ITF/WTF Merger. How would it affect the two styles?

Question

IThe olympic taekwondo team for 2008 is going to be both WTF and ITF, which is a possible step towards them merging together. Would the sparring rules be adapted to suit ITF members better, or would they have to conform to WTF rules? Personally, as a member of the ITF, I prefer our sparring rules, and would not want to change them.

The main issue I have is how the merger could affect the style of taekwondo we learn. I wonder if it would affect our curriculum, if the two federations were to join together. I also have friends who train at a WTF school, who want to keep their own individual style. I'm not saying the merger would be a bad idea, as it would stop the sectarianism that goes on between the ITF and WTF. I think both styles should be kept individual, as everyone who practices taekwondo chose either ITF or WTF, depending on what suits them best. I would like to hear the opinions of both ITF and WTF members about what affects a merger would have on their training and style.

Answer 1

I would say that the previous answer is highly biased. In any high level competitions involving WTF or ITF none of them get out better off at the end. Some competitions WTF is better some other ITF. It all depends of the training and the athlete. As for speed the same...

But that doesn't answer your question.

If both style can compete so much the better. It will give us, ITF adepts, the chance to go to Olympics. However, it might have the impact to transform it more as a sport than a martial art. Why? Because some ITF instructors might be tempted to teach and emphasis more on the sport and competition side than the rest of the curriculum.

I do believe that the WTF will make fewer concessions than the ITF counterpart just because they are the one to have the power. Sad but true. So who will lose? ITF with certainty.

My personal feeling about this merging discussion is that I'm against. Before I was for but now I realized that both MA are completely different if it's for their heavy use of kicks and being both Korean. It's like if we wanted to merge Hapkido with ITF. Both are Korean and both use kicks.

Answer 2

Having studied both ITF and WTF I can say that I favor WTF better.  WTF is much more suited as a sport.

As far as styles WTF is faster and every ITF member that I have seen cross over and come to our Dojang is completely overwhelmed in the ring until they catch on to what we do.

I have also seen a few WTF members go and compete in ITF compitentions and dominate.

I am compareing high level black belts in there prime and not color belts or Masters.

Kukkiwon the sanctioning body for WTF would not and will not change what they have built. They have moved past the old ITF traditions.

ITF is a more traditional MA and is not sutied for sport.  The kicks are the same but he phylosophys are so different.  WTF is the evolution of traditional TKD.  And ITF is still based in the more traditional aspects. So I can not see the logic in WTF going backwards.  WTF is still evolving so if there were a merger of sorts ITF would not be what it is today.

I do not think there is a merger as you think of it.  I think that mroe ITF practisioners are crossing over.

Tradition will always be tradition. Evolution will always be something other than tradition.