Taekwon-Do School Amsterdam

The medal table told one story. The data told a completely different one.

🇷🇴 Romania finished #1… while winning barely half its fights.
🇺🇦 Ukraine actually won the most bouts in Europe.
🇮🇪 Ireland turned sparring into a bloodbath.
🇸🇮 Slovenia may have been the smartest team in the building.

And then there’s this:
🔴 Red corner won 58% of all fights.

Oh… and some athletes became European champion after fighting once. Others had to survive five brutal rounds through 30+ athlete brackets for the exact same medal.

Same podium. Very different reality. The brackets don’t lie.
DM "EUROS" for the full report.

Netherlands leaves the Europeans with 15 medals. On paper, a solid result. In reality, a more complicated one.

The Dutch were competitive throughout. Strong in sparring, surprisingly strong in patterns, and among the better teams in Europe when you look at performance per entry.

But the key detail sits elsewhere.

Most Dutch athletes went out against the people who went on to win medals. Not early exits, not easy losses. They were in the right rounds, against the right opponents.

And when they lost, they were usually beaten clearly. No controversy, no fine margins.

The biggest contrast was internal.

The women performed at a genuinely high level, among the best in Europe. Consistent, controlled, and able to close matches.

The men did not match that level. The gap is too large to ignore and points to something structural rather than incidental.

So what do you have?

A team that is close. Good enough to compete with most of Europe. Not yet sharp enough to turn those positions into titles on a consistent basis.

The foundation is there. The question is whether it gets built on.

DM for the full report.

Alright, honest take.

At the last Europeans, they tightened things up around the ring 🎥
No more “everyone filming everything.” Only selected media.
On top of that: paid livestream 💸 and paid app content 📱

You can see what they’re trying to do. That part isn’t crazy.

What they’re aiming for:

• 🎥 More control around the ring
• 📸 Better quality footage
• 💰 A product they can actually sell
• 🛡️ Fewer safety and privacy issues

Fair.

But here’s where it starts to go wrong.

Taekwon-Do isn’t a spectator sport yet.
The only people watching are already in it.

And those people are now being charged:

• 👨‍👩‍👧 Parents
• 🥋 Teammates
• 🧑‍🏫 Coaches
• 🤝 Friends

That’s your entire ecosystem.

And you’re putting it behind a paywall.

Growth in this sport doesn’t come from polished media first.
It comes from raw, shared moments.

The stuff that actually spreads the sport:

• 🎬 A parent filming a final
• 📲 A coach posting a strong exchange
• 🥇 A kid showing a medal at school

That’s how new people get interested.

Cut that off, and you shrink your reach.

Now from the athlete side:

You compete. You perform. You represent your club.
And then… you can’t easily get your own footage?

That’s a problem.

Because footage is:

• 📈 Feedback to improve
• 📢 Promotion for your club
• 🧠 Learning material
• ❤️ Memories for family

If the official system replaces that, fine.

But it has to be:

• ⚡ Fast
• 📲 Easy to access
• 💸 Reasonably priced

Otherwise people feel locked out of their own experience.

To be fair, unlimited filming has downsides too.

Real issues:

• 🚧 People blocking the ring
• ⚠️ Safety concerns
• 🎥 Chaos instead of structure

So yes, some control makes sense.

But this feels like overcorrection.

What happened instead:

• 🔓 From open and messy
• 🔒 Straight to locked and monetized

Without first building an audience willing to pay.

There’s a smarter way.

Better approach:

• 📲 Let people film and share (within reason)
• 🎥 Offer a free stream for key matches
• 💰 Add paid options for full access and extras
• 🥋 Give athletes easy access to their own footage

Build demand first. Monetize second.

Right now it risks becoming:

• 📉 Less visibility
• 🔇 Less buzz
• 😤 More frustration

And a small group paying for something that should be spreading.

That’s not how you grow a sport.

WHY should photographers of national associations be at the rings?
YOUR argument:

TO SHAW ALL COMPETITORS.

BECAUSE WE WANT TKD BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE. NO MONOPOLY, NO ELITISM.

BECAUSE „CERTAIN ORGANISATIONS” FOCUS ON THEIR FAVOURITE / SPONSORED ATHLETES, TRYING BOOST THEIR REPUTATION AND POPULARITY WHILE AVOIDING NEW TALENT OR AVOIDING POSTING BEAUTIFUL CLIPS OF THEIR AMBASADORS BEING DOMINATED IN MATCHES. WE AS ATHLETES WANT THE SAME RECOGNITION AND RESPECT AS PEOPLE WHO WIN / LOOSE /HAVE 100 FOLLOWERS / 10000 FOLLOWERS. LET’S NOT CHANGE TKD INTO POPULARITY CONTEST AND GIVE EVERYONE THE SAME RECOGNITION.

📷 Marko Pigac

Training alongside my bro , while my other bro treated us on a nice sparring session laced with some dope boxing combos ❤️🥵

Plot twist: this was an April Fools’ joke. And honestly… that’s the sad part.

Because everything we described is exactly what many students, parents, and instructors are quietly looking for: self-defense that works under pressure, clear standards, and the courage to raise the bar when it matters.

At Taekwon-Do School Amsterdam, we see the demand every day. People don’t just want movement. They want meaning. They want to know that what they train can hold up when it counts.

That’s why we believe a structured, realistic self-defense program should be part of modern Taekwon-Do. Not to replace tradition, but to complete it.

If you’re an instructor, a club, or even part of a federation and you’re ready to take this seriously, reach out.

We’re more than happy to help turn this “joke” into something very real.

In cooperation with

Big shift. Real direction.

is taking realistic self-defense seriously and we’re here for it.

What’s coming: A mandatory 7-day intensive for instructors. High standards. No shortcuts. Not everyone will pass, and yes, that has consequences.

This first phase lays the foundation. More advanced programs are already in the pipeline.

Proud to have played a part in getting this moving through Taekwon-Do School Amsterdam.