World Taekwondo Europe

E.T.U. News

Details: Published: 17 April 2019

Taekwondo Europe wishes you a spring season in a healthy and dignified life, true to its potential, and Happy Easter to all those celebrating in Europe and around the world.

Details: Published: 18 April 2019

During the joint WT-ITF joint demonstration one more special event was realized, recalling great memories of Taekwondo prior to its inclusion in the Olympic Games.

WT Council Members Prof. Kuk Hyun Jung and Mr. Metin Sahin had a re-match after 34 years. The two taekwondo fighters at that time had competed at the final of the WT World Championships in 1985, the 7th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships, which were held in Seoul, South Korea, from September 4 to September 8, 1985, at the Jamsil Arena.

Along with Patrice Remarchk from Ivory Coast and Jay Warwick from the United States were the top 4 in their division (-76kg) out of the 280 contestants from 63 participating nations, all male, as women were not competing in the world championships until 1987. Born in 1962 and 1963 respectively, Prof. Kuk Hyun Jung and Dr. Metin Şahin have been forming the progress of the sport since their early athletic career.

In 1982, Dr. Metin Şahin became Turkish champion and was selected to the national team the next year. He served several years as the captain of the national team. Between 1984 and 1994, he competed at world and European championships and represented Turkey at two Pre-Olympic Games. In 1995, 1986 and 1991 he was honored "Sportsperson of the Year" by the Turkish media. He serves as the President of the Turkish Taekwondo Federation since 2003, after being active in the sport since 1975 and contributing to widespread the sport of Taekwondo throughout Turkey. Since August 2004, he became a board member of the World Taekwondo, while the next year, he was re-elected to the board, and was appointed chairman of the youth commission of the WTF. In October 2007, he was elected to the board of World Taekwondo Europe, where he currently holds the position of Vice-President.

WT Council Members Kuk Hyun Jung of South Korea and Metin Sahin of Turkey repeated the final of the 1985 WT World Championships ©World Taekwondo

Prof. Kuk Hyun Jung made history by becoming the first person to win 4 World Titles as well as a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games. His highest honor came in 2011 when he was inducted into the TAEKWONDO HALL OF FAME® in an historic ceremony held for the first time in Korea, while in June 18, 2014, the Taekwondo Hall of Fame which is based in the USA recognized worldwide Professor Kook Hyun Jung as Korea’s all-time Best Taekwondo Player. His induction into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame was the highest honor he could receive in the world of sports, while one year la he made his debut as the new committee chairman at the 2015 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series 1 in Moscow, Russia in August.

정국현총장(왼쪽)과 메틴사힌

This re-match of these two remarkable Taekwondo personalities breathes out the merit of the sport and illustrates that taekwondo is a way of life for the generations to anchor and build upon. Beyond competition and trophies, the values of taekwondo, closely related to the Olympic values, promote peace posterity. This is the landmark that the WT-ITF joint event highlighted and Prof. Kuk Hyun Jung and Mr. Metin Sahin re-match is a prime illustration of the principles of the sport and its people.

The IOC President, WT President and the ITF President joined the teams for a group photo ©World Taekwondo

Details: Published: 16 April 2019

During the previous week on April 11, 2019 in Lausanne, Switzerland, the World Taekwondo (WT), the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hosted a spectacular taekwondo demonstration event in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of taekwondo’s Olympic inclusion.

The event was realized at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne in recognition of the positive contribution of taekwondo to the Olympic Movement, as humanitarian and peace-building initiatives over the past 25 years. Taekwondo has appeared at every Olympic Games since the 103rd IOC Congress in Paris voted to include taekwondo in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

IOC President Thomas Bach, ex-German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, ASOIF President Mr. Franceso Ricci Bitti, IOC Executive Board Member and President of UWW Mr. Nenad Lalovic, President of International Handball Federation Mr. Hassan Moustafa and FISU President Mr. Oleg Matytsin joined WT President Chungwon Choue and ITF President Ri Yong Son to celebrate the event. Officials from WT, ITF and Taekwondo Europe also attended the celebrations, among them WTE Secretary-Genaral Michael Fysentzidis.

A total of 28 delegates from WT and 23 delegates from the ITF performed a joint-demonstration which showcased acrobatic kicking skills, self-defence, graceful Poomsae and board breaking during the celebrations. Together, the two teams demonstrated the full range of taekwondo.

“Today’s event was an important milestone in taekwondo’s history. It is an honour to have been included on the Olympic Games programme for the last 25 years. During that time, we have seen taekwondo grow significantly thanks to the global exposure the Games has provided.”

“We have innovated the sport, made it more exciting for athletes and fans and ensured that it can be practiced anywhere, anytime, by anyone regardless of age, gender or ability.” said WT President Choue.

“We in turn will continue to promote the Olympic values around the world. We are committed to fulfilling our social responsibility and making a major contribution to social development and humanitarian causes. Working with the ITF, we are aiming for ‘One World, One Taekwondo’.

ITF President Ri Yong Son added: “This day also marks the 64th anniversary of birth of Taekwondo-Do. The joint demonstration at this day will be marked in the history.”

“With the profound philosophy and characteristic spirit of Taekwon-Do, ITF has devoted itself to building up civilized human society and will continue its cause in conformity with the goal and purpose of Olympics to encourage and contribute to the construction of peaceful human society, which ensures the dignity of human.“

IOC President Bach said, “Ever since Taekwondo became an Olympic sport, WT transformed a Korean martial art into one of the popular sports in the world, and WT also has developed the men’s sport into the sport with gender equality.” Then he added “WT opened a pathway to sport participation of the refugees and it provided motivation to the creation of the Olympic Refugee teams and establishment of Olympic Refuge Foundation.” He concluded “I wish to thank Taekwondo for demonstrating a power of sport in contributing to peace. I hope these two organizations will continue collaboration as committed in Nanjing, China in 2014 where I witnessed.”

All delegates were impressed by the energetic, yet touching joint taekwondo demonstration the two federations showcased at the Olympic Museum. The performance fused gravity-defying kicks and breath-taking board-breaks with a strong message of peace through sport.

As a special event, WT Council Members Prof. Kuk Hyun Jung and Mr. Metin Sahin had a re-match after 34 years. These two competed at the final of the WT World Championships in 1985.

During the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, WT and ITF signed a Protocol of Accord under the guidance of the IOC and in the presence of IOC President Bach. This Protocol of Accord has led to the two federations jointly organising taekwondo events in Russia, South Korea and North Korea. The latest agreement between WT and ITF was signed on 2 November 2018 in Pyongyang, North Korea to enhance the cooperation of two taekwondo international federations.

The two federations also hosted the third and final joint-demonstration of this week-long celebration of Olympic inclusion on April 12 at the UN offices in Geneva.

Source: World Taekwondo

(Photo: WTE Secretary-General Michael Fysentzidis with IOC President Thomas Bach)

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Details: Published: 10 April 2019

The weather on April 6 might not helped the 1st Taekwondo Europe Beach Championships to be held outdoors, by the beach, yet this was not a major problem, as the athletes brushed off the cloudy and rainy atmosphere, put on their beach outfits, top tanks, sunglasses, and uplifting mood to perform their best!
The milestone of the event was undoubtedly 'Freestyle Dynamic Kicks & Breaking Challenge', with the competition being extremely demanding from both men and women, yet providing some of the most exciting and stunning spectacles of the event.
Enjoy the greatest moments of the event in the highlights video below.

Details: Published: 09 April 2019

Dr. Katarzyna Janiszewska was recently appointed by Taekwondo Europe President Sakis Pragalos as Chair of WTE Health and Safety Committee, where she has been associating (along with the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians) on a joint position statement for Taekwondo weight management.

Dr. Janiszewska started her activities in nutrition, health & safety of Taekwondo in 2017, after finishing her Ph.D. studies on pre-competition weight loss, with major finding the high risk related to rapid weight loss before competition due to dehydration, where 80% of athletes 'cut weight' in order to start in a lower category, and about 20% of taekwondo athletes follows the -high in risk- 'dehydration' model, even for the cause of death; as already seen in several cases related to weight cutting in various combat sports.
Since 2017 she has been giving lectures in the form of a workshop at WTE Coach Seminars regarding health-centric weight management in Taekwondo, always inspired by the insightful feedback she constantly receives from participating coaches. She notes that "Coaches really need that knowledge because many times don't even realize the danger and not aware of the fact that there are other possibilities."

Among others, she is also negotiating with a supplements company to sponsor two research and educational projects for the sport of Taekwondo; One about joints health, where after talking to coaches, they vigorously raised the topic of hip joints problems among athletes after changes in kicking trajectory, and the second about the protection of muscles in athletes who reduce weight, by collagen peptides supplementation. Both of the two pieces of research connect directly to the aforementioned weight management field for Taekwondo athletes.
Finally, Dr. Janiszewska is planning to lecture a webinar through the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) platform about the joint position statement of WTE & EFAD pre-competition weight loss. The webinar participation will be offered at no cost and apart from dietitians, its content and insight will be equally significant and interesting for both coaches and athletes. The webinar will be recorded and anyone interested can watch it later.

Further information on joining the webinar and its exact date will be announced in due time.

Details: Published: 09 April 2019

On April 20-21, the city of Sofia, Bulgaria will welcome one more Taekwondo event. After the recent successful Multi Games 2019, Asics Arena will be hosting the G1 Sofia Open International Taekwondo tournament which already counts around 800 registrants.

Registration for the event is currently ongoing and will remain open until 10th December 2019, 11:59 PM.
Following the link, you may find further information on accommodation, the tournament outline, contact details, and register directly: https://bit.ly/2FZkZhq

Details: Published: 07 April 2019

On 6 April, the inaugural day of the 1st Taekwondo Europe Beach Championships 2019 and the International Day of Sport for Development & Peace, Taekwondo Europe along with the Organizing Committee of the event, participated in the campaign by promoting the movement by raising up altogether the #Whitecard.

Even though the weather did not allow the competitors to perform outdoors, they supported the initiative warmly, showing their care for sports and the cause they represent, unanimously.

The over 300 athletes and officials participated in the championships gathered up all together showing their white card in cheers and overwhelming spirit, just before the awarding ceremony begins.

Worth to mention that Taekwondo Europe as Organizing Committee of the 1st World Taekwondo Beach Championships in Rhodes 2017 had realized the biggest white card campaign ever in a monument by opening wide a wide white sheet of 400 sq.m in total, at the Bastion of Palace in the Medieval City of Rhodes island, where many of the athletes and teams present in Antalya had already experienced two years ago.

Taekwondo Europe will continue to support such initiatives that exemplary promote peace through sport initiatives and embrace such initiatives as the #whitecard campaign.

Details: Published: 06 April 2019

Athletes and officials were warmly welcomed in Antalya, Turkey for the 14th European Poomsae Championships 2019. The three days of Taekwondo were completed in success, excitement and wonderful feelings from all the participants for the warm Turkish hospitality.

Congratulations to an amazing event becoming part of the history of European Poomsae Championships and of course to the European Champions 2019!

Enjoy some of the highlights of the 14th European Poomsae Championships 2019!