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Tae Kwon Do Hall of Fame

taekwondo — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 19:28:06 +0000

In 2009, Grand Master Park Jung Tae, one of the 12 original Taekwondo Masters, was inducted into the Tae Kwon Do Hall of Fame. Following this, Hon. GM Linda Park – as President of GTF was also accepted and in this year 2024 two significant members of GTF Grand Master Chris Gantner and Senior Master Ivan Tzatchev is already accepted into this unique hall. On this occasion, we present the full interviews with GM Chris Gantner and SM Ivan Tzatchev right below.

Grand Master Park Jung Tae

inducted in 2009 as a Taekwon-Do Pioneer

Hon. GM Linda Park

inducted in 2011 for her leadership skills in promoting GTF worldwide

Grand Master Chris Gantner

inducted in 2024 as a Taekwon-Do outstanding instructor

Grand Master Ivan Tzatchev

inducted in 2024 as a Taekwon-Do outstanding instructor

What is Taekwondo Hall of Fame?

Providing recognition and incentives by the way of awards to demonstrate excellence in the field of Taekwondo, a unique form of martial art which is also referred to as “Tae Kwon Do”, or “Taekwon-Do”. The Taekwondo Hall of Fame is an international organization of technical advisors who are themselves members of World Taekwondo (WT), International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), World TaeKwon-Do Alliance (WTA), and other major taekwondo associations. The president and founder of the Taekwondo Hall of Fame is Gerard Robbins.

The Taekwondo Hall of Fame headquarters is located in New Jersey, USA with technical advisory staff located in Korea, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Afghanistan, Russia, Ireland, India and elsewhere.

Mission Statement

“To preserve the history of Taekwondo also known as Tae Kwon Do and Taekwon-Do and to recogniise and honor persons and groups who have significantly contributed to the development, growth, and advancement of Taekwondo as a martial art and global sport.”

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GTF Taekwon-Do Women

taekwondo — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 18:21:19 +0000

Article written by GTF President H.GM. Linda Park.

Not long ago, it was rare to see a woman in a dobok with a black belt around her waist. Today, thanks to social media, women of all races, religions and political beliefs are actively showing their skills on Facebook and other platforms.

The Global Taekwon-Do Federation (GTF) is proud of the women who are members of this great organization. Around the world, our women practitioners are demonstrating they are adept at learning difficult techniques and using their personal power. Women are seriously training every bit as hard as men. They are diligent in their training schedules, enter competitions, win medals, trophies and some have their own independent clubs. Determined to be the best they can be, these Instructors are role models demonstrating that women have great potential in pursuing martial arts.

Over the years, the Global Taekwon-Do Federation has promoted many women to black belt level, many of whom have reached International Instructor rank 4th Degree and above. They are respected worldwide for their technical skills and recognized for their martial arts success. We encourage women who are climbing the ladder to International Instructor status, to continue training to reach their full potential in our great Federation and join the ranks of those incredible women who came before them.

As President of the Global Taekwon-Do Federation (GTF), I have been active in Taekwon-Do since 1969 and became president in 2002 after the Founder, the legendary Grand Master Park Jung Tae passed away. In 2011, I was invited by Grand Master Gerrard Robbins, the President of the Official Taekwon-Do Hall of Fame, to attend their Official Annual Ceremony taking place in Seoul, Korea. At this event, I was inducted into the Official Taekwon-Do Hall of Fame for my leadership skills in promoting and expanding GTF Taekwon-Do worldwide. It was an honour for me to have been recognized by my peers in the Taekwon-Do community and to receive such validation. It is another testament that there is no limit for women to reach the highest rank and level of leadership in martial arts.

When we think of the Global Taekwon-Do Federation, we must also acknowledge all the women non-practitioners actively supporting GTF. These mothers, wives, girlfriends and supporters may not be physically training in Taekwon-Do but their involvement in the organization’s activities is crucial to its’ success. We thank them for their contribution.

Here are some of our prominent women who are active International Instructors, engaged in GTF worldwide activities:

Master Laura Miceli
Argentina – 2013
7th Degree

Master Lim Yoke Lin
Malaysia – 2016
7th Degree

Janice Connolly
Ireland – 2016
6th Degree

Virginia Miceli
Argentina – 2016
6th Degree

Fern Giesbrecht
Canada – 2018
6th Degree

Rosanna Palella
Canada – 2008
5th Degree

Zehra Garip
TRNC – 2015
5th Degree

Anna Subbotina
Russia – 2016
5th Degree

Ng Siew Lin
Malaysia – 2018
5th Degree

Cheryl Brost
Canada – 2017
5th Degree

Ng Siew Hua
Malaysia – 2018
5th Degree

Tan Choo Sun
Malaysia – 2018
5th Degree

Ceyda Ucaner
TRNC – 2008
4th Degree

Tugba Yaslihan
TRNC – 2010
4th Degree

Angela Zissoff
Canada – 2012
4th Degree

Yap Ling Kuan
Malaysia – 2014
4th Degree

Katerina Umbrello
Canada – 2014
4th Degree

Pinar Akarpinar
TRNC – 2015
4th Degree

Natalya Tagieva
Russia – 2016
4th Degree

Vladlena Trofimova
Russia – 2016
4th Degree

Kari Paxman
Canada – 2016
4th Degree

Shirley Cunningham
Scotland – 2017
4th Degree

Laura Cunningham
Scotland – 2017
4th Degree

Katlyn Ulinski
USA – 2018
4th Degree

Olga Utenkova
Russia – 2018
4th Degree

Radmila Grigoryeva
Russia – 2019
4th Degree

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18th Norway summer camp. Corona could not kill the eager after training athletes.

taekwondo — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 12:27:14 +0000

October 8 – 11. 2020 – small village Bardufosstun, 130 km from the city of Tromsø.

The 18th ATN-GTF Norway Training Camp is now finished and again with great success this year. Corona could not kill the eager after training athletes. The participator train with huge motivation and effort. That makes the atmosphere magnificent.

After the hard session, there was enough time for recovery, and at the evening make new friend around the BBQ fire ball. We manage our goal. Record signed participants, lowest fee, 10 exciting training session, most fun and enjoyment. The common enjoyment at the Polar Ocean Park was a high point at the Camp.

Motto: Train hard, enjoy full.

The sport hotel satisfied our requirements, the gym was just big enough, and the evenings barbecue was a great success. All happy, the goal was achieved. Ready for ATN-GTF summer camp – August 2021

Senior Master – 8. Dan
GTF Under Sec.General
Ivan Tzatchev
Norway

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Spiritual principles and tenets

taekwondo — Sat, 09 May 2020 09:00:20 +0000

Martial arts are returning to values that our modern society are lacking. Moral corruption, materialism, pride or selfishness are named as the evils of today’s society. All these failures and many more have created the spiritual vacuum of our modern society.

Thanks to mental exercises and individual personality development, TaeKwonDo is able to compensate for the prevailing ills of modern man, such as inner emptiness, self-distress, distrust of others, decadence or lack of courage.

At the spiritual level, TaeKwonDo is based on the traditional ethical and moral principles of the Orient. Everyone who studies martial arts, in addition to technical and physical skills, acquires spiritual principles. In TaeKwonDo they are called jungshin and they are:

Courtesy – Jej – 예의
Integrity – Jomčchi – 정직
Perseverance – Inne – 인내
Self-control – Kukki – 극기
Indomitable Spirit – Pekčol pulgul – 백절불굴

These definitions are important because we come to the question of what the “spiritual path of personality development” is, and what the spiritual principles are.

Courtesy – Jej – means a way of acting and acting that expresses respect and esteem for others. The opposite is rudeness and insolence.

Respect the person you meet, even if they share other values or opinions. Respect the environment you come to so as not to violate the values that others come for. Respect the situation you come to so as not to disturb the atmosphere and actions of others.

Integrity – Jomčchi – it is built and maintained by exemplary fulfillment of obligations. A person who has given his word is honest if he abides by the agreement, even if the convention is not written anywhere, or appears to be disadvantageous due to giving up his own pleasures or benefits. The opposite is deception or betrayal.

Achieve all the goals you set for yourself in an honest way. Maintain self-esteem with honesty.

Perseverance – Inne – is the ability to persevere within its own limits even under adverse environmental influences. The opposite is weakness.

Persevering is one who makes an effort for a long time, even in the absence of an outcome and feelings of suffering.

Self-control – Kukki – represents the ability to manage and consciously control one’s emotional states, work with one’s feelings and control them. The opposite is anger and aggression.

Work on your own awareness, learn to work with anger, work with your attitudes and thoughts, pay attention to your lifestyle.

Indomitable Spirit – Pekčol pulgul – manifests itself when a courageous person and his views are opposed to overwhelming odds. The opposite is weakness.

If you are faced with injustice, deal with the aggressors without fear or hesitation, with an unbridled spirit, no matter with whom or with what number.

A oath that characterizes the behavior of a TaeKwonDo practitioner towards those around him.

I always follow the principles of TaeKwonDo.
I respect my instructor and master.
I will never abuse TaeKwonDo.
I am a supporter of freedom and justice.
I am creating a more peaceful world.

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The Belt Colours and their meanings

taekwondo — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 09:00:58 +0000

There are 10 Geups until Black Belt and 9 Dans after.

The word “Geup” or “Gup” or “Kup” – means rank in Korean.

The word “Dan” – means degree in Korean, it is used to designate ranks of Black Belts.

White

Signifies innocence, as that of the beginning student who has no previous knowledge of Tae Kwon-Do.

Yellow

Signifies earth, from which a plant sprouts root as the Tae Kwon-Do foundation is being laid.

Green

Signifies the plant’s growth, as Tae Kwon-Do skills begin to develop.

Blue

Signifies heaven, toward which the plant matures into a towering tree as training in Tae Kwon-Do progresses.

Red

Signifies danger, cautioning the student to exercise control and warning the opponent to stay away.

Black

Opposite to white, therefore signifying maturity and proficiency in Tae Kwon-Do. Also indicates the wearer’s imperviousness to darkness and fear.

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Tulls – traditional patterns

taekwondo — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 09:00:57 +0000

Pattern practice enables the student to go through many fundamental movements in series, to develop sparring techniques, improve flexibility of movements, master body shifting, build muscles and breath control, develop fluid and smooth motions, and gain rhythmical movements. It also enables a student to acquire certain special techniques which cannot be obtained from either fundamental exercises or sparring.

In short, a pattern can be compared with a unit tactic or a word, if fundamental movement is an individual soldier’s training or alphabet.

Accordingly, pattern, the ledger of every movement, is a series of sparring, power, feats and characteristic beauty. Though sparring may merely indicate that an opponent is more or less advanced, patterns are a more critical barometer in evaluating an individual’s technique.

While performing the patterns one should pay attention to the following points:

Pattern should begin and end at exactly the same spot. This will indicate the performer’s accuracy.
Correct posture and facing must be maintained at all times.
Muscles of the body should be either tensed or relaxed at the proper critical moments in the exercise.
The exercise should be performed in a rhythmic movement with an absence of stiffness.
Movement should be accelerated or decelerated accordingly.
Each pattern should be perfected before moving to the next.
Students should know the purpose of each movement.
Students should perform each movement with realism.
Attack and defence techniques should be equally distributed among right and left hands and feet.

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When to exercise and when not

taekwondo — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 09:00:35 +0000

In the long run, training should lead primarily to a feeling of well-being, freshness and fullness of life energy. Therefore, the concept and layout of the exercises in the traditional TaeKwonDo is different from the usual sports programs, in which the emphasis is on increasing performance and the best result. Running a Marathon under 2 hours can bring satisfaction from the point of view of one’s own ego, however, such a run for joy is a completely different matter.

The basis of good training is above all the correct estimation of one’s own condition. There should be a natural taste for training. If this is not the case, we need to focus on the factors that affect our mental and physical condition. Whatever we find,… that we are tired from work, from school, that we do not manage to follow the everyday regime, or the expectations of others… it is necessary to be aware of this factor and reduce the planned workload during training accordingly. E.g. I will do only 10 clicks today instead of 5O, etc.… This shift should in itself give us a taste for exercise. If even this doesn’t help, we can only change into exercise clothes and sit down at the training site.

We should always start martial arts training with a short meditation in the form of calming. If you still don’t feel like training, it’s best to cancel your workout. Such a decision can be more useful than overcoming yourself and injuring yourself during exercise, for example. Taste is the basic essence of successful training. If the taste comes, you will find that in the end there were even 120… instead of the planned 50, and these are really shifting moments in achieving better abilities and skills.

Experienced TaeKwonDo masters know that the desire to train is necessary to achieve extremely demanding techniques and a cornerstone to build your own inner discipline. Only after fully achieving the ability to gain a desire to train even in difficult circumstances, it is possible to move to more demanding techniques of self-control, the so-called Guk-Ki in a literal translation to the techniques of the indomitable spirit.

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