This question has come up quite a bit since I have been practicing TKD. It comes up a lot in competition, as we are often told that the tournament does not recognize the ITF forms. The answer to this particular question is ITF. But understanding what WTF and ITF are, and why there are two federations that have different sets of forms is more complicated. Master Holloway answered the question in class the other day again and said that we do ITF forms and WTF sparring. I didn’t know there was a difference in the sparring, but I guess it doesn’t surprise me. More on that later.
So I googled ITF and WTF, and honestly I am still confused. So this post might have to have a part one and a part two. There were a few dates and facts that started to help me understand the history:
4/11/1955 – Beginning of taekwondo as a formally recognized art in Korea
3/22/1966 – The International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) was formed
5/28/1973 – The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) was formed
And the following is a description of WTF: An international federation member of the IOC (international olympic committee) for the competition events of taekwondo.
When I went on to read the messages of the president and vice president of the ITF on their website, the general theme was about getting everyone to make nice and be one entity again. Separation always seems to be about power and egos. To a middle aged mom and her son competing in a local taekwondo tournament to practice their skills, it seems it should be about celebrating the sport together, learning and growing, and elevating the awareness of the sport so that others know what it is really all about.
Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Indomitable Spirit and Self Control. Simple, right?
