Think Tank Seminars

Celebrating the second anniversary of GTTF, we’re doing Kick a Thon globally. IT’S ON A MASSIVE SCALE. This is a gesture by GTTF Taekwondo practitioners to restore traditional Taekwondo. It also contains the intention of promoting global peace and benefiting humanity.
Here are some guidelines for a successful Kick a Thon.
When: May 16, 2025 (Anytime of the day) Where: Your dojang/club (dojang/club can be indoor or outdoor) How long: 16 minutes Rules: This really doesn’t have any rules. You simply kick as many as you can during the 16 minutes. SO, BE CREATIVE! Share: After the event, please send us a video or photos. Also, let us know how many people attended and how many kicks were performed in total (+1-919-819-2845 WhatsApp or email at [email protected]). We recommend inviting the media to Kick a Thon, and having friends and family attend will create a festive atmosphere in your dojang/club.

What is traditional Taekwondo?
The definition of traditional Taekwondo is not complicated. It means overcoming oneself and becoming one with body and mind through the thousands of repeated Taekwondo skills with proper attitude and mental discipline. Traditional Taekwondo training involves using one’s hands and feet without weapons to learn defensive and offensive techniques. When a traditional Taekwondo practitioner enters the dojang, they wear a dobok and practice barefoot. The traditional Taekwondo training hall is called a dojang and the walls are hung with the flag of the country to which it belongs and the flag of the country where Taekwondo was born. The organization's flag implies the identity of the dojang, such as the philosophy and the curriculum of Taekwondo training.
Traditional Taekwondo practitioners bow before getting on the training floor and bow again when getting off the floor. The traditional Taekwondo program comprises five subjects: Poomsae, Gyeorugi, Hosinsool, Gyeokpa, and Moral or Virtue. At the end of class, students kneel on the floor, recite the Ten Students Commitments, and pay tribute to the flags and the teachings of the master. For traditional martial artists, dojang is a sacred place to hone one's body and mind. Therefore, when a traditional Taekwondo practitioner enters the dojang, he/she is expected to give all attention to the training, not allowing the mind to drift away.
Traditional Taekwondo practitioners use traditional Taekwondo terms. For example, they call Grandmaster “SaBu-nim”, Master “SaBum-nim”, Instructor “Jogyo-nim”, and students “Jaeja”. On the other hand, in sports Taekwondo, Masters/Grandmasters are referred to as coach and students as athletes.
Traditional Taekwondo training emphasizes educational value. We create and operate a system for grade students to do well in school and teach other students to become indispensable people in this society through a healthy mind and body gained from traditional Taekwondo practice. The characteristics of traditional Taekwondo are activities that have physical, mental, social, and self-defense values, and have the essence of martial arts education that emphasizes mental and moral values through mind and body training rather than winning in sport Taekwondo competitions. In other words, it emphasizes a valuable way of life that is not shameful as being human in the name of traditional Taekwondo as the right path that martial artists should follow.
Its characteristics can be divided into five types. The first of which is the strict Master System. Originally, the words, attitudes, and rules were very strict and developed from a relationship between disciples who were taught by a Taekwondo master who guarded the dojang through a strict Master's System, and then became the traditional Taekwondo of today. Secondly, as mentioned above, there were no weapons. The characteristic of traditional Taekwondo is that it does not use weapons but trains using hands and feet and bare body for defense and attack. The third is balance and harmony. Traditional Taekwondo practice seeks physical balance and mental harmony. The fourth is mental strengthening. The emphasis on moral discipline and mental strength in the traditional Taekwondo training process is a major feature. Social values are the fifth. Traditional Taekwondo training emphasizes courtesy, respect, humility, patience, concentration, self-denial, and self-discipline, and teaches the spirit of law-abiding and social responsibility. As such, traditional Taekwondo exists in various forms and has its own characteristics and philosophies.
In conclusion, traditional Taekwondo training is a means of discovering and growing oneself by refining one's body and mind, and by communicating with one's inner self, experiencing beyond one's physical limitations, and elevating one's character, knowledge, and morality to a higher level, which eventually leads to self-perfection. The purpose of this is to establish the self of the individual correctly and to educate people with true and pure love through traditional Taekwondo. Visit us and become a member of GTTF at www.tkdgttf.com

By SaBu-nim Jun Lee, 9th Dan

Global Traditional Taekwondo Federation The doors of our GTTF are open to all Taekwondo practitioners. It is more important to preserve the forgotten values of traditional Taekwondo than style or system. The form of Taekwondo taught in the dojang may be different. The rules of sparring may also be different. However, what will not change....

태권도가 변질되고 있습니다. 태권도는 전통 무도로 거듭나야 한다는 생각입니다. 그러이유로, 전세계에서 영향력있는 외국인 중진 태권도 학자/지도자들이 하던일 잠시 뒤로 하고 자비를 들여 방한합니다. 무도태권도에 대해 각자의 생각을 말할 것입니다. 무도태권도의 계승발전을 논할 것입니다. 무도태권도가 인류의 삶에 어떤 영향을 미쳐야 하는가로 머리를 맞댈 것입니다. 참석하는 외국 태권도인들에겐 뜻깊고 가슴 뭉클한 이벤트입니다. 한국에 계신 태권도 학자/지도자들은 아니 일반인들은 어떤반응을 보일지 궁금합니다. 소가 닭보듯 할 수 있다는 생각이 스치고 지나갑니다만... 그래도 저희들은 앞만보고 가겠습니다. 무도 태권도로 널리 인간을 이롭게 하는데 앞장서겠습니다. 자리가 비좁을수도 있습니다. 그러나 관심있는 분들께서 연락주시면 그만한 자리 마련해놓겠습니다.

The Kukkiwon’s largest annual event World Taekwondo Hanmadang again showcased with a spectacular Opening Ceremonies which was held at Sun-Seung-Kwan, the Armed Forces Sports Unit in Mungyeong city, South Korea on Saturday, July 27 at 4pm (KST). The 2024 Mungyeong World Taekwondo Hanmadang was kicked off with 4,500 participants from 55 countries on July 26th and will continue until July 30th.