The Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) hopes to identify potential members of the national team when it stages the 2026 SMART/MVPSF National New Face of the Year Taekwondo Championships in two playing dates.
The first is the Kyorugi (free sparring) competition slated May 16-17 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum and the second is the Poomsae on May 31, with PTA Grandmaster Sung-Chon Hong leading the search for individuals capable of carrying the country’s tri-colors in future important events like the Asian Games and Olympics.
The prestigious event, backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Milo, will give the newcomers the chance to showcase their skills, techniques, and discipline – the same opportunity given to a number of great Filipino fighters like Roberto Cruz, Arnold Baradi and just recently Tachiana Mangin.
Participants – roughly 2,000 in Kyorugi and 1,500 in Poomsae –will come from all affiliated chapters across the country, each one dreaming of becoming a well-decorated national team member like their idols.
The Kyorugi competition will have divisions for senior, junior, cadet, grade School, and toddler categories (male and female). Each category will include novice and advanced divisions
Poomsae, on the other hand, will have the individual recognized events for colored and black belters. There will be six age categories: toddler (8 years old and below), grade school (9–11), cadet (12–14), junior (15–17), under-30 (18–30 years old) and over 30 (31 years and above).
As in the past, the tournament will be using the Protector ad Scoring System (PSS) to eliminate human error and upgrade all PTA championships.
Sports enthusiasts are invited to witness this exciting event. Competitions will begin at 9 a.m.
