1. Tae Kwon Do
National Study
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

2. Entering and progressing through Tae Kwon Do
There are two ways one can enter Taekwondo, either by joining an International Taekwondo
Federation (ITF) style school (See appendix one), or by joining a World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)
(See appendix two). Only WTF Taekwondo is in the Olympics and it is full contact, in which points are
also awarded for knock outs, whereas ITF style Taekwondo emphasises control and technique. In
order to fully progress in Tae Kwon Do to an Olympic level joining a WTF school would be more
appropriate.
In order to progress fully you need to be extremely dedicated as it requires travelling around
England as the national teams and squad training for both Taekwondo Association of Great Britain
(TAGB) (See appendix three) and British Taekwondo Control Board (BTCB) (See appendix four) are
based in the North of England and the Midlands, and the BTCB is based in Manchester. The UK
National Taekwondo Centre of Excellence is based at Loughborough University, Loughborough,
Leicestershire and hold the BTCB's British Championships each year.
Role of the national governing body
The BTCB is the national governing body for WTF Taekwondo and is responsible for all types of
WTF/Olympic style Taekwondo in the UK, this includes selecting National teams for the European
and World championships, and the Olympic Games. The WTF outlines the rules and regulations.
The TAGB is the biggest national governing body in the UK for ITF style Taekwondo. They oversee
competitions within the TAGB gradings and black belt gradings, however the TAGB follow the ITF
style, rules and regulations but they are not a member of the ITF, but is the founding member of
Taekwondo International of which there are 61 countries that are members. (See appendix five)
The TAGB and the BTCB are the main governing bodies in the UK for ITF and WTF Taekwondo; there
are over 15 national governing bodies in the UK for ITF and WTF Taekwondo. Many of these are
members of the British Taekwondo Council, which is recognised by the Sports Council as the overall
governing body for Taekwondo in the United Kingdom. (See appendix six)
Talent Identification
Talent identification can occur at many local and regional competitions. Over the past year UK Sport
launched a talent transfer campaign Talent 2012 Fighting Chance(See appendix seven); for students
with a kicking base martial arts background to apply to transfer their skills to WTF Taekwondo. This
gave ITF students the opportunity to take part. Fighting Chance gave the opportunity to recognise
world class martial artists that would be suitable for transferring their skills, in the hope of being in
the 2012 Olympics and becoming a full time, paid, professional athlete. Former TAGB fighter Aaron
Cook previously took part in a talent transfer scheme, now current world junior champion and
narrowly missing out on a medal in the 2008 Olympics.
The BTCB also run residential camps called the England Junior Development Programme which are
subsidised by Sport England. These camps aim to provide junior athletes with the best possible
chance to transfer into the senior Great Britain Taekwondo Academy. To overall create a junior
pathway in taekwondo in order to achieve long term success for Great Britain at major
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

3. competitions. However there is criteria that needs to be met in order to be considered for the
opportunity. (See appendix eight)
Taekwondo at a national level
Both the BTCB and the TAGB have national Taekwondo squads. Anybody with a full set of sparring
gear and a valid TAGB licence can turn up to the TAGB squad training however the training is
challenging and a good standard of Taekwondo would have to be met, though it does offer the
chance to train with some of the best semi-contact fighters in the TAGB and the world.
The BTCB selects a national team to participate in the WTF European and World championships and
for the Olympic Games.
Funding and sponsorship
The BTCB has many partners which provide funding and sponsorship for the BTCB and its national
team, including the World Taekwondo Federation, The European Taekwondo Union, Sport
Taekwondo UK LTD, The British Olympic Association, UK Sport, Sport England, The English Institute
of Sport, Adidas and Korea Tourism Organization. This funding ensures that the BTCB national team
that competes in the European and World Championships and the Olympic Games have world class
coaches, appropriate facilities, sports science and medicine support. (See appendix nine) And British
Taekwondo are also announcing a major sponsorship opportunity leading up to the 2012 Olympics.
The TAGB being ITF style does not get as much funding as the BTCB, as it is WTF and the only style
currently accepted by the Olympics, though they get funding from the fees students pay such as
licence fees, grading fees, equipment, courses and tournaments. They have also had campaign-
specific sponsorship in the past from Nestle, Thomas Cook, Nationwide and Disney. (See appendix
ten)
Gender
Taekwondo is open to both genders, however in competition men and women compete separately
against their own sex. Competitions are also split by weight, height, grade and age as this provides a
fair match. In Taekwondo there is equal opportunity for both genders.
Taekwondo for the disabled
Para-Taekwondo does exist, though it hasn’t been around for very long; in 2009 and 2010 the WTF
hosted the first and second World Para-Taekwondo championships in Azerbaijan and St Petersburg,
Russia. Taekwondo has yet to be added to the Paralympics, however, The International Paralympics
Committee (IPC) hosted a meeting in December 2010 to discuss whether to include Taekwondo in
the list of the 2016 Paralympics however they decided against it.
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

4. Critical analysis
In my opinion it is currently very difficult for a student to be noticed, as there is not as much
provision for talent identification as in other sports. And when starting Taekwondo you are not told
that starting in an ITF Taekwondo school you are unable to compete in the larger events if you wish
so. In my opinion the Olympics should be open to both styles of Taekwondo, giving both ITF and WTF
students equal opportunity to progress.
Word Count: 981 excluding titles, appendices and references
References
http://www.tkd-itf.org/pub_web/ver_eng/organisation.html
http://www.wtf.org/wtf_eng/main/main_eng.html
http://www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk/about-british-taekwondo-control-board-welcome.html
http://www.tagb.biz/
http://www.britishtaekwondocouncil.org/
http://www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk/home.html
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

5. Appendices
Appendix One – International Taekwondo Federation
Appendix Two – World Taekwondo Federation
Appendix Three - Taekwondo Association of Great Britain
Appendix Four – British Taekwondo Control Board
Appendix Five – Taekwondo International
Appendix Six – British Taekwondo Council
Appendix Seven – Talent 2012 Fighting Chance
Appendix Eight – The England Junior Development Programme
Appendix Nine – BTCB partnerships and sponsorships
Appendix Ten – TAGB Campaign specific sponsorship and health and fitness promotions
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

6. Appendix One
International Taekwondo Federation.
http://www.tkd-itf.org/pub_web/ver_eng/organisation.html
The International Taekwondo Federation was established in 1966 at that time only 9 countries were
involved since then ITF Taekwondo is taught in almost every country in the world. The ITF is a
separate organisation to the TAGB however the TAGB practise the ITF style of Taekwondo and
therefore have to follow its rules and regulations.
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

7. Appendix Two
World Taekwondo Federation.
http://www.wtf.org/wtf_eng/main/main_eng.html
The World Taekwondo Federation was established in 1973. The Association now has unions in 5
regions, The African Taekwondo Union, The Asian Taekwondo Union, The European Taekwondo
Union, The Oceania Taekwondo Union and The Pan America Taekwondo Union. Which then have
separate governing bodies in most countries which are part of the WTF and their corresponding
union.
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

8. Appendix Three
Taekwondo Association of Great Britain
http://www.tagb.biz/
The TAGB was formed in 1983 and has since become one of the founding members of the British
Taekwondo Council. It is now one of the largest martial arts organisations in the world with over 600
clubs in the UK and over 25,000 members. The TAGB played a leading role in the reunification of
British Taekwondo into one governing body so that they would all be recognised by the UK sports
council under one main national governing body.
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

9. Appendix Four
British Taekwondo Control Board
http://www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk/about-british-taekwondo-control-board-welcome.html
The BTCB was established in 1982 and is the governing body for WTF Taekwondo in the UK. The
BTCB is a member of the WTF, The British Olympic Association, The European Taekwondo Union and
recognised by UK sport. It is responsible for all aspects of WTF Taekwondo in the UK. This includes
selecting national teams to compete in the European Championships, World Championships and
Olympic games. Being part of the WTF it therefore follows the rules and regulations of the WTF
Taekwondo style.
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

10. Appendix Five
http://www.tkdi.biz/
Taekwondo International have 61 countries that are members these are;
Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ireland, Finland, France, Gambia,
Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia,
Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zeeland, Nigeria, Norway,
Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Russia, Sierra Leone,
Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Ukraine, United Kingdom,
USA, Venezuela.
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

11. Appendix Six
British Taekwondo Council
http://www.britishtaekwondocouncil.org/
The aim of the British Taekwondo Council was so that all governing bodies could be recognised in
the UK sports council under one main national governing body for the UK.
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

12. Appendix Seven
Talent 2012 Fighting Chance
http://www.tagb.biz/fighting%20chance.html
http://www.uksport.gov.uk/pages/talent-2012-fighting-chance/
http://www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk/talent-2012-fighting-chance.html
UK Sport launched a talent identification program recently, with the hope of identifying world class
martial artists that would be able to transfer their skills to WTF Taekwondo with the aim of bringing
home a medal in the 2012 Olympic Games. Also offering the ultimate goal of a chance to become a
full time paid professional athlete.
There were several regulations that were needed in order to apply and then several stages for the
applicants, these included;
- Aged 16+ - Lightening reactions and decision making
-Male or Female - Desire and determination for success
- All weight categories - UK passport holder or eligible for a UK passport
- Excellent skill level
- Current success at a national level
in a kicking orientated combat sport
The first stage of application was a online form in which details were given about current and past
success and why they thought they should be in the 2012 Olympic Taekwondo squad. 1000 people
applied and 200 made it through to the talent identification days held around the UK.
The second stage, which was a talent identification day, involved many different assessments. These
included leg strength, flexibility, fitness and power tests and finally a combat test in which applicants
fought a 3x3minute WTF fight in front of the Great Britain WTF Coach and Sarah Stevenson, Olympic
bronze medallist.
The third stage involved a second identification day. During this day pad work and more sparring
were assessed. There were around 40 people who made it through to this stage, many were TAGB
fighters.
The next stage is an 8 day residential boot camp at the WTF UK headquarters in Manchester, to be
held in May. After this stage there will be a second residential trip to Korea for a few weeks before
places as a professional athlete are offered to successful candidates. Three TAGB fighters made it
through to this stage
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

13. Appendix Eight
The England Junior Development Programme
See website for full details and criteria
http://www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk/index.php?mid=33
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

14. Appendix Nine
BTCB Partnerships and sponsorships
See full list at: http://www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk/british-taekwondo-control-board-partners.html
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050

15. Appendix Ten
TAGB Health and fitness promotions
http://www.tagb.biz/index.html
In the last few years the TAGB has been involved with health and fitness promotions with companies
such as Nestle, Nationwide Building Society, Sainsbury's, Asda, Cardinal Securities, Disneyland and
Rotary International.
http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/index.asp?PageID=424&section=&Year=2007&NewsID=850
In 2007 the TAGB was involved in the Sainsbury's Active kids vouchers, where children could collect
the vouchers for their school, for every £10 spent in store a voucher would be awarded and
additional vouchers would be give for spending money on items marked as healthy such as fresh
fruit and vegetables. The school were then able to exchange these vouchers for coaching for
activities they probably never had the chance to do before, such as a trained taekwondo coach
coming to their school to teach them.
Siân Roberts
Candidate Number: 8050