Italy
ITF
Italy was one of the first European countries to practice ITF Taekwondo: Master Sun Jae Park and his brothers introduced the discipline in Rome in 1965, when the only international organization was General Choi Hong Hi's ITF. A core of masters kept the ITF tradition alive and in 1983 founded F.I.TAE in Mestre (Venice). The organization has produced absolute world champions and in 2025 Italy hosted the XXIII ITF World Championships in Jesolo — the largest ITF event ever held on Italian soil.
ITF Origins
The origins — first steps of the ITF in Italy
General Choi in Rome: Italy and the direct link to the ITF founder
In 1965, the Park brothers arrived in Italy and established the first training centres in Rome, Naples, Pozzuoli, Bologna and Terracina. General Choi Hong Hi's visit to Rome that same year — to witness the first formal demonstration — lent institutional legitimacy to the Italian movement from the very outset.
The F.I.T.K.D. (Federazione Italiana Taekwon-do), founded in the late 1960s with Sun Jae Park as president, operated under the ITF banner. During this period, teaching faithfully followed the ITF technical style: Tuls (forms), traditional sparring and the power techniques characteristic of original Taekwondo.
“Italy is one of the first European countries where General Choi Hong Hi personally attended an official demonstration — a direct historical link to the ITF founder.”
Schism and Resistance
Schism and resistance — Italian ITF survives
A core of masters chooses technical fidelity over the Olympic path
The creation of the WTF in 1973 meant most Italian practitioners migrated to the WTF system between 1975 and 1977. Those who remained in the ITF did so out of technical conviction and loyalty to Choi Hong Hi's style. Regional groups emerged: Giorgio De Maio and Giuseppe Cacciapuoti in the South (FITE), Nicola Sambrotta and Maurizio Massatani in the Centre (ANIT), and Gianni Sarritzu in Sardinia. In 1979, Italy participated in the First International Scandinavian Championship in Oslo.
The positive turning point came in 1982: General Choi Hong Hi and Master Rhee Ki Ha visited Italy for a training seminar. That encounter brought together the leaders of the various regional groups and created the conditions for unification. The European championship organised by De Maio and Cacciapuoti in Naples that same year marked the symbolic birth of the future unified federation.
“At the height of the WTF's expansion, a core of Italian masters chose to remain in the ITF out of technical loyalty — their resistance made the F.I.TAE of 1983 possible.”
F.I.TAE Foundation
Official foundation and first world gold
Mestre 1983 and Athens 1987: a united Italy, world champion in the ITF
In 1983, in Mestre (Venice), the F.I.TAE (Federazione Italiana Taekwon-Do) was officially founded as the unified ITF body in Italy. The new federation launched an ambitious high-performance programme: in 1986 it hired coach Wim Bos to lead national competitive development. The first national training camp was held in Terracina in September 1986.
The results were immediate: at the ITF World Championships in Athens 1987, Italy achieved its best-ever result. Carmine Caiazzo won gold in the individual combat -80 kg category, while Antonio Maragoni claimed silver in -70 kg.
“ITF World Championships Athens 1987 — Italy won gold (-80 kg, Carmine Caiazzo) and silver (-70 kg, Antonio Maragoni): the finest performance in Italian ITF history on the world stage.”
World Host
Consolidation and world host
Rimini 2001 and Jesolo 2025: Italy as a privileged host of global ITF events
In 2001, Italy hosted the XII ITF Senior World Championships in Rimini (3–8 July), with over 40 participating countries — the first ITF world event on Italian soil. In 2011, Carmine Caiazzo — the 1987 world champion — assumed the presidency of FITAE. In September 2023, Rachele Fogli took over as president, the first woman to lead the organisation.
The most recent milestone was the organisation of the XXIII ITF World Championships in Jesolo, Venice, from 7 to 12 October 2025. The event brought together delegations from over 77 countries, with the DPRK leading the medal table. It was the largest-scale ITF event ever held on Italian soil.
“In 2025, Italy hosted the XXIII ITF World Championships in Jesolo (Venice) — 77+ countries, the greatest concentration of ITF Taekwondo on European soil in recent years.”
Taekwondo in Italy
- ›🥇 Campeón mundial ITF Atenas 1987 (-80 kg) — primer oro mundial absoluto para Italia en el ITF
- ›Grand Master IX Dan ITF — primer italiano en alcanzar ese grado (junio 2021)
- ›Presidente FITAE-ITF (2011–2023) — ciclo completo de atleta élite a gestor institucional
- ›Entrenador del equipo nacional italiano ITF (1992–1999)
- ›Cofundador de FITE — mantuvo vivo el ITF en el sur de Italia durante el cisma
- ›Co-organizador del Campeonato Europeo de Nápoles (1982) — evento que preparó la unificación ITF italiana
Keep exploring
The history of Taekwondo continues in every dojang, every class, every student.