when you visit www.tpf.kr/eng and click the information menu for the essay competition. --- Ed.
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Spectators The popularity of taekwondo is rapidly growing around the world, as it is a martial art-sport beloved by peoples. Reflecting the high popularity of taekwondo, the WTF boasts of a global membership of 188 countries.
Joint Meeting of WTF Continental Unions
Joint Meeting of WTF Continental Unions The World Taekwondo Federation held a joint meeting of presidents and secretaries general of the WTF Continental Unions, the first of its kind in the WTF's 35-year history, at the WTF headquarters in Seoul on Jan. 10, 2008.
he World Taekwondo Federation held a joint meeting of presidents and secretaries general of the WTF Continental Unions, the first of its kind in the WTF's 35-year history, at the WTF headquarters in Seoul on Jan. 10, 2008.
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A day later on Jan. 11, the WTF held its Executive Committee Meeting, the third of its kind. The Joint Meeting of Continental Unions drew all the presidents and secretaries general of the WTF's five Continental Unions. Mr. Ji Ho Choi of the United States attended the meeting in his capacity as the president of the Pan American Taekwondo Union. He was elected PATU president last December. At the meeting, participants adopted a recommendation, which called for the creation of an ad-hoc committee to review the WTF Competition Rules and Standing Procedures of the taekwondo competitions at the Olympic Games, including the feasibility of having the WTF World Taekwondo Championships that is held one year prior to the Olympic Games serve as the WTF World Qualification Tournament for the Olympic Games. The participants also called for an immediate creation of an ad-hoc Investigation Committee to conduct a thorough probe of rumors and allegations as well as the sources levied against WTF President Chungwon Choue and WTF Secretary General Jin Suk Yang. Based on the Committee's investigation results, the participants urged that the WTF should take strong legal action against those who made malicious, intentional allegations and rumors. The meeting gave permission to introduce the electronic trunk protector system for trial testing in the respective Continental Union championships, after which the Continental Unions will report the evaluation results to the WTF.
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The joint meeting recommended that an ad-hoc committee, comprising of the presidents of the Continental Unions, be formed to study the feasibility of an individual membership system. It also called on Mr. Jean Marie Ayer, former CEO of Dartfish, to contact the International Olympic Committee regarding the proposal to create a WTF Web TV and improve the WTF newsletter. Evaluating the Joint Meeting "a great success," the WTF decided to hold the Joint Meeting of Continental Unions on a regular basis, prior to the WTF Council meeting and General Assembly. "We, the WTF, are not operated by the Secretariat alone. It is through our joint efforts that the WTF thrives in today's society," said WTF President Chungwon Choue at the Joint Meeting. "I ask that you lay your views openly for our joint discussion. Only through open dialogue, we will be able to eradicate the misleading, even malicious rumors that are aimed at undermining our efforts to enhance the status of the WTF." He continued to say, "Moving on, taekwondo's popularity is on the rise, and for this reason, I propose organizing the World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships every two years. The WTF has already sent official letters to the member national associations to submit their hosting applications for the 2009 edition of the championships until the end of January. The host city of the World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships will be decided at the upcoming General Assembly in Izmir, Turkey, in May 2008." WTF President Choue said, "I will form an ad-hoc committee to review our Competition Rules. This review is necessary to make taekwondo more exciting and relevant in today's society. Tradition and progress should come hand in hand, not one over the other." "I will also ask the ad-hoc committee to review the possibility of combining the Standing Procedure for the Olympic Games into the Competition Rules,; this is to eliminate any potential confusion and contradiction by having only one definitive document for the rules governing its competitions,"
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Peace and Sport Forum
Peace and Sport Forum
WTF President proposed the creation of the so-called "Sport Peace Corps" at an international forum on peace and sport in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on Dec. 6, 2007.
PEACE AND SPORT FORUM H.R.H. Prince Nawaf Faisal Fahd Abdulaziz, president of the Executive Board of Saudi Arabian NOC.
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TF President Chungwon Choue proposed the creation of the socalled "Sport Peace Corps" at an international forum on peace and sport in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on Dec. 6, 2007.
He said, "The Sport Peace Corps entails provision of comprehensive sport-related assistance to the developing countries or the United Nations-assigned areas." "The assistance includes coaching and training service to the local young athletes, supply of equipment and facilities, and finding the means and opportunity for the competent young people to participate in the international sport events."
Under the topic "Taekwondo's Role as an Instrument of Peace," WTF President Choue said that "The Sport Peace Corps project aims at utilizing sport as part of education, training and youth program; giving hope and dream to those who are deprived of the opportunity to learn and practice sports by providing equipment, skills for education and training, and coaches for any Olympic sport; encouraging balanced development of Olympic sport in different regions, correcting the uneven medal distribution in the past Olympic Games that benefited a limited number of countries; and contributing to the promotion of friendship and understanding through sport and people-to-people interaction." "Ultimately this project encourages participation of sport-loving people in the peace-building process."
"It requires a group of volunteers consisted of coaches, athletes, and teachers to be dispatched to serve the assigned community," WTF President Choue said.
Dr. Choue's proposal drew a keen and high interest among the participants in the forum. The Korean government is showing a great interest in the proposal.
He made the proposal at Session 4 of the inaugural International Peace and Sport Forum, which opened at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel on Dec. 5 for a three-day run. The sub-topic of Session 4 was "The Sport Movement: Legitimacy, Means and Sectors of Intervention."
The Sport Peace Corps concept was first raised by WTF President Choue at an international workshop on sports and peace in Leuven, Belgium, on Sept. 21, 2007. The workshop was jointly organized by Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the International Peace Research Association and the Graduate School of Physical Education, Kyung Hee University in Korea. It was supported by the WTF and GCS International.
"Inspired by the 'Taekwondo Peace Corps' initiative, I propose developing a 'Sport Peace Corps' program to expand the initiative globally in a larger scale and to involve other international organizations," said WTF President Choue.
Under the patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of the Municipality of Monaco, the first edition of the international forum drew more than 150 people from around the world. The International Peace and Sport Forum is a unique international gathering, which brings together heads of state and governments, sport governing bodies -- the International Olympic Committee, International Sports Federations, National Olympic Committees -- the World Olympians Association, strategic and financial partners, sport experts and non-governmental organizations. Among the participants were H.S.H. Prince Albert II; Mr.Joel Bouzou, president of Peace and Sport; Mr. Adolf Ogi, special advisor to the secretary general of the United Nations on Sport for Development and Peace; Mr. Mario Pescante, a member of the IOC Executive Board; and
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Special guests were invited as speakers of the forum -- Prof. Manuel Hassassian, Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom; and Mr. Galeb Majadle, minister of culture, sport and science of Israel. Prof. Hassassian attended the forum on behalf of Mr. Riad Malki, minister of information and Foreign affairs of Palestine.
The opening ceremony of the international forum was held at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort on Dec. 5, with the attendance of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. "Peace and sport will strive to convince political leaders, international organizations and key civil society players that sport can widely contribute to peace," said Prince Albert II during the opening ceremony. Peace and Sport is a world place initiative aimed at promoting the structuring values of education through sport, serving individuals and communities across the world. It is an organization governed by Monegasque law and settled in the Principality of Monaco.
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Peace and Sport Forum
Peace and Sport FORUM
SPEECH
A New Vision for "Peace and Sport" through Taekwondo Chungwon Choue President, World Taekwondo Federation
The following article is based on the WTF President's speech delivered at the "Workshop on Sports and Peace" in Leuven, Belgium (Sept. 20, 2007) and the "1st International Forum on Peace and Sport" in Monte-Carlo, Monaco (Dec. 6, 2007)
The weight of sport as a catalyst for peace and harmony can never be undermined. Sport has the power to bring people together, bridge differences, and promote communication and understanding. The Olympic ideal of developing sport is put as: "to contribute to building a better and more peaceful world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play." The ideal has been the general guiding rule for the sport world for centuries. The goal of Olympism is "to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful and better world." The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympians endeavors to promote the Olympic Movement with the concerted, organized, and universal action inspired by the Olympic values. The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) is no exception. As the sole International Federation governing the Olympic sport of taekwondo, recognized by the IOC, it has duty and responsibility to partake in the Olympic Movement. Based on respect for Olympism
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and the spirit of fair play, therefore, the WTF has been making continuous efforts to raise awareness of these Olympic values and integrate them in our activities.
Taekwondo's Role as an Instrument for Peace Taekwondo is a philosophy of action that is based on several virtues such as self-reflection, self-discipline, confidence, respect for elders, patience, and the balances of body and mind. Practicing taekwondo means making one's mind peaceful, synchronizing mind with movements, and extending this harmony to one's life and society. It is, thus, a way of life with lasting inner peace, different from physical fighting skills. In practice, taekwondo contributes to promoting peace and harmony at two different levels. At the macro-level, establishing peace through sport entails facilitating understanding among nations and cultures and promoting tolerance and reconciliation. Through its power, sport
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The article is based on the President's speech delivered at the "workshop on sports and peace" in Leuven, Belgium (Sep. 20, 2007) and the "1st International Forum on Peace and Sport" in Monte-Carlo, Monaco (Dec. 6, 2007)
brings people together across boundaries, cultures, beliefs and religions. In the past, we have seen cases of sport creating opportunities for dialogue and reconciliation, affecting the world politics in the midst of the Cold War, and, occasionally, resulting in a cease-fire in the areas of conflict. We have also witnessed sport reinitiating dialogues. For instance, North and South Korea have merged their athletes into a common team for the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games; table tennis set the stage for the resumption of diplomatic ties between China and the USA in the 1970s; and today Israeli and Palestinian children regularly come together to play soccer or basket ball. The World Taekwondo Federation currently has 188 member nations and tens of millions of practitioners around the globe. Through its world competitions and events, taekwondo also helps create the atmosphere of peace and harmony at the macro-level, facilitating friendship and a special bond among the participants from different parts of the world. Our championships and tournaments offer equal opportunities to the countries that tend to have negative reputation in the international politics, and provide equal opportunities without discrimination. Warm reception and openness to the internationally isolated countries with taekwondo spirit and heart not only facilitate a special bond transcending the general preconception, but also exhibit effective soft power to induce engagement. At the micro-level, sports breed peace by playing a significant social, cultural, educational and recreational role, through which they influence positively on multi-faceted dimensions of political, economic and social realities. Upholding the ideals of fraternity, non-violence, tolerance and fairness, the
practice of sport can be a powerful tool to strengthen social cohesion and integration of the global community transcending the difference of race, nationality, geographical borders, ideology, or religion. To pinpoint a few: First, taekwondo is a fantastic vector for the education of the youth for better citizenship. It provides attractive possibilities for young people's engagement and involvement in society and awakening awareness of prevalent social/health problems. Second, taekwondo is a sport-for-all that is not limited by gender, age, or disability. Therefore, men, women the old, the young, and those with disability all have equal opportunities to practice regardless of their social and economic background. Third, it induces social inclusion and integration of the deprived people through WTF's assistance to the disadvantaged countries and regions.
Youth and Education Taekwondo is not merely a sport, but encompasses excellent cultural values and spirits that cannot be learned from the textbooks. Taekwondo training teaches the youth justice, morality, cooperation, and love for one another, and to accept the universal sport rules of fair play. Through such learning and mental and physical disciplining, our sport helps the young people become good citizens. It could also effectively stop them from getting involved in the youth delinquency, drugs, alcohol, and violence. One exemplary case is the American "legendary" thrash metal band Megadeth leader, Dave Mustaine. In a recent interview, he explains how taekwondo changed his life: "Taekwondo is a great
SPEECH discipline and the source of confidence it helped me eliminate a bad lifestyle of drug and alcoholism. It helped me to believe in myself and find the strength in myself that I never knew that I possessed." To set him as the model case to the youth, the WTF appointed Mr. Mustaine as our Goodwill Ambassador of the world. Taekwondo plays a significant role in developing character and encouraging their potential skills through physical and mental disciplines. Education and training of the youth, therefore, takes up a significant part of the WTF's assistance program to the developing countries.
Equal Opportunities and Assistance through Taekwondo
Sharing the view of the IOC President Dr. Jacques Rogge who stresses the importance of creating various educational opportunities that boost the potential skills of teenagers through sports, and develop their character, the WTF took an initiative to create a taekwondo academy in different parts of the world for education and training purposes and to promote taekwondo as part of the official school curriculum.
As part of its effort to provide them with such necessities, the WTF has expanded its assistance in form of in-kind contributions in countries in need. The WTF has also launched initiatives with other relevant organizations to send new and second-hand uniforms as well as taekwondo equipments to the disadvantaged countries in certain continents.
There are many people who are deprived of the opportunity to learn and practice sports despite their wish. People in the less developed and underprivileged countries, for instance, have difficulty practicing taekwondo due to lack of necessary equipment, facilities, and gymnasiums. Some of our member nation associations are desperate and eager to receive any kind of training equipment and uniforms, eiter new or used.
Corresponding to the rising popularity of the sport of taekwondo around the world, several countries are now offering their students an academic opportunity to learn taekwondo. Last year, the Sichuan and Hunan Province in China adopted taekwondo as a required course in elementary schools and Canada's Chatham College International initiated a residential secondary-school taekwondo program. In addition to the universities in Korea and in the U.S. which offer a four-year BA degree in taekwondo, other countries such as Japan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan, and Norway are preparing to introduce taekwondo programs at the university-level for their respective students. Through its assistance program, the WTF attempts to offer more institutions for education and taekwondo training sport facilities and equipment, official school curriculum, and extracurricular activity programs, especially for the disadvantaged youth in developing countries.
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Peace and Sport Forum
The article is based on the President's speech delivered at the "workshop on sports and peace" in Leuven, Belgium (Sep. 20, 2007) and the "1st International Forum on Peace and Sport" in Monte-Carlo, Monaco (Dec. 6, 2007)
One of the WTF Solidarity Programs is the WTF-KHU Partnership Taekwondo Training Program. Since March 2005, the WTF and Kyung Hee University, which has the first and most renowned taekwondo department, have developed a training program to provide the best possible training and technical assistance to coaches and athletes from less developed nations. Every year, the increasing number of applicants from Africa and Latin American are accepted to the program, which consists of both short-term and long-term courses. It certainly helped substantial improvement of the technical abilities and growing confidence, and rising popularity of taekwondo in the underprivileged regions. We increasingly see taekwondo athletes from small and little known countries winning the medals as well as securing places in the Olympic Games. It is such a phenomenal achievement.
National Associations, Korean governmental organizations, and taekwondo departments at universities in and out of Korea, the qualified youths could be dispatched to provide service to local communities. The program will surely provide the taekwondo practitioners a rewarding experience of making real difference to the world and contributing to world peace through taekwondo.
Taekwondo Peace Corps Sport Peace Corps From early 1960s, Korean taekwondo masters went to every corner of the world to introduce taekwondo to local people and inspire them with its philosophy and spirit. The third world countries welcomed taekwondo them to their nations to give training of healthy body and mind of their people through taekwondo. In effect, their dedication contributed to the globalization of taekwondo today and cultivating good citizens in the world. In many countries, there still is a desperate need for sport program to address social problems and to facilitate development. I regret that a lack of equipment and facilities takes away the opportunity from the less-privileged young people to be engaged in sport, to learn the values of sport, or to bring out their potential athletic talents. Responding to the needs, the WTF is currently devising a concrete program called the "Taekwondo Peace Corps." It is to send volunteering university taekwondo student, coaches and trainers as well as taekwondo equipment and uniforms to the areas that are desperate for assistance. In cooperation with WTF Member
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SPEECH
Inspired by the "Taekwondo Peace Corps", I suggest development of "Sport Peace Corps" program to expand the initiative globally in a larger scale and to involve other international organizations. The "Sport Peace Corps" entails provision of comprehensive sportrelated assistance to the underdeveloped countries or the UN assigned areas. The assistance includes coaching and training service to the local young athletes, supply of equipments and facilities, and finding the means and opportunity for the competent young people to partake in the international sport events. Depending on the type of assistance requested by the target country, gathering of necessary human and material resources is proceeded on the basis of coordination and collaboration among the stakeholders. This "sport peace corps" project requires a group of volunteers consisted of coaches, athletes, and physical education to be dispatched following a period of training to serve the assigned
a limited number of countries. It can also encourage grass-root development of sport for all, particularly in the less privileged areas. Enhanced partnership and coordination of action of these two organizations can indeed create synergy to strengthen the role of sport in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and promoting peace and development in the world.
community. It also requires participation of the international organizations such as the IOC, UN institutions as well as their network of relations with the sport-related institutions and sponsors. The basic mechanism and procedure parallels the US Peace Corps, the UN Peace-Keeping mission, and the Olympic Solidarity Movement. The "Sport Peace Corps" project aims at: 1) utilizing sport as a part of education, training and youth program; 2) providing equipments, skills for education and training, and coaches for any Olympic sport in the countries in need of assistance; 3) giving hopes and dreams to the young people who are deprived of the opportunity to learn and practice sports. And 4) ultimately, contributing to the promotion of friendship and understanding through sport and people-to-people interaction. In short, this project encourages participation of sportloving people in the peace-building process. I believe that this is a win-win proposal for both the IOC and the UN since the project itself fulfills the fundamental principles of both organizations with an action-oriented scheme. Through the "Sport Peace Corp," the UN can implement the "Action Plan on Sport for Development and Peace" with close collaboration with the IOC and sport organizations. The IOC can bring about balanced development of Olympic sport in different regions, correcting the uneven medal distribution in the past Olympic Games that benefited
Another important aspect of the "Sport Peace Corp" is that it does not limit to financial support and supply of equipments, but extends to people-to-people interaction with the volunteers of different race, nationality, culture, and religion. This can contribute to cultivating the spirit of global family, engagement, inclusion, understanding and friendship, bringing the world closer than ever. The 'Sport Peace Corps' proposal still needs further feasibility study and working-level discussions. Nevertheless, the vision gives some inspiration to the world of sport in terms of how sport can serve humanity. The vision, if realized, will surely give never-ending hope, optimism, and confidence to the youth in all parts of the world, particularly those who suffer from material deprivation.
Conclusion Taekwondo is Korea's gift to the world. The gift package not only has taekwondo's oriental spirit and philosophy, but also its contribution to the humanity as an instrument for peace and hope in different geographical, cultural, and social contexts. As exhibited by taekwondo's current status of role-play in the international stage, the WTF has taken steps to lead, rather than merely follow, the movement of fulfilling the goal of Olympism. Working together with the global Olympic families, the WTF will continuously make concerted efforts to contribute in the endeavor to serve the mankind through sport.
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Mrs. Carine El-Murr President of the Lebanese Taekwondo Federation, shows off her poomsae skills at an international taekwondo poomsae competition in Korea. She also serves as a WTF Council member.
1st Korean Fair Play Award
New WTF Leaders
Korean Fair Play Committee Holds
st Korean
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FAIR PLAY Award
he Korean Fair Play Committee (KFPC), headed by WTF President Chungwon Choue, held its first Korean Fair Play Award ceremony in Seoul, Korea on Nov. 21, 2007. The awarding ceremony took place at the Olympic Parktel in Seoul, drawing hundreds of sports figures. In the men's individual division, Song Jin-woo, a pitcher of the Hanwha Eagles professional baseball club, earned the honors as the winner of the 2007 Korean Fair Play Award. The honors in the women's individual category went to Chun Joo-weon, a guard of the Shinhan Bank Sbirds women's basketball team.
Oceania Taekwondo Union President
Mr. Phillip Walter Coles basketball teams shared the 2007 Korean Fair Play Award in the team division, while Kim Kun-tae, referee manager of the Korean Volleyball Federation and a FIVB referee, won the honors in the special prize division. A seven-member KFPC Screening Committee selected the 2007 Korean Fair Play prizewinners after strict selection sessions, mainly based on the applicants' outstanding examples of fair play attitude and good sportsmanship in sports. The committee's conviction is to regard fairness as more important than winning at all costs. As part of its efforts to promote the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship in the Korean sports community, the KFPC, which was inaugurated in 2006, presents Korean Fair Play awards annually starting in 2007. Chungwon Choue, president of the World
Taekwondo Federation, was nominated as the first president of the KFPC in its inaugural General Assembly in Seoul on Sept. 26, 2006. The KFPC plans to recommend the prizewinners as the Korean candidates for the World Fair Play Prizes for the year 2007, which is organized by the International Fair Play Committee. "We will present the Korean Fair Play Awards every year, thus helping bring about a brighter society by spreading our fair play campaign in a more organized and systematic way to all sectors of Korean life," KFPC President Choue said during the awarding ceremony. The KFPC serves as the Korean national body of the IFPC, whose headquarters are located in Paris, France. The IFPC presents World Fair Play awards annually in three categories act of fair play, sports career, and promotion of fair play -- to famous and less-known athletes, coaches, teams, and organizations all over the world. Iranian Hadi Saei Bonehkohal, the gold medalist in the taekwondo competition at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, was voted by the IFPC as the World Fair Player of the Year 2005 for his humanitarian efforts. Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch, former president of the IOC, and Dr.Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC, serve as honorary presidents of the IFPC which strives for the worldwide defense and promotion of fair play with national and international organizations working for sport and education, high-level athletes, children, adolescents, and those in charge of training them -- coaches and trainers
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Ceremony in Seoul
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The Korean national men's and women's
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The KFPC plans to recommend the prizewinners as the Korean candidates for the World Fair Play Prizes for the year 2007
Named as WTF Vice President
Master Ji Ho Choi of U.S. Elected
New President of Pan American Taekwondo Union
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TF President Chungwon Choue appointed Mr. Phillip Walter Coles, president of the Oceania Taekwondo Union and Australian member of the International Olympic Committee, as a vice president of the WTF on Feb. 4, 2008. Under the WTF Rules and Regulations, the WTF has six vice presidents. Of the six, three are elected at the General Assembly and another three are appointed by the WTF president. Since March 14, 2007, a vicepresident position has been vacant, following the death of Dr. Cha Sok Park, who was a vice president of the WTF and president of the Pan American Taekwondo Union. Mr. Coles, is serving the remainder of the late Dr. Park's four-year term until the WTF's next General Assembly in 2009. As the fifth continental union of the WTF, the Oceania Taekwondo Union was established on July 16, 2005 in Sydney, Australia, with the initial 10 member nations. Mr. Coles has since served as the first president of the Oceania Taekwondo Union. The Oceania Taekwondo Union now has 13 member nations. As recently as Jan. 10, 2008, Mr. Coles visited the headquarters of the WTF to attend the Joint Meeting of Continental Unions. Born in 1931, Mr. Coles was a national canoeist, who first competed at the Rome Olympic Games in 1960. He then competed at the 1964 Tokyo and 1968 Mexico Olympic Games. His favorite sports are skin diving, surfing, tennis, water polo and recently taekwondo.
aster Ji Ho Choi of the United States was elected the new president of the Pan American Taekwondo Union at its General Assembly in Cali, Colombia on Dec. 7, 2007.
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The election took place one day before the 2007 WTF Pan American Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which started on Dec. 8 for a two-day run. Master Choi, who has served as executive director of the PATU, will serve as the new president of the PATU until the next General Assembly, which is scheduled in Puerto Rico on the occasion of the 2008 Pan American Taekwondo Championships, most likely to be held in October or November 2008. The new president of the 42member PATU will complete the remaining period of the term of the late Dr. Cha Sok Park. Until the election, the PATU, which has 42 member national countries, was briefly led by the interim president, Dr. Varo Barragan of Panama, who failed to gain a vote of confidence from the General Assembly. The General Assembly then proceeded to elect a new president from the two candidates, Mr. Choi of the United States and Mr. Adalberto Escoto of the Dominican Republic. Master Choi has served the PATU for the past 12 years in various areas. He received a strong mandate in this election with a 28-11 voting count. Upon completion of the voting count, a motion was proposed on the floor to extend Mr. Choi's term to an additional four years to allow him to implement his election commitments. Mr. Choi, however, humbly asked to withdraw the motion and expressed his appreciation to the General Assembly for their confidence in him, according to participants in the General Assembly. He will be running again at the next General Assembly in Puerto Rico as a candidate to promote equal opportunity for all other candidates for the next term.
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Thai Taekwondo Association Offers Free Training for Orphans
THAI TAEKWONDO ASSOCIATION OFFERS
FREE TRAINING FOR ORPHANS T
hailand's national taekwondo governing body is offering free taekwondo training for orphans in Thailand, drawing great support and interest from the public and the media. The association plans to expand its taekwondo teaching program for local orphans. It marked the first time in Thailand that orphans receive free taekwondo training. On March 16, 2008, Taekwondo Association of Thailand held an opening ceremony for the Pakkred Home for Boys in the province of Nonthaburi, Thailand. Under the one-year taekwondo training program, about 100 orphans at the Pakkred Home for Boys received two hours of training on Saturdays and Sundays free of charge.
Five teachers, composed of coaches of taekwondo clubs, international referees and former national team coaches, give the free training to the orphans, and the association pays for the teachers. The association provides the orphanage with taekwondo equipment such as mats and protectors, as well as taekwondo uniforms or dobok. For the association, the Pakkred Home for Boys was the second of its kind. The Thailand association started providing a free training to about 100 orphans at the Maharaj Home for Boys on Feb. 19, 2008. Mr. Pimol Srivikorn, president of the Taekwondo
Donating DOBOK to Home for Boys in Thailand
Association of Thailand, is the founder and supporter of the training program. Mr. Pricha Thotrakul, vice president of the Taekwondo Association of Thailand, is also a strong supporter of the program. Mr. Pricha serves as the treasurer of the WTF and a WTF Council member. "We started the program as we wanted to give something back to the society and we wanted to promote taekwondo in all aspects by giving local orphans free taekwondo training," Mr. Pimol said. Mr. Pimol said, "After one month of training, we found that the students perform better as they receive strict training, and we found that they felt more confident and disciplinde." "As the students really appreciate the program, we plan to expand the program to involve female orphans as early as next year, while increasing the number of male orphanages which receive free training across the nation," Mr. Pimol said. "To do so, we expect more financial support from our government and sponsors." Mr. Pricha, who visited recently the WTF headquarters to scrutinize the WTF's balance sheet and budget, said, "The free training program for local orphans is greatly helping enhance the image of taekwondo in Thailand." "The popularity of taekwondo is rapidly growing in Thailand." About 600,000 people practice taekwondo in Thailand and the Southeast Asian country earned three berths for the taekwondo competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games through WTF world and continental qualification tournaments.
Taekwondo Demonstration Pakkred Home for Boys
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WTF President Offers Condolences to Bangladesh, Chile Victims Dr. Chungwon Choue, president of the World Taekwondo Federation, sent letters of condolences on Nov. 19, 2007 to the presidents of WTF member national associations of Bangladesh and Chile, and their National Olympic Committee presidents over the loss of lives resulting from recent natural disasters in the two countries.
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n the letter to Lt. Gen. Ahmad U. Moeen, president of the Bangladesh Olympic Association, Choue extended his condolences to the people of Bangladesh for the "profound" loss of lives from the devastating cyclone which hit Bangladesh last week. Reports said that the cyclone took at least 2,000 lives and injured thousands of people. "The global taekwondo family stand by you in the hope of a quick recovery and we will be with you always in times of need," Choue said in the letter. "We urge you not to give up those whose have survived, and strive to help them rebuild their shattered lives."
Taekwondo, and Mr. Neven Ivan Ilic Alvarez, president of the Comite Olimpico de Chile, over the loss of two lives and more than 100 injuries from a recent earthquake which shook Chile. "On behalf of the global taekwondo family, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the victims of the natural disaster and their family members," Choue said in the letter.
WTF President Choue Donates $105,786 for Solidarity Programs WTF President Chungwon Choue contributed 100 million won (US$105,786) to the Seoulbased World Taekwondo Federation for its development and solidarity programs in late February 2008.
WTF President Choue said that the WTF would donate $3,000 to the Bangladesh Olympic Association. "We hope that you will be able to use this contribution to rebuild the sports infrastructure in your country and bring hope to your people."
For the WTF President, the donation was the second of its kind as he contributed US$125,000 to the WTF for development and solidarity programs in May 2005.
He continued to say, "I wish you the very best in your recovery efforts, and hope that your country can pull through this difficult period soon."
Since he became the president of the world's taekwondo governing body in June 2004, Dr. Choue has stressed the importance of an increase in funds for various WTF solidarity programs.
In a letter, the Bangladesh Olympic Association expressed its appreciation to the WTF for its immediate action, saying that the WTF was the first international sports organization to provide financial support. Dr. Choue also sent a similar letter of condolences to Syed Mohammad Ziaul Huq, president of the Bangladesh Taekwondo Federation. "If you need any help from the WTF, please feel free to let me know."
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Chile
For its solidarity programs, including assistance to taekwondo-developing countries, the WTF has secured funds from personal donations.
WTF President Choue also sent another letter of condolences to Mr. Mario Mandel Vaisman, president of the Federacion Chilean de
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Taekwondo Promoted to Category D
2 Bronze Medals to be Awarded
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TAEKWONDO PROMOTED TO CATEGORY D
for Greater Olympic TV Rights Revenues
2 Bronze Medals to be Awarded in Taekwondo Competition at Beijing Olympic Games An inspired WTF sees that the IOC's decision would greatly contribute to the further development of taekwondo. The WTF regards the decision as due recognition by the international sports community, including the IOC, of the WTF's reform programs since the latter part of 2004.
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he number of bronze medals to be awarded in the taekwondo competition at the Olympic Games will be expanded to two starting with the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In a July 2007 letter to the World Taekwondo Federation, the International Olympic Committee said it accepted the WTF request for two bronze medals in the taekwondo competition at the Olympic Games. "I am pleased to inform you that the IOC has decided to agree to your request and to award two bronze medals for the sport of taekwondo at the Olympic Games, beginning at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games," said Mr. Kelly Fairweather, sports director of the IOC, in his letter to WTF President Chungwon Choue. The WTF, the world's sole taekwondo governing body recognized by the IOC in 1980, sent a letter to the IOC on April 10, 2007, asking the IOC to expand the number of bronze medals to be awarded in the taekwondo competition at the Olympic Games to two per weight category. Since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the WTF has conducted a single elimination tournament system with double repechage to determine one third-placed winner. "Nevertheless, as with the other combat sports in the Olympic program, an additional fight to determine a single bronze medalist could seriously undermine the athletes' health and all this would be a burden to the Organizing Committees of the Olympic Games," said the WTF letter.
he World Taekwondo Federation will receive more TV rights revenues for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, as taekwondo has been promoted from Category E to D.
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The promotion was announced during the General Assembly of the ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) at the Shangri-la Hotel in Beijing, China, on April 24, 2007.
On Feb. 6, 2006, the IOC decided in its Executive Board meeting in Torino, Italy, to increase the number of taekwondo competitors by two male and two female athletes to 128 for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
The ASOIF General Assembly approved its Council proposal of promoting the World Taekwondo Federation and the International Triathlon Union from Group E to Group D for their contribution to the overall Games program. Taekwondo and triathlon made their respective debuts as the official Olympic sports at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
The decision came after the WTF's request to the IOC for the increase in the athlete quota for taekwondo competition at the Olympic Games after the establishment of the WTF's fifth continental union, the Oceania Taekwondo Union, in July 2005.
Thus, the number of Summer Olympic sports in Category D increased from the previous 14 to 16. Sports in Group D are badminton, baseball, boxing, canoe, fencing, judo, wrestling, modern pentathlon, softball, table tennis, shooting, archery, sailing, weightlifting, taekwondo and triathlon. Athletics is the only sport in Group A. Group B is composed of basketball, cycling, football, gymnastics, swimming, tennis and volleyball, while Group C consists of equestrian, handball, hockey and rowing. The IOC's initial categorization and subsequent amendments have resulted in the International Federations being divided into five groups, all of which have been allocated different amounts distributed equally within each group. Additions to the Games program have been handled according to the principle that new sports on the program of the Summer Olympic Games should first be added to the 5th Group (Group E), but with the intention that those IFs should move up after a period of contribution to the overall Games program. The ASOIF decided to retain Group E for new sports entering the official program for the 2016 Olympic Games.
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The WTF taekwondo anthem was played for the first time during the opening ceremony of the 2007 WTF World Taekwondo Championships on May 18 at the Changping Gymnasium in northern Beijing.
WTF Adopts
WTF Names Megadeth Leader
DAVE MUSTAINE as Goodwill Ambassador
TAEKWONDO ANTHEM
The World Taekwondo Federation appointed U.S. legendary thrash metal band Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine as the WTF Goodwill Ambassador in a ceremony in Seoul, Korea, on Oct. 27, 2007.
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t marked the first time for the WTF, the world's sole taekwondo governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee, to appoint its Goodwill Ambassador. The four-member Megadeth band arrived in Seoul in the afternoon of Oct. 27 for its concert on Oct. 28 at the Olympic Hall of Olympic Park in Seoul. For Megadeth, it was their fourth concert for Korean fans this time, following its performances in 1998, 2000 and 2001. The conferment ceremony for Megadeth was held at the Grand InterContinental Hotel in downtown Seoul.
As part of its efforts to further promote the image of taekwondo, the WTF selected a TAEKWONDO ANTHEM
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he World Taekwondo Federation approved the adoption of a taekwondo anthem at its General Assembly in Beijing, China, on May 17, 2007.
The WTF taekwondo anthem was played for the first time during the opening ceremony of the 2007 WTF World Taekwondo Championships on May 18 at the Changping Gymnasium in northern Beijing. As part of its efforts to further promote the image of taekwondo, the WTF selected a taekwondo anthem after the WTF's Screening Committee conducted an evaluation of entries for the taekwondo anthem and taekwondo song lyrics contest at the WTF headquarters in Seoul on April 5, 2007. For the first time ever in its 34 years of history, the WTF conducted a three-month contest for taekwondo anthem and taekwondo song lyrics between Nov. 1, 2006, and Jan. 31, 2007. In the field of taekwondo anthem, the contest drew a total of six entries from four countries - Korea, France, Azerbaijan and Croatia, while eight lyrics from five countries - Korea, Vietnam, Azerbaijan,
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the United Kingdom and Croatia - were submitted in the taekwondo song lyric category. As the result of the evaluation by the sevenmember Screening Committee, the entry by Korea's Lee Woo-chang, a post modern music composer, was selected as the best composition for the taekwondo anthem, pending the approval of the WTF Executive Council in Beijing in May. The Screening Committee, composed of four taekwondo dignitaries and three music experts, decided not to select a winning taekwondo song lyric. Accordingly, the WTF plans to post Lee's approved composition on the official WTF Web site before inviting the public to compose a fitting set of English lyrics for Lee's composition to be used as the WTF's official taekwondo song. The criteria of the evaluation were artistic level, popularity, relevance to taekwondo, creativity and applicability. To ensure fairness in evaluation, the WTF conducted a lot drawing for the order of the evaluation of the entries and filmed the whole process of evaluation.
On behalf of WTF President Chungwon Choue, WTF Secretary General Jin Suk Yang presented Megadeth leader Mustaine with a certificate of appointment as the WTF "Goodwill Ambassador of the World" and an honorary WTF 4th Dan certificate, as well as a taekwondo uniform and a black belt. the ceremony that his life "has changed for the better mainly thanks to taekwondo." The other three Megadeth members - bassist James LoMenzo, guitarist Glen Drover and his "Taekwondo is a great discipline. For me, it brother Shawn Drover - each received a was one of the things that changed my life," taekwondo uniform and a black belt during the Mustaine said. "It (taekwondo) helped me to ceremony. During the ceremony, the band eliminate a bad lifestyle of drug and members posed for local photographers in alcoholism. It helped me to believe in myself taekwondo uniforms. and find the strength in myself that I never knew that I possessed." Megadeth leader Mustaine told reporters during "For me, it is a big responsibility and I am going to represent the WTF the best I can," Mustaine said of his appointment as the WTF's Goodwill Ambassador. "I am really excited to be the WTF Goodwill Ambassador." Mustaine said that taekwondo is "the source of his confidence in his life." He is a first Dan black-belt holder. He said, "I know that there are a lot of young people around the world that look up to me and I think this is a great discipline."
Mustaine said he started training taekwondo in 1999 in Arizona and then moved to California, where he now lives. "Before taking up taekwondo, I practiced kungfu and other martial arts." As a pioneer of the American thrash metal movement, Megadeth rose to international fame in the mid 1980s, but were plagued by constant lineup changes, due partly to Mustaine's and fellow band members' notorious substance abuse problems. After finding sobriety and securing a stable lineup, Megadeth went on to release a string of platinum and gold albums between 1986 and 1997. Megadeth disbanded in 2002 after Mustaine suffered a severe nerve injury to his left arm, but following 17 months of extensive physical therapy and intensive taekwondo training, Mustaine reorganized the band in 2004 before releasing "The System has Failed" and "United Abominations" in 2007, which debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.
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Taekwondo Poomsae to be included in official program of Belgrade UNIVERSIADE 2009
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Taekwondo Poomsae
to be included in official program of Belgrade
UNIVERSIADE 200 aekwondo poomsae will be on the official program of the 2009 Belgrade Universiade, along with kyorugi, said a ranking official from the Organizing Committee of the 25th Summer Universiade on Feb. 24, 2008.
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“I make an official promise that poomsae will be on the official program of the 2009 Belgrade Universiade along with kyorugi,”said Dr. Sinisa Jasnic, vice president of the Organizing Committee of the 2009 Belgrade Universiade. The 25th Summer Universiade is scheduled for July 1-12, 2009, in Belgrade, Serbia, and taekwondo kyorugi competition is set for July 1-5. Dr. Jasnic, who also serves as general director of the Unversiade Belgrade 2009, said,“To realize that, we agreed to sign the official contract in May this year in Belgrade between the WTF and the Organizing Committee.” Dr. Jasnic and WTF Secretary General Jin Suk Yang had a meeting on the poomsae issue at the headquarters of the WTF in Seoul. The idea of putting poomsae (fixed movements of taekwondo or form) on the 2009 Belgrade Universiade program was first proposed at the 2nd International Taekwondo Symposisum in October 2007 at the University of California, Berkeley, the United States. The symposium was cohosted by the UC Berkeley and the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation in Korea.
been adopted as an optional sport at Summer Universiades, including the 2005 Izmir, Turkey, Universiade and the 2007 Bangkok Universiade. Dr. Jasnic said that“Compared with the taekwondo competition at the 2003 Daegu Universidae, taekwondo has greatly developed, and in the near future taekwondo will be the leading sport to the student population.” “Taekwondo is one of the most successful sports at the Universiades and we have seen a continued increase in taekwondo activities, especially at the Bangkok Universiade. It is a fact that taekwondo is becoming very very popular among student population.”
“During the seminar, Dr. Ken Min, co-chairman of the Organizing Committee of the symposium, proposed the idea to include poomsae on the program of the 2009 Universiade, and FISU President George Killian and I accepted this idea,”said Dr. Jasnic.
Besides the 2009 Universiade, Belgrade is host to the 10th World Unversity Taekwondo Championships on July 16-20 this year.
To further promote taekwondo, the WTF launched the inaugural WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Seoul in 2006 and the second poomsae championships in Incheon, Korea, in 2007.
Expressing great satisfaction with cooperation with the WTF, Dr. Jasnic, who works as chairman of the CTI World University Championships, asked for WTF support for technical matters for the success of the upcoming World University Taekwondo Championships and the 2009 Belgrade Universiade.
Dr.Jasnic, who also serves as an assessor of the Executive Committee of the FISU (International Univeristy Sports Federation), arrived in Korea on Feb. 23 for a four-day visit on his way to Harbin, China for a FISU Executive Committee meeting scheduled for Feb. 27-March 1.
“Our cooperative relationship is really excellent and I appreciate all the support from the WTF,”said Dr. Jasnic, who arrived in December 2006 to sign a collaboration convention between the WTF and the FISU.
“Given taekwondo’s high popularity,”he said,“taekwondo will be a compulsory sport of the Universiade in the near future, and I hope in 2013 and afterwards.” Since the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu, Korea, taekwondo has
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www.kukkiwon.or.kr Magazine 2008,Issue No. 95 ISSN 1599-3779
World Taekwondo Headquarters Kukkiwon Kukkiwon will stand in the center of Creating Taekwondo culture along with Taekwondo lovers from 187 nations.
REVIEW WTF TEAKWONDO Publisher / Dr. Chungwon Choue, President Editor-in-Chief / Mr. Jin Suk Yang, Secretary General Magazine Director / Mr. Seok-jae Kang, Director, PR Division Editors / Mr. Jerry Ling, Ms. Tina HS Hong Design Senior Advisor / Prof. Kenneth S. Park, Kwangwoon University Design Advisor / Prof. Kang Hyun Jong, Yuhan College Contributing Photographer / Seuk-je Lee of Korea Designed by / GG Company
The WTF is delighted to bring you the official publication of the federation. The WTF Taekwondo magazine epitomizes our enthusiasm and progressive mindset in leading taekwondo and the WTF in the new centry. The WTF Taekwondo is published annually. It is a summary of the previous year’s events, competition results and happenings throughout the world of taekwondo. It provides the events of this year, interviwes with taekwondo stars and the useful information on taekwondo.
“World Culture Taekwondo! Kukkiwon will Make It” “세계의 대표문화 태권도! 국기원이 만들어 나갑니다” By organizing Dan (Poom) promotion examinations, instructor course & education, Taekwondo techniques & spirit research, supporting related organizations such as World Taekwondo Federation, Korea Taekwondo Federation, dispatch of Kukkiwon Taekwondo Demonstration Team, Taekwondo publication, and exchange projects, Kukkiwon is contributing greatly into the development of Taekwondo. Poom (Dan) certificate issued by Kukkiwon has one of the greatest public recognition, and prestige. In order to participate in competitions organized or sponsored by World Taekwondo Federation, Regional Taekwondo Federations, and also the each national Taekwondo Association, athletes have to hold Kukkiwon Poom (Dan) certificate.
세계태권도본부 국기원 187개국 태권도인과 함께 만들어가는 태권도 문화, 국기원이 그 중심에 있겠습니다. 국기원은 국내외 승(품)단 심사, 지도자 연수 및 교육, 태권도에 관한 기술 및 정신 연구, 세계태권도연맹과 대한태권도협회 등 관련단체 지원 사업, 국기원 태권도 시범단 파견, 태권도 홍보 및 교류사업 등을 통해 태권도 발전에 기여하고 있습니다. 국기원의 품(단)증은 최고의 공신력과 권위를 갖추고 있습니다. 세계태권도연맹과 대륙 태권도연맹 및 각국 태권도협회가 주최, 주관하는 대회에 참가하는 선수들은 국기원 품(단)증을 소지해야 합니다.
ⓒ 2008 World Taekwondo Federation This publication and its contents may not be reproduced, even in part, in any form, without the written permission of the WTF
4th Fl. Joyang Building 113, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea, 135-090 Tel. (82-2) 566-2505 / 557-5446 Fax. (82-2) 553-4728 Homepage. www.wtf.org E-mail: pr@wtf.org
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