A TOTAL of 2,500 elite fighters – the black belters included – from all over the country will slug it out in the 2025 SMART/MVP Sports Foundation Best of the Best Taekwondo Championships this weekend – Sept. 6-7 – at the San Andres Sports Complex in Manila.
As in the past, the two-day event has the full backing of sports patron – Smart Communications and PLDT big boss Manny V. Pangilinan, who like Philippine Taekwondo Association’s Grand Master Hong Sung-chon is also eager to see a Filipino fighter win an Olympic gold.
Competitions in Kyorugi (free sparring) will be categorized into Senior, Junior, Cadet and Grade School – both for male and female, while the Poomsae (forms) will be classified into Recognized Poomsae Individual, Team, Pair and Free Style Poomsae Individual.
Given the level of competition, only the toughest, fastest and strongest fighters from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, UAAP, NCAA and the high-level blackbelt organization such as the Taekwondo Blackbelt Brotherhood, Taekwondo Blackbelt Sorority and Philippine Taekwondo Contingent are qualified to join the tournament.
Under the leadership of GM Hong, the PTA is looking to identify potential members of the PH team to the 2028 LA Games.
The event will utilize the PSS (Protective Scoring System) and the ESS (Electronic Scoring System), electronic armors and socks together with the IVR (Instant Video Replay) system for accurate and fair scoring and spectator–friendly matches.
Martial arts enthusiasts and sports aficionados are invited to watch this event especially children who are interested to learn this sport. Matches start at 9 a.m. onwards.
