Encuentre noticias de MASTKD.com, líder mundial en información sobre Taekwondo, publicadas en inglés.
Master and coach Seoung Min Rim has been appointed chairman of the Poomsae Committee of the Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU). The decision places him at the center of a discipline that, over the last decade, has evolved from being a “complement” to becoming a strategic pillar of modern Taekwondo: training, technical identity, and international projection.
The President of Australian Taekwondo, Grand Master Dr. Jean Kfoury, received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2026 Australia Day Honours, an official recognition by the Australian government for “service to Taekwondo.”
SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria is not organizing “just another tournament.” It is building a host country concept. And the Bulgaria Open 2026 will once again be the stage where that ambition will be put to test: three days, two disciplines, G2 category, and the same stadium as the operational home base —Arena 8888 Sofia— to welcome delegations from around the world from February 27 to March 1, 2026.
The African Taekwondo Union (AFTU) published the list of athletes qualified for the 2026 African Kyorugi Championships in Rabat (Morocco), based on the African Open Series (AOS) 1–2–3–4–5–6 system, and established the administrative framework that will rule these spots: they are nominative, non-transferable, and do not allow for division changes.
Muju, South Korea — The Asia Taekwondo Union (ATU) formally established its office in Taekwondowon (Muju, Jeollabuk-do province) and completed the transformation of an administrative change into a political reality: the center of gravity of Asian Taekwondo governance is now anchored within the complex that Korea projects as the “functional capital” of the sport.
Afghan coach Khadija Ahmadzada was arrested on January 13, 2026, in Herat, Afghanistan, after being reported for teaching women, a practice prohibited under the Taliban regime. The Dutch Taekwondo Federation (Taekwondo Bond Nederland) reported the case, launched a petition, and announced that it would present it to the Afghan ambassador in the Netherlands. Days later, the same entity reported that Ahmadzada had been released following international pressure.
In a world plagued by political tensions, disputes of legitimacy, restrictions on rights, information wars, and institutional reorganizations, Olympic Taekwondo does not function as a bubble: it functions as a system. That is why MASTKD chose to look beyond the scoreboard and, with journalistic rigor, map out the real landscape where decisions are made about who competes, who leads, and who can even train.
SOFIA — Bulgaria has once again turned to Iran to strengthen its high-performance taekwondo program. Slavcho “Slavi” Binev, president of the Bulgarian Taekwondo Federation and member of the World Taekwondo Council, confirmed that the country was in the process of naturalizing another elite Iranian competitor, but warned that the plan had been slowed down by administrative delays in issuing the passport.
Rome, Italy – The Italian Taekwondo Federation (FITA) and Sportface TV launched “Taekwondo Plus,” an OTT (“Over-the-Top”) channel, streaming online, outside of traditional TV, dedicated to Italian Taekwondo, in a move that reinforces its communication and positioning plan ahead of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Rome 2026 at the Foro Italico.
Former GB Taekwondo Executive Performance Director Gary Hall MBE has taken on the role of High-Performance Director at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) in Vijayanagar, India, and has already led talent identification efforts for Taekwondo ahead of Los Angeles 2028, including trials in Assam alongside Olympic champion Jade Jones.
