Introduction

ITF is the International Taekwon-Do Federation, founded on March 22, 1966 in Seoul (south) Korea, by General Choi Hong Hi, who developed Taekwon-Do, to promote the teaching of this martial art.

At that time, nine countries were involved: Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, USA, Turkey, Italy, and Egypt. Taekwon-Do is now taught in almost every country in the world, and General Choi is recognized as the Father of Taekwon-Do.

THE INTERNATIONAL TAEKWON-DO FEDERATION IS LEGALLY REGISTERED IN SPAIN AND HAS ITS HEADQUARTERS IN BENIDORM.

Mission

The mission of the ITF is to represent, promote, and work for the development of the practice of Taekwon-Do in all countries by:

coordinating and certifying Taekwon-Do activities such as competitions and seminars

setting and enforcing high quality standards for technical and teaching

identifying and collaborating with affiliated organizations, such as Continental Federations, National Associations, and Allied National Associations,

providing assistance to local Taekwon-Do organizations

Certification for Black Belt holders, international instructors and umpires

Fundamental Values

Practitioners of Taekwon-Do (TKD) recognize that they are forever students of our Founder, General Choi Hong Hi. The ITF and its affiliated organizations will strengthen and promote the legacy of General Choi as described in his Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do, notably the twenty-four patterns and the philosophy.

The ITF belongs to all its members; it must work for its members and with its members to provide the services they need and want.

The ITF and its affiliated organizations are always open to suggestions from members and encourage innovative ideas.

The ITF and its affiliated organizations are and must remain free of all political influence.

All qualifications and promotions within the ITF and its affiliated organizations will be attributed according to merit and in conformity with well-established criteria.

The respect of hierarchy authority is an important principle in all martial arts. All members of ITF will respect those who are their seniors in the organization, particularly their teacher. On the other hand, the seniors will treat their students and other juniors with respect and fairness.

Vision

In his speech to the 14th Congress Meeting in Warsaw (Poland) in June 2003, newly-elected ITF President, Master Trân Trieu Quân outlined the vision the new ITF team has for the organization. The following is an excerpt from that speech:

ITF Taekwon-Do is a sport, a martial art, a way of life, and a tool for social development. How can we work together for progress on all four facets?

TAEKWON-DO IS A SPORT

To develop ITF Taekwon-Do as a sport and encourage greater participation in competitions, major changes will be made to tournament rules, to the competition calendar, and to the qualification process. Training for umpires will be upgraded, and we will investigate the use of a computerized scoring system. Competitors will be happier and motivated to continue when our competitions are safer and scoring is more precise and reliable. Competitions held in well-known locations around the globe will focus attention on the ITF and will result in greater visibility.

 

AGM 2018  (28/7/2018)