International Taekwon-Do Federation


International Taekwon-Do Federation is an international taekwondo organization founded on March 22, 1966, by General Choi Hong Hi in Seoul, South Korea. The ITF was founded to promote and encourage the growth of the Korean martial art of Taekwon-Do.
The ITF's main functions include coordinating and approving tournaments and seminars, setting standards for teaching, collaborating with affiliated member organizations, and providing services members in regard to rank and certifications.
Following a period of political schism, there are now multiple groups using the name "International Taekwon-do Federation" but however, there is only one legal entity determined by the court ruling. The court ruled Prof. Chang Ung as the legal ITF. The ITF HQ is based in Austria, Vienna.

Patterns

Patterns, or tul in Korean, originally called hyeong, form an important aspect of training in Taekwon-Do. They are equivalent to the kata in karate. The majority of the patterns start with a defensive move, which emphasizes taekwon-do's defensive nature. All of the patterns start and end at the same location. This ensures that the practitioners' stances are the correct length, width, and in the proper direction.
There are 24 patterns in the official ITF syllabus; this is symbolic of the 24 hours in a day. One additional pattern, Ko-Dang, was retired/replaced by Juche in 1986 by General Choi Hong Hi. The names of these patterns typically refer either to events in Korean history or to important people in Korean history. Elements of the patterns may also be historical references, such as the number of moves, the diagram, the way the pattern ends, and so on.
Patterns are performed in accordance with "The Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do" in 15 volumes written by General Choi Hong Hi, the latest edition being from 1999. This comprehensive work contains 15 volumes with volumes 8 to 15 dedicated to the 24 patterns and containing descriptions of the pattern movements as well as pictures showing possible applications of some of the movements. There is also the book entitled "The Korean Art of Self Defense", also known as the Condensed Encyclopedia, written by General Choi Hong Hi. This is a single condensed encyclopedia of approximately 770 pages with a section dedicated to the 24 original patterns.
There are also three fundamental exercises, named Saju-Jirugi, Saju-Makgi and Saju Tulgi. Saju-Jirugi and Saju-Makgi are basic defence exercises taught to beginners of the martial art. Saju Tulgi is less well known and is generally taught to 2nd Kup students just prior to Hwa-Rang. Saju Tulgi is not presented in the Condensed Encyclopedia but is present in the 15 Volume Encyclopedia.
The 25 Patterns in Taekwon-Do ITF are:
NumberHangeulRomanizedMovementsRank
1천지Chon-Ji199th gup
2단군Dan-Gun218th gup
3도산Do-San247th gup
4원효Won-Hyo286th gup
5율곡Yul-Gok385th gup
6중근Joong-Gun324th gup
7퇴계Toi-Gye373rd gup
8화랑Hwa-Rang292nd gup
9충무Choong-Moo301st gup
10광개Kwang-Gae391st dan
11포은Po-Eun361st dan
12계백Gae-Baek441st dan
13의암Eui-Am452nd dan
14충장Choong-Jang522nd dan
15주체Juche452nd dan
16삼일Sam-Il333rd dan
17유신Yoo-Sin683rd dan
18최영Choi-Yong463rd dan
19연개Yeon-Gae494th dan
20을지Ul-Ji424th dan
21문무Moon-Moo614th dan
22서산Seo-San725th dan
23세종Se-Jong245th dan
24통일Tong-Il566th dan

The retired pattern in Taekwon-Do ITF is
  1. Kodang
  2. Woo-Nam

    Sparring

The International Taekwon-Do Federation's sparring rules are similar to the WTF's rules, but differ in several aspects.
Competitors do not wear the hogu. This scoring system varies between the different ITF organisations.
A continuous point system is utilized in ITF competition, where the fighters are allowed to continue after scoring a technique. Full-force blows are not allowed, and knockouts result in a disqualification of the attacker; although these rules vary between ITF organizations. At the end of two minutes the competitor with more scoring techniques wins.
Fouls in ITF sparring include heavy contact, attacking a fallen opponent, leg sweeping, holding/grabbing, intentional attack to a target other than allowed.
ITF competitions also feature performances of patterns, breaking, and 'special techniques'.
ITF competition sparring rounds are 2 minutes and in national and international levels of competition they hold two rounds each 2 minutes with a one-minute rest in between. Certain rules are no strikes below the belt, no elbow strikes, brawling, no falling down, no going outside of the ring, hit to the groin and knee strike are not allowed. The ring is a 9 metre by 9 metre ring marked by square mats or tape instead of a traditional style kickboxing rings with ropes. It has no sides allowing the fighter to move out of bounds. Whenever a fighter creates an infraction of the rules the centre referee will issue a warning to the fighter who created the infraction. 3 warnings equals a minus point. If a fighter uses excessive contact, he or she will be given a foul, which is an automatic minus point ; three fouls in a bout results in disqualification. ITF taekwon-do is fought in continuous point sparring. Four judges score the fights in each of the corners in the square ring. After the fight, a judge votes for which ever fighter has the most points and a winner is declared. In the case of a draw the fighters go to a one-minute overtime round. If there is another draw the fighters go to a sudden death round where the fighter who scores first is declared the winner.
The official rules for ITF sparring competition are available at the ITF website.

Ranks

The ITF ranking system consists of six solid colour belts; white, yellow, green, blue, red, and black.
Coloured belt ranks are called in English grades and in Korean geup , whereas black belt ranks are called ranks/dan :
Grade LevelDescription
10th geupWhite – Signifies innocence, as that of the beginning student who has no previous knowledge of Taekwon-Do. 3 months min requirement.
9th geupWhite with yellow tip. 3 months min. requirement
8th geupYellow – Signifies the earth from which a plant sprouts and takes root as the foundation of Taekwon-Do is being laid. 4 months minimum requirement.
7th geupYellow with green tip. 4 months minimum requirement
6th geupGreen – Signifies the plant's growth as Taekwon-Do skills begin to develop. 4 months minimum requirement.
5th geupGreen with blue tip. 4 months minimum requirement
4th geupBlue – Signifies the Heaven towards which the plant matures into a towering tree as training in Taekwon-Do progresses. 4 months minimum requirement.
3rd geupBlue with red tip. 5 months minimum requirement
2nd geupRed – Signifies danger, cautioning the student to exercise control and warning the opponent to stay away. 6 months minimum requirement.
1st geupRed with black tip. 6 months requirement
1st danBlack – Opposite of white, therefore signifying maturity and proficiency in Taekwon-Do; also indicates the wearer's imperviousness to darkness and fear.
2nd danAssistant Instructor
3rd danAssistant Instructor
4th danInternational Instructor. At this point, a person may become a "SaBum-Nim"
5th danInstructor
6th danInstructor
7th danMaster Instructor
8th danMaster Instructor
9th danGrand Master

The reason for nine black belt degrees is that the number nine is not only the highest of the single-digit numbers, but also is the number of three multiplied by three. In the Orient, three is one of the more esteemed numbers. The Chinese character for 3 is three horizontal lines, one above the other: 三. The bottom line represents earth; the middle line represents mortals; the upper line represents heaven. It was believed that a man who could unite the three realms in himself, would aspire or be reborn into a king; this is shown by the vertical lign connecting the realms in the character for king: 王.

Black belt promotion

Up to 8th dan, all ranks require the student to perform a test of all skills and knowledge up to their rank to be promoted. 9th dan may be awarded with consent of the promotion committee with no physical test required, due to the nature and responsibilities of a master no longer being centered on the physical development. However, if the recipient desires, a demonstration may be performed. 9th degree can only be awarded when the special committee examines and reaches a unanimous consent.
According to an ITF Encyclopedia 4th degree may grade students up to 2nd degree.
A 5th or 6th degree International Instructor may grade students up to 3rd degree, while a 7th degree Master may grade students up to 5th degree. An 8th degree Master may grade students up to 6th degree. Promotion to 7th degree or above must be done by the ITF's Master Promotion Committee.

Philosophy

The philosophy of taekwon-do is summarized in the oath and the tenets.

Taekwon-Do Student Oath

I shall observe the tenets of Taekwon-Do.
I shall respect the instructor and seniors.
A student vows to respect their instructors and those senior to them. An instructor must also act respectfully to all students and persons in order to be respected and therefore not misusing Taekwon-Do.
I shall never misuse Taekwon-Do.
One will never misuse Taekwon-Do to harm another, for their own personal gain or for any other manner that is unjust.
I shall be a champion of freedom and justice.
The 4th line, “I shall be a champion of freedom and justice” can apply to many areas of life and although many may think one would have to do something amazing to achieve this, this part of the oath can be respected by even the littlest things in ones daily activity. If one becomes more open-minded to understanding others ideologies or the way others go about their lives instead of being quick to judge, then maybe the world would be a more understanding and accepting place. Thus allowing people to have the freedom they deserve. By accepting this belief one is bringing justice to this world and therefore being a champion of justice. As we often see, conflicts can occur over common misconceptions of information. One must understand the full story and have all the facts before he can truly make a proper judgement.
I shall build a more peaceful world.
The final line of the oath is “I shall build a more peaceful world”. One can also easily obtain this goal by going about their daily lives in a more peaceful manner. If everyone did this, the world would obviously become a more peaceful place. As we often see, conflicts can occur over common misconceptions of information. One must understand the full story and have all the facts before he can truly make a proper judgement. However, this does not mean a student cannot defend themselves against aggression directed towards themselves as that would defeat some of the purpose of Taekwondo, an art of unarmed self-defence.

Taekwon-Do Tenets

There are five tenets defined in the ITF.
; Courtesy
; Integrity
; Perseverance
; Self-control
; Indomitable spirit

History and Schism

After the South Korean Government abandoned the ITF, the government established the World Taekwondo Federation to continue the mission of taekwondo's globalization. Once General Choi Hong Hi was exiled out of South Korea, he established the new headquarters of the ITF in Vienna, Austria and the organization settled there. In the years that followed, many of the founding masters of the ITF and several other instructors would leave the organization to form their own independent organizations, following political differences with Choi Hong Hi.
In 2001, the ITF Congress voted for Choi Hong Hi as President for four years of the six-year term, then for his son Choi Jung Hwa to serve as President for the remaining two years. This was overturned by General Choi, causing a rift between himself and his son. Choi Jung Hwa split away from his father and created another organisation, which Choi Jung Hwa claimed to be the true ITF. While the majority of the ITF at the time stayed with General Choi, many others decided to follow Choi Jung Hwa. General Choi subsequently died in June 2002, having never reconciled with his son. On his deathbed in June 2002, General Choi said that he wanted Chang Ung, a North Korean IOC member, to take over as President. An Extraordinary Congress of the ITF was called with Chang Ung declared as the new President.