Adapting the ITF tournaments for athlete development Thesis for VII Dan by Adrian Byrne, Ireland ITF events, whether national or international in nature, typically have to manage the logistics of bringing together hundreds or even…

When I started practicing Taekwon-Do in 1986 as a police officer complying with the rules and regulations of the Ethiopian Police Force, I did not expect to reach the 7th Degree or Master’s degree that I am currently competing for. But as much as I understood the art of Taekwon-Do, I had a strong desire and vision to reach the heights of the art in my country – Ethiopia. So, with all the effort and sacrifice required to master the art, I was able to complete my training time and practice better alongside my regular work.

Taekwon-Do was developed in the 1940’s as a method of hand to hand combat training for soldiers, all of whom were male, so it is somewhat understandable that it has an overall male focus. However, since most schools have female students as well as male, it is important for us, as instructors, and for the ITF as an organization, to acknowledge where bias exists in our martial art and take steps to address it.

To the uninitiated, martial arts invariably presents itself as an area of involvement for either young children seeking some form of self-protection from such things as bullying (on their part) or a means of instilling a form of discipline and physical fitness (on the part of their parents). For the older person, of whatever gender, the aspect of protection for themselves and others they may be responsible for, plus the added benefits of overall fitness and resulting personal self-confidence, this can act as a lure to investigate the world of martial arts as opposed to just attending a gym to improve their health (weight-wise) and fitness

Adapting the ITF tournaments for athlete development Thesis for VII Dan by Adrian Byrne, Ireland ITF events, whether national or international in nature, typically have to manage the logistics of bringing together hundreds or even…

When I started practicing Taekwon-Do in 1986 as a police officer complying with the rules and regulations of the Ethiopian Police Force, I did not expect to reach the 7th Degree or Master’s degree that I am currently competing for. But as much as I understood the art of Taekwon-Do, I had a strong desire and vision to reach the heights of the art in my country – Ethiopia. So, with all the effort and sacrifice required to master the art, I was able to complete my training time and practice better alongside my regular work.

Taekwon-Do was developed in the 1940’s as a method of hand to hand combat training for soldiers, all of whom were male, so it is somewhat understandable that it has an overall male focus. However, since most schools have female students as well as male, it is important for us, as instructors, and for the ITF as an organization, to acknowledge where bias exists in our martial art and take steps to address it.

To the uninitiated, martial arts invariably presents itself as an area of involvement for either young children seeking some form of self-protection from such things as bullying (on their part) or a means of instilling a form of discipline and physical fitness (on the part of their parents). For the older person, of whatever gender, the aspect of protection for themselves and others they may be responsible for, plus the added benefits of overall fitness and resulting personal self-confidence, this can act as a lure to investigate the world of martial arts as opposed to just attending a gym to improve their health (weight-wise) and fitness

In the world of martial arts, Taekwondo is widely recognized for its range and the advantages of its foot techniques. Taekwondo’s arsenal of foot techniques is so great that in order to cover it completely, a separate book in which each technique is described from the point of view of biomechanics (the physics of the human anatomy) would be needed.