International Taekwon‑Do Federation

From 16th to 18th February 2024 the Czech Taekwon‑Do Federation hosted the first ITF International Umpire Course of the year in Prague, Czechia. The course was conducted by Grand Master Gary Miller (9th Degree), chairman of the EITF Umpire and Tournament Committee, with the assistance of Master Emin Durakovic (8th Degree), member of the EITF Executive Board.

The course was divided into 4 four-hour-long sessions. The whole first session on Friday evening and a part of the second session on Saturday morning were dedicated to a thorough explanation of the ITF & EITF umpire and tournament rules. Then GM Miller went through several photos and videos and explained in detail the correct way of umpiring for all five ITF competition events (patterns, sparring, special techniques, power breaking, and self-defense routine). In the remaining time, the participants were given a written umpire test, after which GM Miller reviewed the correct answers. As a side note, there were 15 successful new international umpire (class A and B) applicants from Czechia alone. The third session on Saturday afternoon was utilized to practice all 24 ITF patterns in doboks and ended up with another discussion about correct umpiring. Finally, in the last session on Sunday morning, GM Miller reviewed the most important topics related to the umpires' work. Throughout the whole course GM Miller made a lot of effort to answer and clarify questions about both theoretical and practical issues that many participants asked.

The course was attended by 40 masters, instructors and students from Czechia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and a very special thanks goes to the two participants from Malaysia.

The Czech Taekwon‑Do Federation cordially invites all ITF members to the online International Instructor Course in March 2024 and to the International Technical Seminar in Prague in May 2024. Both events will be conducted by GM Hwang Ho Yong (9th Degree), chairman of the ITF Technical and Education Committee. Please check the Events section of the ITF website for more information and registration links.

Dr. Petr Parik
president
Czech Taekwon‑Do Federation