Master Ryan Rampair is Chair of the ITF Business and Marketing Committee since 2019. As a Jamaican-born, he lives in Trinidad and Tobago for more than 25 years. He and his team regularly advice the ITF on various business opportunities and developed the ITFTKD App. For the ITF newsletter (ITF Together), he gave his insights on the next opportunities for the ITF.
1. How can the Marketing Committee help develop the ITF?
When we look at the world’s most successful sports, we see something very interesting. Millions of people know Lewis Hamilton, even though they have never driven a Formula One car. Millions know Serena Williams, Roger Federer, or John McEnroe, even though they have never played tennis. Everyone knows Michael Jordan, despite never having played competitive basketball.
Those sports have become global because their International Federation learned the value of telling their stories. People don’t simply watch the sport, they follow the personalities, the rivalries, the journeys, the history, and the emotion behind the competition.
I believe this is the next evolution for the ITF.
Taekwon-Do has incredible stories to tell. We have extraordinary instructors who have dedicated their lives to developing people. We have athletes overcoming tremendous odds. We have a rich history that stretches back seventy years. Yet much of that story remains untold outside our own community.
If we begin telling those stories professionally through video, documentaries, interviews, social media, tv and broadcast-quality content, we won’t simply attract more students, we’ll create fans.
Fans create audiences.
Audiences attract sponsors.
And real sponsorship is different from simply having manufacturers who sell products to our members. True commercial sponsors invest because people are watching. That’s how major sports finance growth.
I believe the Business and Marketing Committee can help position the ITF to make that transition by building our story telling capability. Whether that eventually means creating a dedicated broadcast or media production committee is a discussion for the future, but the opportunity is enormous.
2. One of your committee’s innovations is the app. When will it be ready?
One of the biggest challenges with the original app was accessibility. Members had to authenticate through the ITF database, and while technically correct, it created unnecessary barriers for many users.
We’ve now completed a major update that simplifies the entire login process. Members can register and access the platform using their own email addresses, making it significantly easier for everyone to use.
The app has also evolved beyond simply being a directory or membership tool.
It is becoming a communication platform where the ITF can distribute news, announcements, event information, and important updates directly to every member. Instead of members having to search for information across different websites and social media channels, the information can come directly to them.
From the beginning, our vision has been to create “the ITF in your pocket” one place where every member can stay connected with the organization wherever they are in the world.
As we continue adding features over time, the app will become an increasingly valuable tool for members, instructors, and national associations alike.
3. What are the next projects on your committee’s radar?
Our next major initiative is something I call FilmDo “filming the Way”.
The objective is simple: to capture and share the stories of Taekwon-Do, our event, our people and our history before it’s lost.
We naturally focus on tournaments, and those events are spectacular. Sparring, patterns, power breaking, special techniques, team events, and pre-arranged sparring all create exciting content that showcases the athletic side of our art.
But Taekwon-Do is much more than competition.
Behind every black belt is a story.
Some instructors have spent forty or fifty years building schools, transforming lives, and preserving our art. Many of our senior masters personally witnessed important moments in ITF history. Those stories deserve to be documented while we still have the opportunity.
FilmDo would showcase our athletes, our instructors, our history, and our values in a way that people both inside and outside the ITF can connect with.
Alongside that storytelling initiative, we’re equally focused on strengthening the foundation of the organization by supporting instructors.
Every instructor is essentially running a small business while simultaneously carrying the responsibility of growing Taekwon-Do in their community. If instructors struggle financially, the organization as a whole struggles.
We’re therefore exploring practical systems, resources, and business tools that help instructors build stronger, more sustainable dojangs. The goal is for instructors to earn a good living teaching Taekwon-Do, to afford continuing education through International Instructor Courses, to travel to championships, and to invest back into their schools.
One initiative is inspirational, telling our story to the world.
The other is structural, building an environment where instructors can thrive.
Together, those two priorities will help ensure the long-term growth and sustainability of the International Taekwon-Do Federation.
The Brazilian Joy of a New IIC
