"GASOLINE FOR LIFE:" DANISH CHAMPION LISA GJESSING RETAINS TITLE IN TRAIL-BY-FIRE FINALE

MOSCOW, Russia (22 June, 2014) – Lisa Gjessing lost an arm to cancer in 2012, but now reckons she is happier than she was prior to the amputation. How so? Well…being a world para-taekwondo champion has something to do with it.

The 35-year old Dane boasts the svelte physique of an elite-level athlete and the sculpted Nordic facial features that modelling agencies would kill for. She is successful both professionally – she is a state prosecutor – and personally – she is married with two children, aged five and eight.

But cancer is no respecter of looks or position: In 2009, Gjessing was diagnosed with the disease.

“It was a big shock,” she said. Gjessing underwent various treatments and in 2012, her lower left arm was amputated. The trauma forced some introspection, and she decided to return to an old love.

Before her illness, Gjessing had practiced taekwondo, competing at the 2001 and 2003 world championships. But in 2004, she had given up the practice, partly due to familial and educational commitments, and partly due to failing the 2004 Olympic qualifications. Fast forward to 2012, and while she was in rehab, she saw something that inspired.

“I saw the Paralympics in London a few months after my amputation, and I thought, ‘How can I feel sorry for myself, when they can do all this?’” she recalled. 

She contacted her former coach Bjarne Johansen - with whom she had remained in contact – and the two were excited to discover that para-taekwondo existed. After an eight-year layoff, Gjessing got back into training. “Johansen had an elite taekwondo center and his guys were on a high level,” she said. “But I found I could still kick.”

Just a month and a half later, she entered the (able-bodied) European Championships and won in her class. “That felt really good,” she recalled, and started intensive training for the World Para-Taekwondo Championships in 2013.

In Lausanne, she took home the gold. 

That win, plus her previous experience in able-bodied taekwondo, gives her a unique vantage point from which to judge the two formats.

Para-taekwondo has removed the crowd-pleasing head kicks which tend to be lateral; this makes it more linear, with more back-and-forth movement, she said. She was also surprised that (at least in the women’s categories) there was as wide a pool of opponents as in able-bodied. She will stick with the para-format.

“From now on, I’m only doing para-taekwondo, I am not going back to able-bodied,” she said. “With work and kids, I don’t want to fight with head contact.”

This year in Moscow, having trained six days a week for months in the run-up she was in tigerish condition, fully prepared to defend her title.

Her first two matches were a cruise. Against relatively inexperienced opposition, she won 16-0 and 12-0; both fights were – prudently - stopped by the judges. The situation presented Gjessing with an issue. “I felt I should have been more gentle with them, I want them to be up and coming as I want more competitors!” she said. “It is a dilemma.”

There would be no such dilemma in the final. Facing Azerbaijan’s Mammedova Aynur, she underwent a trial-by-fire, the toughest fight of her para-taekwondo career.

Plunged into near-mortal combat, Gjessing was unable to crack Aynur’s water-tight guard. “She was really good, she covered up and did her thing,” said Gjessing, who, for the first two rounds, was behind on points. What she did not realize, as her opponent came out for the final round, was how exhausted she was. “I was really tired, and my concentration slipped,” said Aynur. “The last 30 seconds decided the match.”

Needing a high-risk, high-scoring technique, Gjessing unleashed a spinning back kick. It landed and put her ahead.  When the smoke cleared, she was holding gold in the women’s -58 g, K44 class, with a score of 5-3.

Aynur’s dismay was evident when she stood on the silver rostrum: Tears streamed down her face. Yet the two are not to-the-death rivals. “We only fight on the mats; off them, we are good friends,” said Aynur. But she warns, “In October, at the European Championships, I’ll beat her!”

Meanwhile Gjessing is looking forward to reuniting with her husband and children.

“My family is very supportive, but I can’t do this all year round,” she said. “I have not followed the kids to school since May and I hardly pick them up, so now, I am ready for some family time.”

In the aftermath of cancer, the combination of para-taekwondo and victory has proven effective life therapy.

“I love doing taekwondo, I love the sport, I love the kicking, I love the people,” she mused. “Doing something you like and winning a world championship fills a center in your brain: I think I am happier than before.”

That is confirmed by her colleagues. “She is such a joy to be with,” said Danish team head and president of the Danish Taekwondo Federation, Ejnar Skovgaard Mikkelson. “There is such a joy in her, and in this arena, too; you don’t feel that so much in ordinary taekwondo.”

Johansen puts it succinctly: para-taekwondo, he says, is “gasoline for life.”

And Gjessing plans to motor on, because she is enthused by para-taekwondo’s future possibilities.

“I hope that this goes through to the Paralympics, that is the big dream,” she said. “If it is in Tokyo in 2020, I can promise you: I’ll be ready!”

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OPENING CEREMONY PARA-TAEKWONDO DEMONSTRATION MARKS TRIUMPHANT END OF ODYSSEY FOR MOROCCANS

MOSCOW, Russia (21 June, 2014) – The opening ceremony of the 5thWTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships featured a range of acts and entertainments, but the event that bought the house down was a para-taekwondo demonstration by a six-man team from Morocco.

However, their show was not the only wonder. Due to the prejudices facing para-athletes, many attendees at the championships faced considerable struggles to participate - butperhaps none more so than the boys from Morocco.

For years, this cheerful, extrovert team – who, on the evening before the championships, raised laughs with their noisy appreciation of a belly dancer performing in the restaurant of their Moscow hotel – found their efforts to attend a para-taekwondo championship thwarted by misfortune, miscommunication and plain old lack of cash.

“We did not know about the (first para-taekwondo championships, which took place right after the world championships) in Azerbaijan in 2009,” said Abdennour El-Faydeni, who is competing in kyorugi as well as demonstrating. “Morocco took a team of 24 able-bodied athletes, but not even one or two disabled people.”

In 2010 problems familiar to many para-athletes – lack of funds and federation issues - prevented the Moroccans from attending that year’s championship in St. Petersburg, Russia. For the 2012 championships in Santa Cruz, Aruba, the team went so far as to obtain travel visas, but were eventually stymied for lack of cash. And for the 2013 championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, they did not have time to get a team together due to communications error.

A key barrier to accessing funds has been lack of Olympic recognition.

“We tried to talk to the federation of sports in Morocco, but they said because taekwondo is not in the Paralympics it does not exist!’” Abdennour recalled. “I said, ‘It exists! It is your fault that you don’t know about it!’”

Finally in 2014, their luck changed.

They were invited to the neighboring country of Tunisia – to which they could afford the relatively cheap air fares - where they conducted a show that proved a hit. Another invitation, to demonstrate at the African Championships, brought them to the attention of WTF President Chungwon Choue.

Choue arranged funds for the demonstration team’s flight and accommodation in Moscow, and the Russian organizing committee donated free transport. “This is our best year!” enthused team member Faycal Lahsaini.

Given the trials and tribulations they have undergone, it is hardly surprising that the team don’t like to use the common terms “disabled” or “impaired” to describe themselves. Their preferred nomenclature is evident in the name of their organization they founded in 2012: the Association of Challenge and Persistence for Persons with Special Abilities.

“We are ambassadors for all people of special abilities,” said team member Adil Maddoud.

 “We want to show their abilities to all people, not just to people with special abilities,” added Coach Hichan El-Allassi. “And we want to show them to all persons – like mothers and fathers – to show that they do not have to keep them in their houses, they should show them to the world.”

That mission is very much in line with the thinking of the father of Moroccan para-taekwondo, Aziz Smaili.

“I saw many disabled people in the streets, and I tried to find a way to make them happy, to include them in society,” said Smaili, a taekwondo coach.

After including para-athletes in taekwondo training programs in the late 1990s, he founded the demonstration team in 1998. “Through shows, we can show the abilities of these people to the public,” Smaili, who has also authored books on poomse and kyorugi for para-athletes, said.

But is there any way to change the perception toward para-taekwondo athletes in Morocco?

“It was many years before our dreams to be included in a para-taekwondo championship came true,” said Abdennour. “So now, our hope is to include Para-taekwondo in Tokyo in the 2020 Paralympics. That will be a big message.”

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NEOPHYTE TAEKWONDO PARA-ATHLETES FROM LESOTHO FACE STERN CHALLENGE

MOSCOW, Russia (20 June, 2014) – Preparing to compete in a world championship is intimidating for any athlete. But just imagine how more intimidating it must be if you have never travelled abroad before in your life – and if you only have three months training in the sport in question.

This is the challenge facing Lydia Masole Pitso, 18, and  Phoofolo Mokhethi, 16, who both hail from the southern African country of Lesotho, as they prepare for the 5th WTF World Para-

Taekwondo Championships in Moscow, Russia.

The two teens both suffer from dual upper limb disabilities, and both attend the country’s Saint Angelo’s School. It is there that they were scouted by coach John Moorasama Nkesi, who told them about what taekwondo means.

“ I told them they should not be ashamed of themselves, that they are training to defend themselves, and that they should have a high standard of discipline,” Nkesi said. “If you are equipped with this skill, you can beat all the challenges in the world.”

The two were won over. “I was so happy to be involved in taekwondo, I did not think that one day I would be among it,” said Mokhethi. “It is so glamorous!” added Pitso, who also plays ladies’ football. “It’s the game I like the most.”

The athletes, whose air tickets to Moscow were sponsored by the World Taekwondo Federation, were on their first trip abroad. Despite their inexperience, their coach is adamant that they are both in with a chance of taking home medals.

“They started in the second week of April,” he said. “You won’t believe them now!

That is no bluster. The view is backed up by a taekwondo athlete with two decades of experience, who observed the two thwacking away at kick pads as they trained in preparation for the championship - and were astonished at how short their training histories were.

In the future, Mokhethi hopes to become a taekwondo coach, while Pitso harbours ambitions of being a soldier. But first they face a trial by fire: Their first international championship. Given their relative inexperience, are they worried?

“I am concerned,” Mokhethi admits. Pitso, however, is quietly determined to make her mark.

“Most people say, ‘You should not be able to play,’” she said firmly. “But we try to do our best to do all the same that others can do.”

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HIGH-ALTITUDE ATHLETE FROM NEPAL HAS LOFTY HOPES

MOSCOW, Russia (20 June, 2014) - He had it all: A steady job, a life in a foreign country and a sporting hobby – taekwondo. Then it all fell apart.

"I injured my hand, I lost two fingers in an industrial accident," said Yadav Kunwar, 41, from Nepal, recalling the incident that changed his life while working in South Korea. "When I had that accident, I felt like I lost my life."

Kunwar, a 25-year taekwondo veteran now preparing to compete in the 5th WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships in Moscow, Russia, recalls how devastating the blow was: For two years, nursing his mutilated hand, he did not practice.

Then – hope.

"I heard about para-taekwondo," said the trim, long-haired athlete. "When I heard about it, I hoped for a new life in taekwondo."

Indeed, the kick-centric sport is particularly suited for those suffering from upper limb injuries. he said. "Taekwondo plays with the foot, and uses the hand to protect," he said. "I feel like I am not 100 percent, but that is no problem."

Remotivated, Kunwar dived back into his beloved sport and in 2013 grabbed a bronze in the sparring category at the 4th WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships held in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2013. That result made him one of Nepal's highest profile sporting heroes.

Back home in Nepal, taekwondo is well developed. It is the nation's most popular sport, and Kunwar himself is widely featured in national media. Now he is giving back to the sport as a coach, teaching the disabled around the country. In doing so, he hopes that he will no longer be a force of one.

"I am the only Nepalese athlete here," he said of the Nepalese contingent in Moscow. "Next time, there will be more."

Taekwondo, which requires neither equipment nor stadium, is well suited to Nepal, he reckons. "For taekwondo you don't need a cricket pitch, you can play it in a small room," he said. "It is very easy to play."

And Nepal's country's soaring landscapes might just be the perfect breeding ground for taekwondo athletes, Kunwar reckons. "We are lightweight, high-altitude people," he said; his countrymen's physical combination of agility and leg strength is appropriate for the high-kicking contact sport.

As he gears up for the weekend Moscow championship, he has high hopes.

"I want to get a gold here in Russia," he said. He acknowledges, however, that he is facing strong competition – particularly from the Azerbaijani, Russian and Turkish teams. But he is not daunted, and hopes to improve on his score in Lausanne. Subsequently, he hopes there may be an even bigger event.

"I want to get gold at the Paralympics," he said. "I want to be a medalist."

The International Paralympic Committee will be voting on taekwondo's inclusion in the Paralympic program in October this year or in the first quarter of next year at the latest.

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GHANAIAN ATHLETE URGES DISABLED: "DON’T SIT IN YOUR ROOM, DON’T LOCK THE DOOR"

MOSCOW, Russia (20 June, 2014) –  A Ghanaian athlete preparing for the upcoming 5th WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships here in Moscow has an inspirational message for disabled people internationally.

“To all my disabled friends all over the world, taekwondo is beautiful, taekwondo is sweet,” said Sharon Akewi, 30.” If you are a disabled person like me, don’t sit in your room, don’t lock the door, come into taekwondo, you will have a great opportunity.”

He should know. Akewi lost two fingers of his right hand at the age of 25, but that did not keep him from the sport he has loved since the age of 12. 

“My master came to visit me in the hospital and motivated me to never give up, to keep practicing.” After one year of rehab, he did exactly that. “If you love it, no predicament is going to make you stop what you love to do,” he added.

Now a taekwondo coach himself, Akewi was in Moscow with buddy John Bodu, 25. Bodu lost his right arm in an accident at age 14, but took up disabled football and para-cycling before being introduced to taekwondo by Akewi. The two are both attending their first para-taekwondo championship – and both are confident.

“I know the sky will not be the limit,” said Bodu, who has medaled for Ghana in other para sports. “I want to do the same for taekwondo, I want to be the world’s best!”

They have their sights set on gold, which they hope to win not just for Ghana, but for “Africa as a whole.” They also have aspirational sporting benchmarks, which they hope will elevate their chosen game into the big leagues.

“Just like you have world-class players – Messi or Ronaldo in football, Pacquiao or Mayweather in boxing– we hope taekwondo is going to be lifted up to that level,” said Akewi. “When you hear about world champions, you will hear about Sharon Akewi and John Bodu! You make the name, you make the fame, you make the money.”

Even so, however hard they fight on the mats, the two know they face another struggle back home – the struggle against prejudice.

“In Ghana, it is not easy to have this hand and say you want to train someone,” said Akewi. “In Ghana it is very hard to do disabled sports,” added Bodu. “They normally take care of able-bodied sports, but not disabled sports.”

And they both note a lack of financial support – they are “financially disabled” as Akewi puts it – and suffer from a dearth of training equipment such as uniforms and protective gear. Both made pleas for philanthropists to step in an assist the sport in their country and across the African continent.

Given this, they both hope for a strong public reception when the games begin on Saturday.

“Disabled sports is like able-bodied sports,” said Bodu, adding that he hopes for strong crowd support, “… to boost our morale so we can do something for the nation.“

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[WTF] Taekwondo challenge to as major sport, hold technical committee workshop

 

Hold workshop in MuJu taekwondowon until 15^th

WTF will try to be major sports after holding 2012 London Olympic and 2013 world championship. Taekwondo is deciding as core events in 2020 Tokyo Olympic. The policies are pro-media and popularize.

WTF hold ‘WTF technical committee’ workshop in Muju taekwondowon from 13^th through 15^th.

In the first day of work shop president Cho Jung Won attend to meeting and encourage technical committee and suggest new ideas.

In this workshop technical chief Yang Jin Bang (Korea), race committee Philippe Bouedo (France), referee Chief Chelbat Chakirief (Sweden), member of the executive committee Jung Kook Hyun (Korea), British Taekwondo association technical chief Gray Hall (British), USA taekwondo association president Bruce Harris are attend. In WTF Jean Marie secretary general and Lee Jae Wook referee chief is attend.

In this meeting they discussed△electronic protect gear and head gear. △Para taekwondo. △improve uniform design. △expand Olympic weight class. △improve referee program. △world grand prix and others. The first day of meeting was over in 8 in the evening.

After finished of first meeting and technical chief Yang Jin Bang said in press conference” the meeting was through efficiency they all are positive to change” “ we will report this meeting’s result to WTF president , if we report A, B and C items the president and secretary chief will decide and will be introduce to executive committee.”

The reason of holing this kind of meeting is “it is basic step to taekwondo to be major sport”, and “We are focused on media exposure, we are discussion on taekwondo uniform, electronic protect gear and mat. Ultimately, WTF pursuit exposure of media and throughout that taekwondo can be more popularized sport.”

Cho Jung Won president said interview with < MOOKAS>. ” In this meeting we will check all of the improvement points and have new discussion as center to the 2016 Rio Olympic.” And “this meeting’s decision will be introduce to this March’s executive committee and we will do our best to be taekwondo throughout to global.”

[MOOKAS GLOBAL = KOR | Hye-Jin, HAN]

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Korea Taekwondo focus ‘globalization’… correspond game rule to WTF

 

Competition and Poomsae competition game rules are correspond to WTF and plus extra

Korea taekwondo which is led of world taekwondo follow globalization in over 40years.

The reason of defeated in international competition in several years is not fall game power, the huge reason is that not following globalization

KTA (president, Kim Tae Hwan) open board of directors meeting in 14^th. They resolve to follow WTF game rule in domestic games.

Meanwhile, KTA is WTF’s affiliated organization but there was difference between two organizations about game rule. Cause of that Korea taekwondo was keeping having poor result in international games so many of instructors keep complain about game rule.

Korean taekwondo also add few more items while correspond game rule to WTF.

First, video decipher regulation and second, fall down regulation

If player request video decipher and if it is reject, the player will get warning. Impose of this rule is trying to stop excessive of request video decipher. Referee is also no exception too, if found mistake in video decipher result the referee is also can dispense reward and punishment.

The fall down action can falling down exciting moment of game so excepted of inevitable moment, if the player fall down, first they get caution and second warning and even they can get subtract point.

Last year Korea Poomsae taekwondo tames wins at world championships 8 times in a row but other countries taekwondo is growth fast and few leading countries are raise player intensively. .

Also impose evaluate system to national squad coaching staffs. The international competition is major evaluate point. They will evaluate how to using video card and giving disadvantage to player cause of trouble that is cause by coaching staff.

Electronic protective gear is still problem. The multiple WTF official products are still not capable to fit in games. They were focus to K&P but they will adjust which is similar to DAEDO.

Poomsae game rules will also corresponds to WTF and they will create ‘Poomsae game rule research’ team. After finished of 5 times of meeting they will decide final rule.

They will add Poomsae competition to existing completion and the new competition Korea Nazarene University president competition was approve.

The game rule is change since New Year, the race committee, instructor, referee and player all will be busy. They should attend required to game rule class.

Executive director Kim Sae Hyek said” last year we are good at Puebla but we got no gold medals in grand prix, the result is not related with luck or chance. We can ready for luck when we try hard. Taekwondo is already globalization, we should follow that trend”

They also changed improvement of athletic performance tame to directly under the president and they will prepare details about this soon.

For Korea taekwondo 2014 is ‘initialization’ they will find originated of taekwondo’s status. They will learn from other countries no matter what. We all hope to fruition.

 

[MOOKAS GLOBAL = Hye-Jin, HAN]

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World youth championship will use PSS DAEDO

WTF will decide to use DAEDO for world youth championship in this march at Taiwan and 2014 youth Olympic selection match and they notify to organizing committee.

This decision was started since later year November about WTF host competition electronic protective gear provide and sponsor process. DAEDO will try to contract last year December in Manchester but WTF was repeat discussion in workshop so the decision was defer.

DAEDO Park Chan Wook president said” this decision was not deciding by cause of the sponsor suggestion, it was result of PSS group’s skill evaluation and experience and others”

Continuing” our DAEDO is all used in big events like 2012 London Olympic, 2013 Puebla world championship, Manchester world grand prix, 2014 world youth championship, 2014 youth Olympic selection. Right now we will focused on competition that is host soon, also we will keep development and research to progress electronic protective gear system.”

[MOOKAS GLOBAL = Hye-Jin, HAN]

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WTF AWARDS KAZAKH PRESIDENT 9TH DAN BLACK BELT

Astana, Kazakhstan; 21 January 2014: WTF President Chungwon Choue today presented Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev with a 9thdan black belt – as an acknowledgement of the President’s contribution to the development of the sport in Kazakhstan.

The official presentation was made during a 35-minute ceremony at the Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan. During the ceremony, President Nazarbayev pledged to continue to promote taekwondo and increase participation in the country, particularly amongst its young people.

WTF President Choue said that the Kazakh President is positively considering building a WTF-designated Regional Training Centre which will standardise and improve the training of taekwondo coaches in the region.

Speaking after the ceremony, President Choue said:

“We are delighted to be here in the beautiful city of Astana and to have the opportunity to officially thank and reward President Nursultan Nazarbayev for the work he has done in supporting and promoting taekwondo in this country. It is imperative that we work with each of our 205 Member National Associations to guarantee that we fulfill the potential of our global sport. The people we have met so far in Kazakhstan have shown us the passion for taekwondo that exists here and the establishment of a Regional Training Centre would help ensure that the sport’s popularity grows even further – not just in this country but throughout the region.”

Kazakhstan is one of six countries currently bidding to host the WTF’s newest property: the World Taekwondo Grand Prix. The inaugural competition, which was held in Manchester, the UK in December last year, attracted 231 of the world’s best athletes from 59 countries and demonstrated the WTF’s commitment to constantly evolving and adapting to provide more dynamic and more exciting competitions – better for athletes, and for fans. Kazakhstan faces competition from China, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, and the United Kingdom to stage the first tournament of the 2014 series.

President Choue added:

“Travelling around the world always reinforces just how popular taekwondo is globally. Taekwondo is a sport for all nationalities which offers universal opportunities, regardless of race, gender or faith. Bringing the World Taekwondo GP to countries around the world will motivate and inspire the next generation of athletes and ensure that the Olympic values continue to be spread worldwide.

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[TV] TAEKWONDO Evolution! 2013 WTF World Taekwondo Grand Prix Fina highlight

[MOOKAS GLOBAL = HAN HVE JIN, PARK JEON MIN]

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Master Jung Man Soon, nominated for new Kukkiwon President

Kukkiwon appointed Jung Man Soon as acting President on January 6^th, which is vacancy after Lee Kyu Hyeng resign.

They will be held board of director soon and take appointment procedure. Jung Man Soon produced lots of world champion when he was taekwondo instructor and work as professor in Cheongju University for 32 years and retired in 2010.

Right now he is active as Chungbuk taekwondo association president, Kukkiwon member of board of director, Kukkiwon high rank referee, ATU technical chief and Cheongju University honorary professor.

[MOOKAS GLOBA = KOREA | Han, Hye-Jin]

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Grand Master Lee Kyu Hyeong voluntary resignation from Kukkiwon President

Grand Master Lee Kyu Hyeong voluntary resignation from Kukkiwon President

Kukkiwon director Lee Kyu Hyeong resigns from President. He submits resigns last year December 31^st and this resigns accept this year January 2^nd.

Director Lee Kyu Hyeong call to and said that he feels very sorry about dropping out in the middle of the terms and to taekwondo peoples. Also even though it’s short time of period, I should announce about my resigns so I will send text about reason why I resigns.

Next days, President Lee Kyu Hyeong sends letter titles with to ‘MOOKAS’ and Kukkiwon corresponds  In this letter he explain detail why does he have to resigns himself from the most honorable position for taekwondo people.

In this letter it includes the reasons of resigns. The reasons are the leading member’s dishonesty and conflict between boards of directors. This situation is keep repeat and it is hard to leading Kukkiwon as President. 

[MOOKAS GLOBAL = Manchester | Hye-Jin, HAN]

Dear Taekwondo family members!

I would like to apologise for not being able to fulfill all of the Taekwondo families dream, which was to see all Taekwondo governing body’s working in cooperation and harmony, served Kukkiwon for about two months as acting president and became the official president on October 27th, by board members unanimity.

I believe that the position of Kukkiwon’s president is the most honourable title for any Taekwondo lover and yet carries a huge responsibility to serve all Taekwondo families.

As I have lived my whole life training and teaching Taekwondo, I accepted the president’s position believing that I would try my best to lead Kukkiwon and successfully carry out many project goals such as the WTA (World Taekwondo Academy), education, training, researching, improving the judging system, organising Poomsae, inventing new Poomsae, marketing, promotion, centralisation of Taekwondo and so on to improve Kukkiwon’s status.

Since 2010, I have served Kukkiwon as a board member at the 1st executive branch when Kukkiwon transformed as a special corporation, and realised that full-time officers such as administration director, chief of training institute and the president are the most important people in Kukkiwon’s operation.

To be an administration director, not only is it important to have a deep knowledge of executive ability but also to have reasonable thoughts, the ability to draw a line between public and private matters and support the president to make the right decisions and therefore to lead Kukkiwon down the right path by prioritising the organisation’s harmony.

As for being chief of training institute, the position itself represents the character of Kukkiwon, which is the centre of all Taekwondo and holds responsibilities in areas such as the Taekwondo leader’s seminar, education, research, WTA and so on. For these reasons, I believe that the chief of training institute must be a high-rank Dan holder of Taekwondo and have experiences of teaching and researching in the area of Taekwondo education.

However, my hope on this was completely destroyed.

Firstly, when I was still the acting president, some board members ignored the regulations and forced me to hold a management committee to modify the regulations. When I was asked to do this, I told them that according to the documents we would have to wait until the court’s decision was made and if we did not wait, it was against regulations.

Secondly, there were some members who wanted to form a special committee to fight against firing two members of Kukkiwon. The article 1 (purpose) of special committee was based on article 42 of regulation, which states that a special committee must be formed under the purpose of development and improvement of Kukkiwon’s status. This special committee, however, was not for the development or the improvement of Kukkiwon’s status and I could not allow it.

Every time I faced this kind of situation, I stood up, not only because of the honourable title I had gained, but because of what I believed was the right thing to do. I was willing to give up my position for this lonely fight.

Thirdly, regarding the executive director and chief of training institute, I have followed the protocol that is stated in regulation’s article 3, which explains that the vice president is to be recommended by the president, appointed by the chairman of the board and report to the board meeting. For this matter, I recommended Soon Myung No, who has several titles from national competitions, has served as the secretary general of Incheon Athletic Association and the president of Incheon Taekwondo Association as an executive director candidate.

The process of appointing the executive director was not easy. The person with the appointive powers recommended a candidate I believed I could not work with to achieve Kukkiwon’s goals. I faced the person with the authority and asked him if he could appoint the person I had recommended for the Kukkiwon’s stabilisation and development, but he refused. As a result, we both agreed to take a step back from what we wanted and consequently, Soon Myung No became executive director.

However, some of the board members were claiming to have a vote of confidence for Mr. No to serve consecutive terms and at last, Mr. No refused to serve his consecutive terms as an executive director.

I was shocked at this issue and felt a heavy moral responsibility.

Forthly, after Soon Myung No’s resignation on December 24th, I tried harder to recommend someone who was most suitable for the position by asking many other Taekwondo professors, presidents of other Taekwondo associations and high-ranked Dan holders to lead Kukkiwon with me. I found the right candidate but the person in charge of appointing, again, did not approve him.

If I cannot choose someone I can work with, I cannot lead Kukkiwon to the right path and for this reason, I chose to resign from the president’s position on December 31st, 2013, as I believe that keeping my position as a president will do no good for the development of Kukkiwon and also my moral belief could not allow it.

I take full responsibility and I have decided to stop being the president for the benefit of Kukkiwon. Solely based on my beliefs, I cannot satisfy all Taekwondo members’ wishes for Kukkiwon’s stabilisation and I could not convince all of the board members myself, so I have resigned.

Some might say that this is an irresponsible decision to avoid my responsibility. I humbly accept those accusations and agree that all of the blame is on me.

However, for the sake of Taekwondo and Kukkiwon’s identity and their pride as a Taekwondo family, I could not in all conscience continue being a president of Kukkiwon. I am truly sorry for that.

My dear Taekwondo families;

The members of Kukkiwon change after their serving period. We all agree that Kukkiwon and Taekwondo must remain highly acclaimed forever by the people of Taekwondo.

To be the president of Kukkiwon is an honourable position. But, I believe that as a Taekwondo person, we must define the identity of Kukkiwon, keep pride as Taekwondo people and devote ourselves to the development of Taekwondo and the increase of Taekwondo practitioners in this time where many other martial arts have become more popular.

Moreover, Kukkiwon’s president must research and devote himself to accept all Taekwondo family members around the world, even if it means to go around the world to express the spirit of Taekwondo and to build diplomacy with other countries.

Again, I am truly sorry for my resignation and I want to give thanks to Moon Jong Hong, a chairman of the board and all others who initially agreed to put me in the president’s position of Kukkiwon.

I would like to say a word to Kukkiwon staff members:

I thank you so much for having faith in me and following me. Please remember that Kukkiwon holds historical and social values at the centre of all Taekwondo and devote yourselves to the development of this great martial art.

I have left the honourable position but that does not mean that I have left Taekwondo. Taekwondo is my life itself. To me, Taekwondo is respect, the right path, righteousness, courtesy, manners and the competition of identity.

Even though I leave Kukkiwon, my walk towards the love of Taekwondo will continue forever.

I will constantly practice the right path, research and educate to develop Taekwondo’s status and walk the path that all other Taekwondo people do.

I will devote myself to do the best for Taekwondo whenever and wherever.

Thank you.

January 4th 2014

Kyu Hyung Lee

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