Taekwondo In Singapore

Taekwondo was introduced in Singapore in 1962 when Mr. Kim Bok Man, a Korean and holder of a 5th degree black belt, gave a spectacular demonstration of the art at a small garage in Kuching Road. Initially, a small group started training at the garage. However, within a month the membership increased and the place was not big enough to accommodate them.The gymnasium had to be shifted to CYMCA. It was later moved to McNair Road and finally to Gay World.

At the gymnasium in the Gay World, the local boys picked up the art fast and soon attained the converted black belt. As the interest for this venerable art rose, the membership soared. Soon the local black belt holders opened their own gymnasiums. As time went on, the control of these gymnasium were out of hand. In the beginning, these gymnasiums were affiliated to the main body at the Gay World. Later a number of them broke off and formed their own groups. The instructors conducted their own gradings. Owing to the disorganization, a number of unqualified instructors jumped on the bandwagon and conducted classes and gradings with their primary objective of swindling their gullible trainees.

Fortunately, timely action was taken to reorganise, control and promote taekwondo in Singapore. This action resulted in the birth of the SINGAPORE TAEKWONDO FEDERATION.

 

 

SINGAPORE TAEKWONDO FEDERATION 

The Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) was officially registered with the Registry of Societies (Singapore) on 26 July 1974 with the following objectives:

• to promote taekwondo in the Republic and organize tournaments for the benefit of the members of STF;
• to unify and co-ordinate taekwondo activities in the Republic; and
• to arrange and co-ordinate taekwondo demonstrations and tournaments on national and international scales.

The unremitting effort put in by STF towards achieving its objectives and blossom into a well-recognised national sport association which is recognise by the SportSG (formerly known as Singapore Sports Council) and is a corporate member of the People’s Association.

STF became an affiliate of the World Taekwondo (WT) on 28 May 1973. When the Asian Taekwondo Union was incepted on 17 October 1976 in Melbourne, Australia during the 2^nd Asian Taekwondo Championships, STF membership to Asian Taekwondo Union was approved on 09 September 1978. On 14 September 1978, STF spearheaded the formation of the Asean Taekwondo Federation. In view of the excellent administrative support, Singapore was given the distinction of establishing the first secretariat. On 28 March 1982, it was decided that the secretariat should be permanently based in Singapore until such time the executive Board deemed fit to change the location. This decision was indeed a feather in the cap for the STF.

On 21 April 1981, it was accepted as an associate member of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC). STF’s status with SNOC was upgraded to ordinary member on 18 March 1986.

The affiliation of STF to WT and SNOC places it in a position of authority in promoting taekwondo as a sport. This also give STF the right to nominate suitable members for participation in taekwondo competitions in SEA Games, the Asian Games and the Olympic Games.

In addition to seeking recognition for the organisation, the STF did not overlook its other obligations. It had successfully organised many local and international events.

The organization has grown over the years through good management and clear sense of mission. Today, taekwondo has large following of well over 30,000 partitioner. It is practiced in the army, police force, school, colleges, tertiary insituations, community club, residents’ committees’ centre and private club.

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STF Vision

The vision of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation is that the sport makes better persons and enjoys wide participation and the organization has a tradition of helping potential players realize their dreams of being champions and contributing to the community.

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STF Mission

The Mission of the Federation is to inculcate the right values in its members, promote the art and sport widely, provide participants with optimum opportunities to develop their potential by having sound support, development programmes and services and play a role in supporting the Singapore Government’s programmes and helping charitable causes.

 

STF Core Value

Sportsmanship	–	We believe that Taekwondo is a moral pursit requiring rules to be respected and dignity to be maintained under all circumstances
Intergrity	–	We foster high ethical and professional standards.
Growth	–	We adapt, upgrade and change in pursuit of excellence.
Human-Centred	–	We strive to meet participants’ needs and are responsible for their enjoyment and appreciation of the sport.
Teamwork	–	We value the strength of working together.

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STF Goal

The goals of the Federation are to

• expand its membership further;
• achieve more sporting excellence;
• provide its members with better quality activities and services;
• continue supporting the Singapore Government’s programme;
• and play a more active role in helping charitable causes.

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The Organisation

The Singapore Taekwondo Federation is the Singapore national governing body for taekwondo. It is well-recognised locally and abroad.

	Registered with the Registry of Societies (Singapore)
An ordinary member of the S’pore National Olympic Council	Recognised by the Singapore Sports Council	A Corporate member of the People’s Associationl
An affiliate of the World Taekwondo	An affiliate of the Asian Taekwondo Union	An affiliate of ASEAN Taekwondo Federation

 

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STF PLEDGE

The Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) is putting a high premium in the development of ‘DO’ which is articulated in its pledge. Without ‘DO’, a taekwondo member cannot be complete. Therefore, the STF, which is responsible for the promotion of the art and sport, would be remiss if it fails to provide guidance for its members.

However, the STF will require the support, co-operation and understanding of club leaders, officials and coaches to produce taekwondo exponents worthy of the discipline.

As coaches and black belt holders serve as important role models for their students, it is imperative that they are able to not only recite the STF pledge but also appreciate its significance. In order to ensure that they are conversant with the pledge, it has been, and will remain as, part of the basic requirement for them when they participate in STF courses/seminars/workshops.

For clubs conducting supplementary promotion tests, the pledge will be recited by candidates to kick off the event. Club representatives may take the pledge on behalf of the candidates at the start of the grading.

 THE PLEDGE

We, the members of Singapore Taekwondo Federation, pledge that

· we shall remain humble, honest and helpful at all times,
· we shall respect our elders, parents, coaches, seniors and one another regardless of race, language, class or creed,
· we shall believe in ourselves and persist no matter how great the challenge to achieve our noble aspirations,
· we shall develop our characters, qualities and abilities to serve our community and our country and
· we shall abide by the rules and regulations of taekwondo and the laws of Singapore.”