BackTaekwondo/CISM - ITF Conference

On Tuesday October 6th, the CISM Taekwondo Committee organized in Brussels a "CISM-ITF Conference" to promote the cooperation between both organisations.

Representatives of CISM Taekwondo Committee including President Lim Soeng Sup, Bruce Harris, Wolfgang Thormahlen, Joseph Baek accompanied by the ITF President Choi Junghwa, and ITF High dignitaries Ligai Volmi Vasiliyevich and Trevor Nicolas participated in the conference at the CISM Headquarters. Further to a Presentation of the CISM general activities, the CISM Secretary General, Colonel Morisod and its Executive Manager, Mr. Olivier Verhelle, especially focused on the various achievements of Military athletes in Taekwondo.

The participants of the conference shared a consensus on the need for the unification of ITF and WTF, the two split Taekwondo bodies. They also agreed that the admission of 128 pro-ITF member countries to CISM Taekwondo Committee, which currently recognises 131 pro-WTF countries only, would lay the groundwork for WTF-ITF integration.

CISM and ITF discussed on the different means to cooperate for the development of Taekwondo in the military and civilian society. The signature of a Memorandum of Understanding listing the different areas of that collaboration CISM and ITF shall be one of the coming steps in this endeavour.

Currently international Taekwondo community is split into ITF and WTF, while ITF is again divided into three factions each led by Choi Junghwa, Chang Ung and Tran Trein Quan. It is of a great interest to see if the conference between CISM and ITF led by Choi Jung Hwa would provide a momentum to end the struggle within ITF and lead to WTF-ITF unification.

Precedent to the meeting, President Choi Junghwa of ITF met the newly elected Secretary of CISM, Alexandre Morisod, at the CISM headquarters to request CISM to play a leading role in the Taekwondo unification process.