"The International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) wishes to formally disassociate itself from the sport of Taekwondo as displayed at the 29th Olympic Games held recently in Beijing, CHINA. Although the sport of Taekwondo’ at the Olympics is controlled by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), it is totally separate from the original version of Taekwon-Do as established by the late General Choi Hong Hi who developed Taekwon-Do and founded the ITF. The outrage of ITF Taekwon-Do practitioners around the world is amplified by the fact that our organizations share a very similar name: “Taekwon-Do” for the ITF and “Taekwondo” for the WTF. Unfortunately, in the minds of the public the display of unsportsmanlike conduct at the Olympic Games reflects badly on all Tae Kwon Do athletes, regardless of the organization to which they belong. The International Taekwon-Do Federation was formed in 1966 by General Choi. In recent years the current ITF President, Master Trân Triêu Quân, has been at the forefront of the development of ITF Taekwon-Do as a disciplined martial art, a sport, a way of life, and a tool for social development. The development of all four facets of Taekwon-Do is now an integral and vital part of the teaching syllabus of the ITF, this is why we are so disappointed with the negative repercussions of the incident at the 29th Olympics Games.
We acknowledge and agree with the swift action of the officials at the Olympics to instigate a lifetime ban on the Cuban competitor; we fully endorse their response. Please visit www.tkd-itf.org for more information about our worldwide organization."
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