Taekwondo in Portugal: the lost tradition and the legacy that remains
When I look at the current state of Taekwondo in Portugal, what I feel is not just sadness. It is a deep lament, a silent frustration that echoes in empty dojangs, hanging doboks and forgotten stories. Many of the masters who gave everything – body, soul and time to build this art in our country – are, today, relegated to oblivion. Their schools are closed or closed. Some, after struggling against the current, simply stopped rowing.
Forgotten teachers and abandoned schools: the price of oblivion
It’s a strange scenario, but not surprising. And the question that haunts me is: how did they allow this to happen? How did those who pioneered our art end up isolated, drowned in a silence that no one wants to hear?
The True Pioneer Ignored: Master Chung Sun Yong and Lack of Gratitude
To understand this decadence we must go back to the origins. The Master who brought Taekwondo to Portugal, Chung Sun Yong, the true pioneer, is today remembered only on a commemorative date, as if his importance were written in the footer of a calendar. It is ignored by the sports federation elites and the self-proclaimed «nobility» of national Taekwondo. The tribute that is due to him, just and undeniable, was denied to him due to vanity, politics or simply out of ingratitude. Yet, if he had not crossed borders to seed this art here, many of us would continue to play marbles instead of practicing this incredible art.
Fast growth, weak roots
The expansion of Taekwondo in Portugal, although inspired, was born with wounds. The founding master, driven by urgency and enthusiasm, entrusted, in most cases, the expansion of the art to people without roots or solid foundation in Taekwondo. Many came from other martial arts, others with little or no technical martial training. They lacked the patience to train disciples with time, sweat and reverence. We opted for rapid, Western growth, where the immediate prevailed over the essential. An impatient vision that clashed head-on with the Eastern principles of hierarchy, discipline and sacred slowness that form true masters.
When Taekwondo became a business: diplomas sold, values lost
Everything that is obtained easily is lost with disinterest. And this soon began to be reflected in schools… without value, without depth, without true respect. Many, still instructors, went from the street to the shortcut and Taekwondo became a business. The effort of obtaining degrees was required only from those who paid the monthly tuition and was sold effortlessly to those who arrived from abroad with an open wallet. There were those who sold fake diplomas to students who entrusted them with years of training, issued by phantom entities and paid the price of gold. And worse: many took exams, charged exorbitant prices for Korean diplomas… and never gave them to their students. Others, in search of power and prominence, broke with the founding master and went to seek recognition, especially in the neighboring country, where intermediaries guaranteed them titles and, above all, Kukkiwon diplomas, and then claimed that they were the only ones with the authority to request them. They had forgotten, or wanted to forget, that at that time Kukkiwon himself was still a structure in the making, a child without clear rules, vulnerable to exploitation.
The result? Inflated diplomas, opaque processes and inexplicable waiting times: documents that, by official channels, would have arrived in three or four months, took two or three years to appear, if at all… since many of these diplomas simply never arrived, because the money… had already served other purposes.
Mismanagement and abandonment: when the soul of Taekwondo is lost
Today, many of the teachers who find themselves with empty schools continue to repeat the same mistakes. When former students return, attracted by the «scent» of diplomas, they are welcomed, treated as friends, they receive what they ask for… and then they are left alone again. It must be a deep frustration, because it’s not just the lack of students, it’s the loss of purpose and true mission.
Another subtle poison was excessive ambition. There were teachers who wanted to be everywhere, to expand, more gyms, more opening hours. And in this enthusiasm they forgot about their students. The presence was missing, the follow-up was missing. And in the end he lacked his soul. Because Taekwondo is about people; without people there is no art, only empty space.
The deepest wound
The most serious wound, however, is the loss of identity. Today many black belts don’t even know what lineage they come from. Some hide this truth, either because the origin is dubious, or because they simply don’t have the legitimacy they claim… or, sadder still, because they don’t know or want to know. To make matters worse, many are ashamed to reveal who their master was or is, not out of respect, but out of fear of the damage and mistakes these masters have made. It is a shame that corrodes the foundations of what should be pride and respect for roots. Without identity, without truth, there is no art, but only empty imitation.
Silent resistance: masters who keep the essence of Taekwondo alive
In the midst of this bleak scenario, there are still masters who resist, who keep the flame of true Taekwondo alive. They are few, but they are still. They are discreet, but have deep roots. Interestingly, many of them had to move away, to break the cycle, to look outside the country for true wisdom which, at home, was already confused with vanity and convenience. They went to drink at the fountain, learning from those who live art with rigor and humility. And today his students don’t just inherit techniques: they inherit values, history, lineage. And that’s worth more than any medal, any podium… or any belt tightened with ego.
Lineage Cannot Be Bought: The Invisible Value of True Martial Heritage
Words from my teacher:
«In Korea nobody asks you what your degree is. They ask you: who graduated you? Who is your teacher?»
Because a belt can be bought; it can be given away or even stolen. But lineage… Lineage must be earned with truth, time and honor. It carries with it the invisible blood of those who came before us. And this cannot be falsified.
Protecting the roots: the duty to keep the legacy of Taekwondo alive
Today more than ever we have a responsibility that goes beyond physical preparation or technique. We must protect the root. Keep the flame of tradition alive. It is not looking at the past with blind nostalgia, but with the reverence of those who know that there are the foundations of who we are. We cannot allow Taekwondo to become a rapidly consumed product, an empty mask. We cannot accept that the true masters, those who built with sacrifice and silence, are dragged to the margins of history by passing fads or futile ambitions.
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