International Taekwon-Do Federation

What International Taekwon-Do Federation does

The International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is a Vienna-based international non-profit sports federation founded in 1966 by Gen. Choi Hong Hi, the originator of modern Taekwon-Do. Headquartered at Draugasse 3, 1210 Vienna, Austria, the federation operates as the global governing body for Taekwon-Do under the tenets of Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control, and Indomitable Spirit, with six continental regional bodies (ITF World, Europe, Africa, Oceania, Asian, and Panam) coordinating national member associations across multiple continents.

The federation has built an integrated digital platform ecosystem centered on ITF HQ (the administrative core), supplemented by ITF DB for competition records and member data, ITF TV for live event streaming, CYBER ITF for online community and training access, the ITF E-Shop as a hybrid retail/wholesale merchandise channel, ITF Events for competition management, ITF Anti-Doping for WADA-aligned clean sport compliance, and the ITF Academy hosting the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do authored by the founder. Event infrastructure spans countries including Chile, the UK, Guatemala, South Africa, Malaysia, Mongolia, Grenada, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the USA, Russia, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Colombia, the UAE, Austria, and England.

ITF operates as a member-funded non-profit, generating revenue through national association affiliation fees, event registration and sanctioning, dan/degree certification, and direct merchandise sales. It maintains strategic technology partnerships with Daedo (electronic scoring and protective equipment) and Score (electronic scoring), and holds WADA compliance under the World Anti-Doping Code (2027 version). Leadership consists of President Prof. Ri Yong Son, Treasurer Dr. Peter Blumauer, Secretary and PR/GR Liaison Stefan Mueller, and DPO/Special Advisor to the President Anton Archipov.

Name

International Taekwon-Do Federation

Legal name

International Taekwon-Do Federation

Website

https://itf-tkd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The International Taekwon-Do Federation is a Vienna-based non-profit founded in 1966 that globally governs Taekwon-Do, serving national member associations, individual practitioners, and competition organizers through standardized certification, sanctioned events, and an integrated digital platform spanning streaming, database, e-commerce, and education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Martial Arts Federation & Sports Governance

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

International Sport Federations (IFs) (MPAKAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Combat Sports Sanctioning Bodies & Commissions (Boxing/MMA/Kickboxing) (MPAKAFAI)

Keywords

• Martial arts federation
• Taekwondo certification
• Martial arts competition
• Dan grading system
• Sports governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The International Taekwon-Do Federation is a nonprofit international sports federation that governs the global practice of Taekwon-Do through standardized training curricula, dan/degree grading and certification, and sanctioned competitions from local to world level. It distributes its services through an integrated digital platform ecosystem (ITF HQ, ITF DB, ITF TV, CYBER ITF, ITF E-Shop, ITF Anti-Doping, ITF Academy/Encyclopedia, ITF Events) and a worldwide network of affiliated national member associations and regional bodies.

Product overview

International Taekwon-Do Federation operates a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on ITF HQ as the core administrative hub, supplemented by ITF DB for competition records and member data. Additional modules include ITF TV for live event streaming, CYBER ITF for online community access, ITF E-Shop for merchandise sales, ITF Anti-Doping for clean sport compliance, ITF Academy/Encyclopedia for educational content, and ITF Events for competition management. The federation also offers a 60th Anniversary ITF Summit planned for November 2026 in Vienna, Austria.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ITF HQ: The supreme authority for all everyday matters in Taekwon-Do, serving as the central governing body.
• ITF Academy
• ITF TV
• ITF Events
• ITF e-Shop
• ITF Anti-Doping
• ITF Integrated Platform

Products and services

• ITF HQ The central administrative hub of the International Taekwon-Do Federation, serving as the supreme authority for all everyday matters in Taekwon-Do operations and federation governance. For ITF members, national associations, instructors, and officials.
• ITF DB A comprehensive database platform providing centralized competition records, member information, and event registration, streamlined into micro-sites for each ITF event. For ITF members, national associations, and competition organizers.
• ITF TV Live streaming platform for watching live action from the most prominent events in ITF Taekwon-Do worldwide. For practitioners, fans, and the broader Taekwon-Do community.
• CYBER ITF Online community platform for Taekwon-Do members to access digital services, training resources, and explore the authentic legacy of Founder Gen. Choi Hong Hi. For ITF community members and prospective practitioners.
• ITF E-Shop Official hybrid webstore for both retail and wholesale buyers, offering the latest ITF Taekwon-Do gear and equipment. For individual consumers and wholesale buyers globally.
• ITF Anti-Doping Program Clean sport program aligned with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards, providing anti-doping rules, testing procedures, prohibited list, therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs), and education tools. For ITF athletes, member associations, and competition organizers.
• ITF Academy / Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do Digital educational resource containing the condensed Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do with selected chapters covering philosophy, history, techniques, patterns, sparring, and self-defense, authored by Founder Gen. Choi Hong Hi. For Taekwon-Do practitioners, instructors, and students.
• ITF Events Event management platform providing information and competition records streamlined into micro-sites for each ITF event, enabling registration for ITF-sanctioned competitions, seminars, and technical courses globally. For practitioners, athletes, instructors, umpires, and competition organizers.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerITF operates under WADA compliance for its anti-doping program, implementing the World Anti-Doping Code, International Standards for Testing, Laboratories, and other anti-doping regulations. The partnership ensures ITF athletes can participate in internationally recognized competitions and maintain eligibility for major sporting events.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• World Taekwondo: The IOC-recognized international federation for Taekwon-Do (WT-form), directly competing with ITF for legitimacy, national associations, athletes, and global event sanctioning authority in the same martial art.
• International Federation of Muaythai Associations: International federation for Muaythai, closely comparable to ITF as a stand-alone international combat-sport governing body with national affiliates, world championships, standardized grading, and cultural-heritage positioning.

Broad incumbents

• International Boxing Association (IBA): International federation for boxing offering the same mix of sanctioned competitions, member national federations, athlete certification, and international rankings that ITF delivers for Taekwon-Do, with overlapping combat-sport governance dynamics.
• World Karate Federation: IOC-recognized international federation for karate, operating a comparable federation-with-member-associations structure, international competition calendar, and standardized grading/certification system in an adjacent combat sport.
• International Judo Federation: A larger, IOC-recognized international federation governing judo worldwide; comparable as a peer international combat-sport governing body with a similar member-association, event-sanctioning, and certification model.
• United World Wrestling: International federation governing amateur wrestling, with a similar international-sports-federation operating model — national affiliates, world championships, umpire/referee programs, and multi-continent governance — comparable to ITF's combat-sport federation structure.

Others

• SportAccord (GAISF): Umbrella association of international sports federations (now Global Association of International Sports Federations), relevant as an ecosystem-level peer — ITF interacts with GAISF-style bodies for cross-federation governance, multi-sport games access, and anti-doping coordination.

Emerging players

• World Karate Confederation: An alternative international karate confederation that, like ITF, operates outside the IOC-recognized WKF umbrella — directly comparable as a rival non-Olympic international federation in an adjacent combat sport with similar member-funded and sanctioning structures.
• International Wushu Federation: International federation for wushu (a martial-art discipline originating in China), structurally comparable to ITF — member national federations, international competition calendar, and standardized technical curriculum — though smaller in global reach.
• International Kendo Federation: International federation governing kendo, with a comparable member-association federation model, international competitions, and standardized technical grading/certification — relevant as another stand-alone martial-arts IF competing for similar practitioners.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/itf_hq
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCFGPupRYoqfpk6mF4kSz_1A/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0&view_as=subscriber
• Facebookfacebook.com/itf.headquarters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-taekwon-do-federation-1
• Instagraminstagram.com/itf.hq
• TikTokvm.tiktok.com/7Xag5W

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Taekwon-Do Federation