The International Do Course (IDC) held on 30 October and 13 November 2022 was the second IDC held online this year. It consisted of four 3-hour sessions over a 2-day period for a total of 12 hours.
The highly anticipated IDC brought together 236 registered participants from 32 countries, namely (in alphabetical order): Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, England, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United States, and Wales. It was by far the IDC with the largest number of participants and the largest number of countries ever represented at an IDC since the inception of the course in 2017. A total of 192 participants completed Day 1 and Day 2 of the course (due to issues related to poor internet connection or delayed registration payment, some participants were unable to join the course on Day 1 or Day 2). Among the participants, there were four Grand Masters and 93 Masters. The course was attended by the ITF President, Grand Master Paul Weiler, and the ITF Secretary-General, Master Tadeusz Loboda; the ITF most senior member, Honorable Grand Master Tom MacCallum; three members of the ITF Board of Directors; and three ITF Standing Committee Chairs.
The course was conducted by the members of the Do and Ethics Committee. The instructors were Master Janel Gauthier (Chair) and, in alphabetical order, Master Mark Banicevich, Master Andreu Martínez, and Master Joliette Trân.
During the course, participants had the opportunity to learn about a wide range of topics and reflect on many of them. Those included, but were not limited to, the following: (1) the moral culture of Taekwon-Do; (2) the origin and meaning of the word “Do”; (3) the tenets of Taekwon-Do (courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit); (4) the Student’s Oath; (5) the development of moral reasoning from childhood to adult; (6) the relations between the psychosocial determinants of human behaviour and how psychological knowledge can help to achieve the goals of Taekwon-Do; (7) ethical decision-making and how to resolve dilemmas or conflicts between tenets; (8) motivation and goal-setting (how to set effective goals in Taekwon-Do and every day life); (9) the integration of the teaching of Do into the teaching of Taekwon-Do (general guideline and tips).
A wide range of activities were used to grab and hold participants’ attention throughout each day. For example, participants were polled and challenged with quiz questions during presentations. At other times, participants met in small groups in virtual breakout rooms to discuss a particular issue or find ways to address it before returning to the main meeting room to share some of their ideas with the whole group. Still at other times, they were challenged with thinking exercises designed to spark their interest and curiosity. In addition, PowerPoint presentations and demonstrations were used to help participants better understand the information presented during the course. Prior to each day of the IDC, participants were given a link to a web page where they could go to download a PDF copy of the document showing the slides that would be presented during the sessions of that day.
Since the 1st of January 2022, all 8th degree holders who apply for the title of “Grand Master” must attend one IDC to be eligible for promotion. As of 1st January 2023, those who wish to apply for promotion to 7th or 8th degree black belt will be required to attend one IDC to be eligible for testing.
Yours in Taekwon-Do,
Master (Prof. Dr.) Janel Gauthier
Chair of the ITF Do and Ethics Committee
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