Jakarta to resume Kukkiwon outing<\/p>\n
Musthofid
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The change in the presidency of Kukkiwon -- the world tae kwon
\ndo headquarters -- is seen as a promising prospect for the
\nsport's development in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"We see this is a good development at the headquarters and we
\nexpect much of the election of Woon Kyu-uhm as the Kukkiwon
\npresident,\" Sutjipto Lohardjo, one of Indonesia's more prominent
\ntae kwon do figures, said here on Monday.<\/p>\n
Woon replaced Kim Un-yong, who had held his post since 1972,
\nback in March and Sutjipto's optimism stemmed from his close
\npersonal relationship with the new president.<\/p>\n
In his letter to Sutjipto, who is also the chairman of the
\nIndonesian Tae Kwon Do Association's Jakarta chapter, 75-year-old
\nWoon pledged his commitment to a better future for tae kwon do.<\/p>\n
\"I'm going to do my best to harmonize and unite the global tae
\nkwon do family with Kukkiwon as the central figure,\" Woon said in
\nthe letter, the copies of which were made available to media.<\/p>\n
Sutjipto said he looked forward to inviting Woon to Indonesia
\nthis year to be presented in front of thousands of local tae kwon
\ndo athletes.<\/p>\n
Kukkiwon has members in 176 countries with tae kwon do
\nathletes numbering 60 million.<\/p>\n
Located in the District of Kangnam in Seoul, the Kukkiwon
\nconducts Dan promotion contests and is the only organization in
\nthe world which issues official Black Belt certificates to tae
\nkwon do athletes around the world.<\/p>\n
Competitors who want to participate in an international tae
\nkwon do competition sponsored or approved by the World Tae Kwon
\nDo Federation (WTF) need to hold a Kukkiwon Dan certificate.<\/p>\n
The Kukkiwon provides tae kwon do coaches, athletes and
\nofficials with modern facilities for training and competition.<\/p>\n
And Sutjipto revealed his plan to resume sending athletes to
\nthe headquarters every year for a month-long training camp. The
\nprogram was first initiated in 1988 before it was scrapped in
\n1996 in a signal of Sutjipto's protest against what he saw as
\nrife partiality in the refereeing in many local tournaments.<\/p>\n
He said his athletes had very often been treated unfairly
\nduring tournaments.<\/p>\n
One of the notable athletes taking advantage of the Korean
\nouting was Juana Wangsa Putri, currently Indonesia's tae kwon do
\nmedal hopeful in Athens along with Satriyo Rahardani.<\/p>\n
As a junior athlete, Juana was among the trainees sent in
\n1995. She has since molded herself into a strong international
\ncontender. One of the highlights of her career was winning a gold
\nmedal at the World Championships in Paris last year, which
\nassured her a ticket to Athens.<\/p>\n
\"It's a rare opportunity for athletes to train at the
\nKukkiwon. They will be trained by world-caliber counterparts like
\nseven-time world champion Jeong Kook-hyun,\" Sutjipto said.<\/p>\n
\"The requirements for them to go to Kukkiwon is that they must
\nbe champions in local tournaments and that they are hard
\nworkers,\" He added.<\/p>\n
Tae kwon do is one of the only two martial arts sports at the
\nOlympics. The other is judo.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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