I had learned almost randomly, from the literature of an anonymous brief article appeared on the monthly "black belt", a centre M ° Sun Jae Park had begun to teach in the Capital, in Viollieri Torelli, "Korean karate."
Finding viuzza, squeezed between two rows of newly constructed buildings and even toponymy resulting from the town, I remember that it was not easy, in that distant afternoon October 1966.
The gym was a room of a few square metres, devoid of showers (with cold water to direct), in which a group of 5-6 students - when I arrived - were committed man in football side, under the inflexible M commands ° Park.
When I wanted to get information, the Korean master appointed to a goal of his students, these accompanied me in a sort of floor in the same room, which served as office and reception, and adagiandosi madido of sweat on a chair rather malridotta, I said grateful: "Thanks… to give you some information, at least, I can somewhat riposarmi '!" That student was called Melchiorre Horses.
The taekwondo had to stay in that dark here - but who knows how many of the "old" recall with nostalgia - for a further 5, 6 months until the students become in the meantime 10, I decided to help them master that was shuttling between Rome and Naples and taught at the School of Oriental Languages in order to maintain the family (the monthly tuition, then 4000 lire, it was not even enough to cover the cost of rent) decided to autotassarsi for 50,000 lire to head so he could take a broader local but so shattered that the athletes themselves, had become carpenters, masons, painters…
Meanwhile had arrived in Italy the brother of M ° Park, Young Ghill that in'67, after having taught for a few months in Rome, chose as the site for his "mission" to master the sunny Naples: in a difficult situation coexistence with other martial arts, Young Gill who recently returned to Rome to teach gym centrally managed to create from nothing more than thirty centres.
Pupils increased. There were already about thirty when the manufacturer Roman Peperno decided in'68, the local riappropriasi. Amid a thousand understandable difficulties was found a new and definitive gym, in F.lli Rsponi, home to tantai years of Italian Taekwondo Federation (Fitkd).
Since then, the Italian taekwondo has undergone constant development - in a process of continuous improvement and technical agonostico - summarized with two figures: 7000 athletes card, 150 gyms throughout Italy.
We try very briefly retrace the path taken with its most significant milestones.
If the first exit in a triangular international, Italy-Germany-Holland, sees the Azzurri seconds behind eternal rivals teutonici, only the'75 was the first participation blue to a league official (2 ° disputatosi world championships in Seoul). In'76, 1 ° European Championship, Italy was awarded a bronze medal and ranks 4 °, the following year obtained a 4 ° place to third world championships in Chicago.
In'78 the first exploit: 2 ° European Championship Monaco fruit of a gold medal, a silver and 4 bronze.
In'79, the International Tournament friendly Taiwan, Italy gets a silver and a bronze and is 14esima as a nation, thanks to two quarters seats to the quarterfinals of the world championships (Stuttgart).
But it is the year 1980 to give a precise size of the state of grace our taekwondo (the same year in which, in June, is determined accession to FIKDA): 3rd European Championship in Esbjerg, Denmark, Italy sees the ascent of 4 ° 2 in ranking countries with a "booty" of 6 gold medals, 7 silver, 5 bronze.
The 81 confirms the rise in international prejudice, still, the clear supremacy Korean: the Azzurri won third place with six World Games S. Clara and two third places to fifth Worlds Championships in Guayaquil (Ecuador) The… Italy jumps, as ranked countries from 14 ° to 9 ° place that confirms the goodness of conducting technical and validity of organizational support provided by FIKDA that, following the well-known election of 20 June'82, took the name FIKTEDA (Italian Federation of Karate and Taekwondo governing similar).

(This article was translated by a machine translation software and not by one person)