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Vision of ITF Taekwon-Do
ITF Taekwon-Do is a sport, a martial art, a way of life, and a tool for social development. How can we work together for progress on all four facets?
A Sport
To develop ITF Taekwon-Do as a sport and encourage greater participation in competitions, major changes will be made to tournament rules, to the competition calendar, and to the qualification process. Training for umpires will be upgraded,and we will investigate the use of a computerized scoring system. Competitors will be happier and motivated to continue when our competitions are safer and scoring is more precise and reliable. Competitions held in well-known locations around the globe will focus attention on the ITF and will result in greater visibility.
A Martial Art
To improve ITF Taekwon-Do as a martial art, there will be increased emphasis on the traditional core values and protocol. The teaching of self-defence - our raison d'ę?tre - will be improved. We will use seminars, documentation, videos, and other means of communication to spread knowledge of ITF Taekwon-Do, reaching out to new markets and to new participants, particularly women.
A Way of Life
To demonstrate the value of ITF Taekwon-Do as a way of life,we must teach all facets of ITF Taekwon-Do, including the Do. I can tell you that General Choi's true last wish and words of guidance for us for the future are found in the introduction to his last book, «Moral Culture». The General had come to realize that most of the emphasis had been placed on the teaching of the technical aspects of ITF Taekwon-Do.
He felt it would be up to the next generation to give equal importance to the teaching of the Do. We have already started working on a Code of Ethics based on the Do. In future, we will use all the resources available to us to teach the whole ITF Taekwon-Do: the techniques and the Do. By studying the Do, our students will grow in understanding of the "why", not only the "how".
The ultimate purpose of life is the search for happiness. Many people suffer because they do not have the proper value system that leads to a balanced life and happiness. We have a solid philosophy and the tools to apply it in our lives. Now we must put in place a structure to teach the mental and spiritual aspects of ITF Taekwon-Do to our students so that they will be able to achieve a balanced life and happiness. I have been teaching ITF Taekwon-Do as a way of life for many years and I believe we can help people to find a balance between family life, school or work, and ITF Taekwon-Do. Teaching this approach will open many doors to us.
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