Under the Presidency of Grandmaster Master Don Dalton, the rise of ITF UNION has been meteoric. In little over six years the organisation
has propelled itself into the forefront of the art with astounding growth made during that time. ITF UNION is now in more than 60 countries
around the world with new members joining constantly.According to GM Dalton “We are a very open family. We try to communicate to our members that our preference is to make our seminars, courses and tournaments open to everyone regardless of affiliation. In this way we are trying to bring together and not divide the ITF global community. We are inclusive and that is attractive to many people. In addition we have the core value of trying to help poorer countries and also of serving our members with a low and fair fee structure so that they can invest more at the national and club level.” Most martial art organizations are top-down command and control hierarchies. The ITF UNION is working to promote a sense of shared purpose among all it’s members, and also of shared values. The goal is to create “pattern integrity,” with often high levels of participation in ideas and solutions for continuous improvement, and this helps with decision making process for organisation. This approach is helping the Union to stay creative and innovative and helps in fostering a core feeling of collaboration.
GM Dalton himself has been working relentlessly travelling the world promoting the spread of ITF UNION. He is probably the most
actively travelling Master or Grandmaster in the world. On any given year he teaches seminars and courses in more than 20 foreign countries.He has travelled to teach in various African countries more than 25 times.Last year he had to cancel teaching in Ethiopia, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, Russia, Argentina, Italy and many more countries due to the global pandemic. Luckily he returns this
July with an International Instructor Course in London (July 24th and 25th) and then on to Mexico and Guatemala in the end of July and
early August. “I love to teach so for me it is wonderful to return to some form of normality in July.
I missed being with my Taekwon-Do family in the Dojang so I can’t wait to see my close friends in London again. Mater Hollingsworth (ITFU England President) has informed me that there will be a huge participation at the event. He is doing a great job in England
GM Dalton began his training under the watchful eye of Master Patrick McCarthy in Tralee in the South West of Ireland. After Master McCarthy emigrated to teach in London in 1985 GM Dalton began training under the tutelage of Irish Taekwon-Do Pioneer Grandmaster Norman Creedon in Cork City. “I was very lucky to be trained by the very best.Imagine GM Creedon and Master McCarthy are still active and training today. That is a great inspiration to me and to any young martial artists. They still have a thirst for knowledge and that is very rare indeed.” GM Creedon is Chairman of the Promotion Committee for ITF UNION. He noted the exceptional growth of ITFU -I am extremely proud to see the exponential growth of International Taekwon-Do Union which was inaugurated on 11th April 2015 and is now being practiced in all corners of the globe.
Our formula for success is really quite simple. Our Certification is inexpensive, and consequently we use these fees to support our poorer
countries to hold courses and seminars. Also, all our Instructors are passionate and support our vision, which is the well-being of our students, promoting the character and physical development of all our members”.
ITF Union has recently become an official backer of Original ITF Magazine which is run by Master Snow. GM Dalton said “The reason we
back this it has the same ethos as our body. We want to tear down walls and bring our global Taekwon-Do family closer together. It is a great
honour to be on this journey surrounded by like minded people. I am very lucky to be shoulder to shoulder with my first two students Master Riordan and Master Moriarty after all these years. We were always a family. ITF UNION wants to create the same sense of brotherhood
and sisterhood. We believe that we can change the world. We believe that we will be a force of good in the years ahead.”
According to ITF UNION European President Master Roy Bertrand “it is said that if you wish to know a man, watch his actions. GM Dalton has consistently through his actions, followed the 9 principles of General Choi’s philosophy. I pick out three here: Principle 5: Be a willing teacher to anyone regardless of religion, race or ideology Principle 7: Teach attitude & skill with actions rather than words Principle 1: Be willing to go where the going may be tough and do the things that are worth doing, even though they are difficult.#
As European President, I am happy to be part of yours and the ITFU’s journey and growth. Thank you, G.M. Dalton.” The ITF UNION has changed immensely in the last two years. There is a very close and symbiotic interaction between the Executive,
The Continental Presidents and the Administration. Master German Gambini of Argentina has brought a great degree of professionalism and organisational skills to the position of Secretary General. Master Arsol and Master Snow are working tirelessly on Administration and Media. The Executive is comprised of GM Lecca (Italy), GM Brown (Scotland), GM Wadley (USA) and GM Dalton (Ireland).GM Lecca added “it is amazing that we work together without ever having any arguments or issues. The key is the feeling of a family and of course we are working to curb the ego.”
Master Hassen Aymo, ITF Union Africa President, gives credit: Grand Master Don Dalton rose to international fame as the most well-known Grandmaster of Taekwon-Do in Africa. GM Dalton has been highly credited both at home and abroad for his contribution in propagating the Korean martial art of Taekwon-Do in the Africa continent and in many parts of the world. He visited African countries more than 25 times promoting Taekwon-Do (for example countries such as :- Ethiopia, Nigeria, The Gambia, Kenya, Morocco, Togo, Ghana, Tanzania……
e.t.c.). GM Don Dalton has become the “Legend in African Taekwon-Do” history. In 2019 he instructed circa 3000 participants in Ethiopia marking a new Taekwon-Do era of the 21st century. As President of ITFU Africa, I would like to say thank you to our Legend GM Dalton. We greatly appreciate and honor the way he has helped and promoted Taekwon-Do amongst the African countries. Love and Respect for you Sir.