With the presence of GM Paul Weiler, President of the ITF, GM Héctor Marano, Chairman of the ITF Technical and Instruction Committee and GM Guillermo Ramisch, Jorge Condomí and Armando Villegas, among other Masters and Instructors, on Saturday 24 In October, the first module of the Adapted Taewkon-Do Course in Spanish took place.
It had the participation of 142 instructors from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Honduras, Belgium, England, Israel, Australia, Taiwan, Italy, Spain, the United States and Canada.
Historical event
The opening remarks were given by GM Weiler, who recalled GM Trân Triêu Quân by mentioning the four facets with which he defined Taekwon-Do, mainly the one that describes it as a tool for social development, at the same time clarifying that through this Program, the ITF is closing a circle in terms of trainings for instructors, along with the other Kids and Harmony programs.
People with some kind of special need comprise 15% of the world’s population, constituting the largest minority of humanity. The latter gives us a real dimension of the importance of the work that the Inclusion Committee is carrying out, he concluded.
As the president himself went on to say, this event represents a double historical event. On the one hand, it is the first official course taught entirely online, and on the other, the first referred to this new Adapted Taekwon-Do Program.
When talking about Adapted Taekwon-Do, we are talking about allowing those people who have certain difficulties to train and enjoy our Martial Art, which means inclusion, which is a human right, he added.
The contents
Among the topics that were transmitted were the use of language when referring to people with certain special conditions, the importance of early stimulation, the relationship with the family of a student with special abilities, safety rules, the sporting aspect and recommendations to when structuring a class.
All the knowledge and experience of the Sabum Leonardo Oros Duek and the BooSabum Anabel Vicario were revealed when they shared recommendations to deal with possible crises during a class, as a result of the student’s condition.
In addition, the exhibitors shared videos and a presentation that illustrated the approach from Taekwon-Do when preparing and conducting classes for people with certain conditions such as Autistic Appearance Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Closing
The first of the three modules of this 1st Official Online Adapted Taekwon-Do Course in Spanish, closed with countless expressions of congratulations and support from the participants.
Undoubtedly, with the unprecedented online modality to teach official courses and the contents spilled, barriers are breaking down.
In the words of President GM Weiler, “each one of us is a social being who wants to live in a free and peaceful world, so it is our obligation to help build that world.”
“I am one hundred percent convinced that General Choi Hong Hi would be proud of this Program, and for sure that this project will raise the reputation of our ITF and open new doors… doors to true inclusion,” he added.
