WTF wrestlers are “careless”, “lacking in control”, “they fight with their hands down”, “they focus too much on the sport”, “they never hit”, “unrealistic”, etc., etc., etc. So what do you hear about the ITF? Any! Is it because the ITF is a perfect system? No, it is because most practitioners of the World Taekwondo Federation have not seen an International Taekwondo Federation match. The ITF is not practiced as much as the WTF, so it doesn’t give you the same exposure.

I can tell you the downsides of the ITF, not because I’m a WTF pro, but because I have multiple black belts in both styles. I currently have 2 dojangs and they are WTF. Later I will reveal why our school has chosen to affiliate with the World Taekwondo Federation rather than the International Taekwondo Federation.

First of all, I am a Taekwondo professional, not a WTF professional. I read a blog comment somewhere and the gentleman said EVERYTHING is Taekwondo anyway. I think it takes a mature mind to really understand and believe it. The World Taekwondo Federation is essentially a mutated version of the International Taekwondo Federation. If you remember, one was created from the other.

We all know Gen. Hong Hi Choi. If you are a WTF practitioner, chances are you have never heard of it. You may never have heard of him because the South Korean government considered him a traitor. Korea adopted a new Taekwondo system after Gen. Hong Hi Choi was excommunicated from the country, so today we have two large federations: WTF and ITF. Interestingly, Gen. Choi is not mentioned by the WTF.

WTF or not, Gen. Choi is the father of Taekwondo and is responsible for helping to coin the name Taekwondo, and he should always be remembered for that. Why he was excommunicated is a completely different topic and will not be discussed in this article.

Most of the techniques created by Gen. Choi are practiced throughout Taekwondo, be it WTF, ITF or even ATA. The practitioners of the World Taekwondo Federation evolved into a mutated version, as I said earlier. It is important to understand that the WTF did not create what you see today. Competitors created it. Specific rules created it. The teachers and grandmasters of the World Taekwondo Federation APPROVED it, but they did not create what we see today.

The traditional roundhouse kick was no longer good enough. The powerful partner became ineffective in an Olympic-style competition. Hitting … well that’s just frustrating for a lot of people, WTF or ITF. I will come back to that. Please don’t say, “I could use a spinning kick or partner.” I thought the same as a point style fighter in the ITF. I decided that I wanted to try an Olympic-style competition (WTF). I was successful locally, when I competed in my first WTF tournament, so I went to the United States National Championship.

I admit, I had my opponent confused, but that didn’t last long. This is what I quickly discovered. WTF practitioners can cover several meters in a fraction of a second, in any direction. My kicks were too short, imagine … I’m 6’3 “, and I didn’t have the footwork or training to move around the mat fast enough to hit my opponent. Sure, I had fast spinning kicks and Partners. I could sit on my back leg and kick my body and head like no other.

If you think about it, the ring in an official WTF match is 12 square meters. That is almost 40 feet wide, and that ring is worn. Here I am, a highly successful points style fighter, winning first place in pretty much every tournament I competed in. Then at the nationals in San Jose, California, they knock me out with a quick spinning kick to the ribs.

The WTF roundhouse kick has several variations to be most effective. Why lift your knee up and turn fully when you can reduce distance and time by going diagonally? The kick has less power this way, but it hits your opponent much faster. The other advantage is that it prepares your opponent for another kick where you could flip your round kick. Other stylists see this practice as sloppy. WTF practitioners consider it effective.

Think of WTF competition like boxing. It’s exactly the same, just with your feet. In the WTF, we throw a lot of “kick kicks” or “kick kicks”. At the ITF, the closest version would be a “Skipping Roundhouse Kick”. It is a very fast forward movement, usually generated from a jump, then immediately followed by a roundhouse kick with the front leg. These spinning kicks and 45 degree kicks are similar to a boxer punch. They are not meant to knock out the opponent, they are only meant to prepare for another attack.

In the World Taekwondo Federation, you will find other variations of the round kick, such as the bada chagi (round counter kick) or the ahp bal chagi (front kick, typically round kick with the front leg). Then there is the lateral bada chagi and the lateral ahp bal chagi. Then there are double, triple and “quad” spinning kicks. Most of these kicks make ITF practitioners want to vomit when they see them. I know, the first time I saw a double kick, I thought it was a joke.

The double kick is actually a very powerful kick that requires strength, timing, and balance. Note: Double WTF has alternating legs continuously. It’s effective on the competition, and that’s it! If I was attacked today, the double or triple kick is the last thing I will do. Why practice it then? Are you ready for my answer? Because it’s fun! People do not participate in fencing competitions because they want to learn to defend themselves. They do it because it is an art form to master and it is fun. I don’t know of any WTF competitor who competes so that they can improve in self defense.

I have been studying martial arts for over 30 years and have reached the point where I don’t need to pretend or convince myself or others that WTF competition is great self defense practice. I’m also mature enough to know that any competition is not good self-defense practice, and that includes the UFC.

Heck, punching should be in your arsenal if you ever got attacked on the street. In WTF competition, we don’t hit, and it’s not because we don’t know how. It’s because the damn judges will NEVER rate them. Why throw them away and waste energy? It’s unfortunate, but that’s part of the game, and that’s sparring. Combat is a game.

In ITF and WTF, a sparring match is nothing more than a game of tag, with kicks and punches. I do not agree that the ITF is more realistic than the WTF. For the record, both are unrealistic, in competition, in their own way. WTF practitioners learn to feel what a devastating blow is. The bumps are real and they hurt and if you neglect you will go home seriously injured.

On the other hand, we normally keep our hands lower and sometimes down. By the way, when your arms are down, your body is more relaxed and you can accelerate your body and kick better. Instead of blocking with our arms and risking breaking, we only use footwork to pull away or block our opponent.

In an ITF match, practitioners will fight with more care and precision, usually because they don’t wear equipment or have limited protection. A poorly placed kick will quickly lock your toe. I liked how we alternated between kicking and punching in ITF competition. I also enjoyed the precision and control I gained over my kicks.

On the other hand, the constant starting and stopping of the match to award the point would break the momentum of a match and prevent further strategy development. It also allowed you and your opponent to catch your breath, which is not likely to happen in a real situation.

All things competition aside, the WTF and ITF are wonderful systems. They have great practitioners, teachers, and great teachers. WTF is the most practiced style in the world, therefore you will find flaws in the character of athletes only because of the large number of people who compete. You will find dojangs who have completely lost the meaning of Taekwondo and martial arts in general. I have seen dojangs who have lost 100% of their etiquette and respect for martial arts.

Note that I have also seen Karate schools and Kenpo schools that have lost the same elements. You rarely see it, because those styles are not in the Olympics and they have less exposure.

So why are we WTF and not ITF? Years ago, I got very involved in competition. I had a dream of one day going to the Olympics and the only way I was going to get a chance was to switch to the WTF. I’d like to think that I was close. I made it to the quarterfinals of the United States National Championship. I lost to an outstanding fighter and individual, Michael Tang. Michael Tang was a member of Team USA at the time, and he was basically my only obstacle getting to Team USA tryouts that year. The game was close, very close! On the other hand, Michael also had a dream!

I had started my competitive career late as a WTF competitor as I had been a part of the ITF for so long. It was essentially my only chance, before my priorities changed to starting a family. I understand that it is not the style of Taekwondo or the style of martial arts that you practice, but the experience that you get from it.

In our academy, we do not train like Olympic Taekwondo competitors. We teach students how to hit. We even teach our students how to box and fight too. We also teach them practical self-defense maneuvers, as opposed to the rehearsed 3-step fighting patterns.

Those students seeking competition train separately in class with the goal of preparing them for Olympic-style competition. I remain affiliated with the WTF for the opportunity it provides athletes to dream, especially young athletes who have the opportunity to train for the Youth Olympic Games, an exciting event for children.

WTF or ITF, it doesn’t matter. What is important is how the curriculum is presented, as well as the additional martial arts information you are providing to students.

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