The State of Penang in Malaysia, located on the northwest coast of the Malay Peninsula, is divided into five districts, it is the second smallest in Malaysia, the eighth most populated in the country, but beyond the merely geographical, that was the chosen destination on numerous occasions by Choi himself, the founder of Taekwon-Do, to consolidate the presence of his art in the region. So much so that Malaysia is one of the nine founding countries of the International Taekwon-Do Federation in 1966.

His repeated visits and efforts laid the foundation for the establishment of Taekwon-Do schools in Penang, which played a vital role in popularizing the martial art throughout the country.

The influence of Penang Taekwon-Do practitioners is profound, and today many prominent Malaysian instructors come from that region and their contributions have been vital to the growth and development of Taekwon-Do in Malaysia.

It was no coincidence, then, that from July 12 to 14, 2024, the organizers chose this setting to host the 178th International Instructor Course, during which history was breathed and Choi Hong Hi's legacy was honored through each technique trained.  

The speakers, both prominent members of the ITF Technical and Instruction Committee, were Grand Master Paul McPhail from New Zealand and Grand Master Jerzy Jedut from Poland.

For their part, the almost hundred attendees came from other States of Malaysia, but also from Nepal, India, Singapore and Indonesia, who demonstrated skill, discipline and technical knowledge to meet the high standards of ITF Taekwon-Do, not only during the training course, but also during the exams to access categories from 4th to 8th degree black belt.

The training sessions occurred in the morning and afternoon and began with training on the basics, from exercises for proper warm-up and stretching in preparation for practice, followed by thorough studies of the 24 ITF patterns.

Sparring in its various forms, as well as self-defense, were reviewed again and again along with specific notions about the importance of footwork in sparring.

The 178th International Instructors Course in Penang, Malaysia, not only reaffirmed the ITF's commitment to excellence and continuing education, but also highlighted the importance of adapting to the changes of the modern world without losing sight of roots and philosophy of Taekwon-Do.

This event was a testimony of how history and tradition can coexist harmoniously with scientific advances in health, sports, education, psychology, among others, preparing instructors to face the challenges of the future through training and continuous learning.