Deployment of historical events in Taiwan
The association in Taiwan has been closely in contact with the Asia Development Team with members like Master Mariusz Steckiewicz, representative of Vietnam, and GM Najmi Abdullah, representative of Malaysia, joining in this year’s multiple events such as the Technical Training Camp in Vietnam with Master Mariusz Steckiewicz, ITF Taekwon-Do Workshop in Hong Kong with Sabum Sean Kean Piew, Taekwon-Do Free Sparring Camp with Master Hong K Looi in Ipoh, and the Qualifying International Umpire Course under Grand Master Abelardo Benzaquen, hosted in Pahang, Malaysia. These chain of events not only raised the technical and competitive level of practitioners in Taiwan, but also supports sister associations through participation and building good relationships.
During the last weekend of June, Taipei witnessed an unprecedented event gathering many clubs from all around southeast Asia to participate in the third annual Taipei Taekwon-Do Open, organized by the International Taekwon-Do Federation Chinese Taipei Association in one the most prestigious universities of Taipei city. The tournament brought 18 clubs from 8 different countries (Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan), with around 110 competitors competing in Individual Patterns, Individual Sparring, and Special Techniques. We had unforgettable opening ceremony led it by Mr. Carlos Machado who introduced the two heads of the association, Mr. Teck Sim Lim, new selected Chairman, and Mr. Howard Hu, president and representative of the association who flew all the way from the U.S. to be part of this event. We were honored by their speeches and some words shared by the president of the new association consecrated a couple of months ago in Hong Kong, Mr. Leung Chun Man. We congratulated the Hong Kong International Taekwon-Do Alliance (HKITA), and the team of Hong Kong under the guidance of Master Anthony NG. Master Mariusz Steckiewicz also joined the opening with few words dedicated to the organizers and the competitors.
Appreciation Awards were given to all club’s representatives and to culminate the ceremony we performed Chon-Ji, a beautiful moment where competitors, coaches and umpires joined to feel the passion that characterize us. The level among the clubs were really good. Both color belts and black belts showed incredible display of skills and technique. Something to mention is that most of the participants were children and teenagers with a low participation of adults in color belt and black belts divisions. However, this showed us the future lies in the young generations. It is our duty to pass to them the legacy of Taekwon-Do, let them embrace all the facets of this discipline: its martial arts side and its competitive side, as well as tool of social development and a way of life. Malaysia Taekwon-Do Federation (MTF) supported the event with 33 competitors, and this is the support we have mentioned earlier among the countries. Taiwan is bringing a team to their coming tournament “Perak Tourism International Taekwon-Do Championship 2025” on the 24th -27th of July. We can’t take merit to all the clubs who joined us, because every single one of them were important and made a difference in this event: Chang’s Taekwon-Do Academy Singapore, Indonesia Chang-Hon Taekwon-Do Association (ICHTA), Yodogawa Taekwon-Do Club and ITF Taekwon-Do East Japan from International Taekwon-Do Federation Japan, International Taekwon-Do Glendowie from New Zealand, Taekwon-Do ITF Vietnam, Valhalla Taekwon-Do Mixed Martial Art Academy, MMIT Taekwon-Do Hong Kong and Mindfulness Taekwon-Do Club from Hong Kong International Taekwon-Do Alliance (HKITA), 1st Global TKD Academy, CHI Taekwon-Do Academy, TPP Taekwon-Do Academy, Kick & Hit Zone from Persatuan Taekwon-Do Negeri Perak (MTF), Greenfield Taekwon-Do from Persatuan Taekwon-Do Melaka (MTF), United Taekwon-Do Academy from Pahat, Malaysia. And the two main centers in Taipei, Hwa Rang Martial Arts Center and Yul-Gok Martial Arts Center. We also want to extend our gratitude to the team of umpires and officials in Taiwan, and umpires from Hong Kong, Mr. Chan Hok Choy and Vietnam, Mr. Darren Green-Ryding in supporting the event. Special thanks to Mrs. Yu-Shih Lin, who was behind the logistic and administration work of the event.
Right after the tournament, ITF Chinese Taipei gathered all the club’s coaches, representatives, and its competitors to share a dinner with Master Mariusz Steckiewicz, members of the Asian Development Team, and also members of the new National Association Committee. This was a great opportunity to network, brainstorm ideas, provide mutual support, and more importantly, enjoy each other’s company. Among the leaders we have Master Yong Kin Chong from Malaysia, president of Persatuan Taekwon-Do Negeri Perak (MTF), Mr. See Kean Piew, member of the Athletes Committee, Mr. Howard Hu and Mr. Teck Sim Lim from Taiwan, and representatives from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and New Zealand.
We specially scheduled a seminar focused on sparring after our tournament in order to work on the techniques and strategies of competitors. It was amazing to have this type of seminar right after the tournament so we could have a fresh mind and consciousness of what went wrong during their matches. The seminar was hosted by Hwa-Rang Martial Arts Center, Authorized Center of the ITF Chinese Taipei. The seminar took place at the same venue of the tournament. This intensive 6-hour workshop covered:
1.Techniques Adaptation for Sparring, where participants learned how to modify fundamental techniques for real-time combat effectiveness in our sparring modality.
2. Footwork & Balance for Speed and Timing, by mastering the biomechanics of the movement to enhance agility and precision.
3. Common Sparring Scenarios, we trained for the most frequent situations in the ring and develop smart tactical responses.
4.Mental & Physical Preparation for ITF Taekwon-Do Sparring, which we built the mindset, speed, timing, and endurance needed to dominate your game.
The seminar offered attendees hands-on experience that they can directly apply to their library of sparring drills, exercises, and training. It was a great opportunity to learn beyond the typical scope of sets and combos for sparring we used to do. We went through exercises to develop footwork, speed, controlling our body in the most imbalanced situations during a match, which directly impacts the effectiveness of every strike and kick to have an effective valid and scoring point. ITF Chinese Taipei extends its gratitude to Master Mariusz for his help in developing Taekwon-Do in the region.
For the convenience of participants and efficient communication, there is an official Facebook profile and an official Instagram account where you can find more photos and videos of all these events. We encourage you to like and follow these accounts:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1Cd2HWRkv1/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.instagram.com/itf_taekwondochinesetaipei?igsh=MWJudDl5Y3F4ODE4cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
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