Pledge to be taken by all Taekwondo Practitioners

“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.”

With immediate effect, all coaches and students of clubs under the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) are required to take the pledge at the beginning of each training session.

The pledge is to be taken solemnly and with pride to reflect the seriousness of their promise to be better persons and citizens. The rationale behind the pledge has to be explained to oath-takers to get their commitment.

The STF aims to promote taekwondo as a useful tool for the development of character and make it different and better than the other sports. For the achievement of its objective, the STF will require the co-operation of affiliate leaders, coaches and students.

Taking the pledge will be a good start. Fulfilling the promises will follow. Affiliate leaders and coaches should be role models of the values taekwondo aims to imbue.

They should encourage and help their trainees to demonstrate the virtues. For example, coaches and students should bow to the parents and explain to students the need to honour their parents by respecting and obeying them, by studying hard to bring good educational results and by making their parents proud of them. Coaches should also teach students proper protocol. They should also be taught about the evils of drugs and smoking. There are many other ways coaches can enhance the character of the participants.

If it is good for them, just do it.  

At the appropriate time, the STF will award certificates of achievements to those who demonstrate the values of taekwondo. When it is introduced, affiliates may recommend outstanding students for citations.

The STF also plans to introduce an interview session for all red 1 to 1^st poom or 1^st dan candidates to test them on their understanding of the taekwondo values.

For example, 1^st poom candidate may be asked the things that they have done to honour their parents or if they have done any good deeds.

More information will be released in due course.

In the meantime, make sure the pledge is taken at the beginning of each class and start working positively towards developing the character of your students. It will be worth the while of coaches to do so as the foundation of a person is his values.