The Team training program is a separate Taekwondo program with the main focus being competition. Our athletes are successful against all the odds of living in the middle of the Pacific. They are competing and winning against athletes who are able to attend more tournaments in a month than our kids can in a year.
ABOUT TEAM KIFFMANN
Over the past 30 years the Kiffmann Dojang has been the most successful Maui school in officially recognized national or international martial arts competition of any kind. The school has produced over a hundred U.S. National and many international Taekwondo Medalists as well as several USA National team members.
THE PATH TO THE OLYMPICS
- Becoming a Kukkiwon certified Black Belt
- Qualifying for Nationals by placing top 3 in black belt world class division at States
- Placing top 3 in black belt world class division at USAT Nationals
- Gaining Ranking points in international WT- Qualification events
- Winning Team Trials
The path to becoming an Olympic/ World Taekwondo Champion is long and very, very, very competitive. Once competing in the black belt divisions most athletes that were used to winning tournaments as a color belt will realize that medaling every time they compete is a thing of the past and will quit if their only goal was to get a medal. Let’s not forget, in reality there is only a black belt national champion.
Embrace your training in taekwondo as training for life. Nobody has ever achieved anything of value without failing many times.
”The Olympic Dream Starts Here”
Competition Questions & Answers
A friend of mine told me he trains at a school on Maui that has Taekwondo World Champions, is that possible?
Although a few athletes from Oahu qualified for World Championships many years ago, there has never been a Taekwondo World Champion from Hawaii, let alone Maui. There are several fake “World Championship” tournaments held annually in the US with no qualification requirements and most have no other countries competing. The real Taekwondo World Championship is held every two years and has only been held in the USA two times, 1977 in Chicago and 1993 in New York. Only the National team member of each country in each weight category is eligible to compete at the real Taekwondo World Championship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Taekwondo_Championships.
What is USAT?
USAT is the official National Governing Body for Taekwondo in the USA as recognized by the Unites States Olympic Committee
What is AAU Taekwondo?
AAU is the Amateur Athletic Union. USAT top level competitors often attend AAU national tournaments in order to earn trips to international tournaments supported by AAU. AAU is doing a great job by having US Taekwondo practitioners from various organizations such as ITF, ATA, WTF etc. compete at the same events.
Does Hawaii Have A State Taekwondo Championship?
Yes. Every year, around March or April, the official USAT National Qualifier/Hawaii Taekwondo Championship is held on Oahu. This event is sponsored by Oahu Taekwondo Center. The annual official Hawaii AAU Taekwondo National Qualifier is currently hosted by our dojang.
