Working Together for a Great Future for the ITF

That was the title of my speech when I addressed the Congress Meeting in Warsaw (Poland) in 2003 as the newly-elected president, and it has been the theme of the ITF team for the past four years. As we come to the end of the mandate for the officers elected in 2003, we can look back with a sense of accomplishment.

I would like to start by mentioning a very important anniversary: On April 11th 2005 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ITF by General Choi Hong Hi. We take pride in continuing our Founder’s legacy. As I said four years ago: “By working together in harmony, we will become worthy heirs – the “next generation” General Choi wrote about – who will continue his legacy.”

Building on that legacy and guided by the Taekwon-Do philosophy – the Do – the elected officers of the federation have been working together to transform the ITF into a well structured, efficiently run organization that operates according to democratic principles.

The Constitution was revised, and we introduced By-Law No. 1 as well as a number of policies and procedures. By following the principles of the Constitution and applying the By-Law and policies, we are able to resolve most problems efficiently, and uniform application of policies ensures fairness for everyone.

With the modified organizational structure in place, we were able to focus more time and energy on reaching our goal of increasing the number of member countries and attracting more individual practitioners. Because we believe that the key to attracting new students is high-quality teaching, we have been offering our ITF teachers more opportunities for training and supporting their development efforts. We have shown them that teaching Taekwon-Do can be a satisfying career. With support from the ITF, our teachers will be able to serve the needs of their communities while building a satisfying career for themselves.

On the administrative side, the Secretary General and the Treasurer have worked together to produce a list of all Black Belt certificate holders and all holders of teaching plaque certificates. Financial statements are now prepared regularly, and the Treasurer presents them to the Board at each meeting.

Now let’s look at some of the highlights of the accomplishments of the Standing Committees of the Board of Directors:

Technique & Instruction Committee

We currently have a total 1,362 holders of valid ITF teaching plaque certificates.

The Technique & Instruction Committee continues to work to qualify more instructors and to improve the quality of Taekwon-Do teaching. Techniques have evolved over the years, and our members and teachers are always interested in refining their techniques.

The Committee prepared a document listing a number of errors that have been found in the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do and explaining the corrections that should be made. This document was sent to all high-ranking Black Belts, so that the techniques taught will be correct and the same everywhere.

In the last four years, we have held twenty-five International Instructor Courses, and many National Associations have requested that we hold International Instructor Courses in their countries in the future.

There is now more emphasis on teaching the Do to our students. Teaching the Do helps them understand what it means to live the Taekwon-Do way and makes Taekwon-Do more valuable and more attractive to them. An introduction to the Do was included in all 25 International Instructor Courses.

In addition, the project to develop a program about how to teach the Do is progressing. As a pilot project, a preliminary version of the first module – titled Teaching the Do: Self-control – was presented at the World Cup competition in Benidorm (Spain) in 2006. The results and comments from the participants have been carefully analyzed, and a revised module is being developed. The initial emphasis will be on teaching the basic principles of the Do, the philosophy and the tenets of Taekwon-Do, to children and young people because they represent the future of Taekwon-Do.

Two Leadership Camps have been held so far. The goal is to develop the leadership skills of our teachers, offering a program adapted to local needs. Feedback from participants has been very positive, and we plan to offer more camps soon.

Tournament & Umpire Committee

Changes in the organization of competitions and the judging have improved the quality of ITF competitions over the last four years. We are gradually introducing electronic scorekeeping.

In 2006, Umpire Courses were held in Miami (U.S.A.) and in Budapest (Hungary). A new, more comprehensive Umpires Course is now being offered separately from the International Instructor Course. There have been many comments about the noticeable improvement in the quality of umpiring at ITF competitions.

To respond to requests and to prepare coaches to train our elite competitors, a Coaching Seminar was offered earlier this week during the World Championship in Québec City (Canada).

A big change is in the timing of international competitions. In the even-numbered years we have the World Cup competition, while the World Championships (Junior and Senior) are held in the uneven-numbered years. This means we now have a good balance in the schedule of competitions. The World Cup is open to everyone; whereas, because it is much more difficult to qualify for World Championships, most competitors at those competitions tend to be elite athletes.

The numbers of participants in recent competitions demonstrate that the changes are appreciated: There were approximately 420 competitors at the World Cup in Orlando (USA) but more than 800in Benidorm (Spain) just two years later.

The previous Senior World Championship in Dortmund (Germany) attracted almost 400 competitors, while approximately 200 competed in the last Junior World Championship in Honduras. For the combined Senior & Junior World Championship in Québec City (Canada) we have, at last count, close to 700 competitors from 56 countries.

Finally, a new, fairer process of bidding for the privilege of holding an international competition is in the process of being drafted.

Ethics & Discipline Committee

This Committee was given the mandate to produce a code of ethics for the ITF. Because this is a very complex subject, it was decided to proceed step by step. A statement on this subject will be presented at this Congress meeting.

A simplified guide to protocol was distributed to the national coaches in the 2007 World Championship. Respect is the basic principle behind the rules of protocol, and it is also a basic principle of Taekwon-Do philosophy. Our elite athletes, our coaches, and umpires are reminded of the importance of being excellent role-models.

Masters Promotion Committee

The policy of a mandatory exam and other requirements for promotion to 7th degree and higher is being applied. As a result, there appears to be an increase in activity by higher-degree Black Belts who are training more and wearing the dobok. We can all be proud of this initiative, since it will serve to enhance the credibility and the perceived value of all ITF Black Belt degrees.

Business Development Committee

The ITF now has increased visibility thanks to our official Website and the work of the Communications Committee. We have been receiving an increasing number of enquiries about joining the ITF. A Welcome Committee was formed, with Mr Juan Fernando as Chair, and given the mandate to follow up with these potential members and to facilitate their integration.

The concept of “a member in good standing” was developed to encourage active participation by our National Associations and to recognize those National Associations that are active members who follow the rules and have adopted democratic practices for their operations.

Communications Committee

A Communications Committee was created with Mr. Jean-Marc Demers, a Canadian lawyer and Black Belt holder, as Chair. The committee is responsible for all ITF communications, working in collaboration with the President’s Office.

Setting up and maintaining the official ITF Website has required a lot of hard work and the cost is significant. However, we now have a site that projects a professional image of the ITF and provides a wealth of useful information for our members and for others who would like to learn about Taekwon-Do and the ITF. Of course the Website is an ongoing project; it requires regular updating and maintenance, and we will continue to strive to make it even better.

The President’s Message on the Web site is used to transmit essential information and introduce new ideas. Comments from members confirm that these messages are attracting a substantial number of readers.

We have published two issues of the magazine ITF Generation, which also serves as a presentation document.

Fifty-four NAs responded to our 2007 survey, compared to 30 for our 2005 survey. This remarkable increase in participation shows that our NAs realize that it is worth their time to respond because we really want to hear about their concerns and we give careful consideration to their comments and suggestions.

Legal Status of the ITF

Despite limited financial resources, we have continued to use legal means to assert our position as the true ITF, while not indulging in negative propaganda against the other groups. Our cautious strategy has produced results. In Canada, the court decided that the official ITF logo belongs to our organization. In the case concerning the ITF registration in Vienna (Austria), the appeals court has instructed the lower court to review its decision concerning the ownership of the ITF building. A decision is expected to be handed down soon.

Conclusion

We can all feel proud of what has been accomplished in the last four years. We have put in place the foundations and the structure of a modern, more efficient organization. Now we must continue to work on development, so that the ITF can fully meet the needs of all its members. With your collaboration, we will be able to reach this goal.

Master Trân Triêu Quân
President