Taekwondo Federation

There are many taekwondo associations, and international, national and local taekwondo federation bodies throughout the world. Among other things these associations can mandate such things as taekwondo competition rules, grading requirements, taekwondo training syllabus and technical requirements, and issue official taekwondo black belt certification.

Some of these national and local taekwondo association can be huge in terms of membership, participation and influence, but most of these associations operate under the umbrella and membership of a few major international taekwondo federations and governing bodies.

The Main Taekwondo Federation Organizations

• World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)
• International Taekwondo Federation (ITF)
• Kukkiwon

If you are participating in taekwondo training through a recognized taekwondo school or academy, then you more than likely will have some affiliation with at least one of these taekwondo associations. If you are competing in taekwondo competition than you will be competing in either World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) sanctioned events, or International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) sanctioned events. Each taekwondo federation has a different set of competition rules, with perhaps WTF taekwondo being better known considering the Olympics Taekwondo Program operates under these rules. Or if you have graded to your black belt, then your official certification would be sanctioned and recorded at the Kukkiwon headquarters.

Of course there are many other major as well as smaller taekwondo governing bodies throughout the world of taekwondo. While it's true that most with have an association with the main international taekwondo bodies, some smaller schools may be completely independent and hold no official status with the above taekwondo federation organizations.

Other Major Taekwondo Organizations

• American Taekwondo Association (ATA)
• American Taekwondo Federation (ATF)
• Taekwondo Association of Great Britain (TAGB)
• Rhee Taekwondo
• International TaeKwon-Do Association (ITA)