About | World Taekwondo Kingston — Hillel Taekwondo Program

Students of World Taekwondo Mandeville with their instructors

The programme

Real taekwondo, inside the school day’s rhythm.

World Taekwondo Kingston is the Kingston arm of World Taekwondo Mandeville. Classes run at Hillel Academy every Tuesday and Thursday and are open to children from any school: Prep School 4:30–5:45 PM and High School 6:00–7:15 PM.

Students follow the same Kukkiwon syllabus as every WTM club, grade to the same standard and earn ranks recognised by every World Taekwondo club in the world. Hillel students walk straight from class to the mat; families from other schools simply drop off at Hillel.

Same syllabus, same standard and the same certified ranks, whichever school your child attends.

Our mission

To teach taekwondo to Kukkiwon standard in a safe, well-run class: discipline, respect and confidence, fitness, and skills students keep for life.

Where we come from

Part of World Taekwondo Mandeville since day one.

World Taekwondo Mandeville is a registered club under World Taekwondo Jamaica, an affiliate of World Taekwondo. The club was established in January 2017 at the Church Teachers’ College Gymnasium by Instructor Kenroy Clarke, under the guidance of Master Christopher Chok, then president of World Taekwondo Jamaica.

From that home dojang grew a family of clubs: Santa Cruz Taekwondo Academy in St. Elizabeth, kickboxing in Mandeville and — here in Kingston — the Hillel Taekwondo Program, World Taekwondo Kingston.

Every WTK student is registered in the same student system as WTM: one parent portal, one payment record, one grading register. Colour belts are certified through World Taekwondo Mandeville; black belts (poom and dan) are certified by the Kukkiwon in Seoul through World Taekwondo Jamaica.

World Taekwondo Jamaica is our governing body — Jamaica’s member national association of World Taekwondo, affiliated with the Jamaica Olympic Association.

A class in the gymnasium at Church Teachers’ College, Mandeville.

Black belts in front of the flags of Jamaica, the Kukkiwon, World Taekwondo and Korea.

The people who teach you

Our master instructors

Master Clarke leads the Hillel classes himself. He trained under Grand Master Chok, World Taekwondo Mandeville’s chief instructor.

4th Dan · Founder & head instructor

Master Kenroy Clarke

An all-round martial artist and student of Grand Master Chok, with training in striking arts, karate, boxing and weapons as well as taekwondo. He has studied taekwondo for more than a decade and has trained and coached in many countries.

As an instructor he teaches with energy, drive and pride and works to make classes fun and engaging — and he can be firm, pushing every student toward their full potential. His goal is to help others become smarter, wiser and more confident through martial arts.

World Taekwondo & Kukkiwon Certified International Master Instructor
4th Degree black belt instructor
President of World Taekwondo Jamaica (formerly the Jamaica Taekwondo Federation)
PATU certified coach
Olympic & Paralympic certified coach
World Taekwondo certified coach
IOC certified sports administrator
Panam Sports certified high-performance coach
RJR Sportsman of the Year 2017 for taekwondo
Qualified an athlete for, and coached at, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (held 2021)
World Taekwondo Caribbean Council member
Member of the Jamaica Olympic Association’s Athletes’ Commission
A polyglot who speaks several languages

Message Master Clarke

7th Dan · Chief Instructor, World Taekwondo Mandeville

Grand Master Christopher Chok

An all-round martial arts master with more than 40 years’ experience, including boxing and Budokan. He has worked for more than four decades to develop Olympic taekwondo.

World Taekwondo & Kukkiwon certified
7th Dan black belt
1st Vice President of World Taekwondo Jamaica
WTJ Technical Director
Chief Instructor, World Taekwondo Mandeville
Four-time taekwondo Perak State Champion in Malaysia

태권도 · the way of the foot and fist

What is taekwondo?

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. Tae means to strike or break with the foot, kwon to strike or break with the fist, and do means the way, method or art — so taekwondo is loosely “the art of the foot and fist”.

It emphasises kicks thrown from a mobile stance, using the leg’s greater reach and power. Training combines combat technique, self-defence, sport and exercise: blocks, kicks, punches and open-hand strikes, with forms (poomsae) and Olympic sparring (kyorugi).

To the Korean people taekwondo is more than skilled movement. It implies a way of life and thinking — a spirit of strict, self-imposed discipline and an ideal of noble morality.

Read the history of taekwondo →

Know the difference

World Taekwondo is not ITF.

Two separate international bodies use the name taekwondo. They have different rules, different forms and different black belt certificates, and they are not connected. World Taekwondo Kingston teaches World Taekwondo, the style contested at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as part of World Taekwondo Mandeville, a member club of World Taekwondo Jamaica. We are not an ITF club and are not part of the Jamaica Taekwon-Do Association.

See the difference

Real photos. Look at the gear, the uniform and the badge.

This is usWorld Taekwondo

Two World Taekwondo athletes in electronic trunk protectors and head guards during a bout at the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games. — **Sparring**Electronic trunk protector and head guard. Kicks are scored by sensors.

Two students in V-neck doboks hold their Kukkiwon black belt certificates beside Master Kenroy Clarke, in front of the Kukkiwon banner and the Korean flag. — **Uniform and rank**V-neck dobok, and black belt certificates from the Kukkiwon in Seoul, South Korea.

Taekwondo, one word
Taegeuk poomsae
Kukkiwon black belt certificates
Olympic and Paralympic sport
Aligned with South Korea's Kukkiwon and the Korean Embassy

Not usITF Taekwon-Do

Two ITF-style competitors in gloves and foot guards, with no trunk protectors, during a bout. — **Sparring**Gloves and foot guards. No trunk protector and no electronic scoring.

Children in ITF doboks with ITF badges practise punches in a hall in Pyongyang, North Korea, in 2014. — **Uniform**ITF doboks with the ITF badge. Children training in Pyongyang, North Korea, 2014.

Taekwon-Do, with a hyphen
Tul patterns
ITF degree certificates, not Kukkiwon ranks
Not in the Olympic or Paralympic Games
Several separate ITF organisations

Photos: World Taekwondo bout, 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games, by Dilaver Najafov (CC BY-SA 4.0); ITF-style bout by Tomas Peruzzo (CC0); ITF training in Pyongyang, 2014, by Uri Tours (CC BY-SA 2.0); ITF emblem (Wikimedia Commons). All via Wikimedia Commons, resized only. Logos belong to their organisations and are shown for identification.

This is World Taekwondo in Jamaica

Our own athletes. Swipe to see more.

Daniel Balli of Jamaica in an electronic trunk protector and head guard at a World Taekwondo junior championship, with the live scoreboard behind him. — **Electronic scoring**Daniel Balli competing for Jamaica. The scoreboard reads the sensors in the trunk protector and socks.

Two students hold their Kukkiwon black belt certificates beside Master Kenroy Clarke, in front of the Kukkiwon banner and the Korean flag. — **Kukkiwon black belts**New black belts with their certificates from the Kukkiwon in Seoul.

Young Jamaican athletes in blue and red trunk protectors with IOC President Thomas Bach during his 2023 visit to Jamaica. — **Olympic recognition**Our young athletes with IOC President Thomas Bach in Jamaica, 2023.

Three medallists in blue and red trunk protectors with their coach after their bouts. — **Competition kit**Medallists in World Taekwondo trunk protectors.

Shauna-Kay Hines in the blue trunk protector holding her guard as her opponent in red kicks, in a women's K44 −58 kg Para taekwondo bout. — **Paralympic sport**Shauna-Kay Hines, Jamaica's first taekwondo Paralympian.

World Taekwondo compared with ITF Taekwon-Do
Side by side	This is usWorld Taekwondo	Not usITF Taekwon-Do
Spelling	Taekwondo, one word	Taekwon-Do, with a hyphen
World body	World Taekwondo (WT), founded in 1973 and based in Seoul, South Korea. Recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the sport's international federation.	International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), founded in 1966 by General Choi Hong Hi. Several separate organisations use the ITF name today.
Olympic and Paralympic Games	Yes. A full Olympic sport since Sydney 2000 and a Paralympic sport since Tokyo 2020.	No. ITF Taekwon-Do is not on the Olympic or Paralympic programme.
In Jamaica	World Taekwondo Jamaica (WTJ), Jamaica's Member National Association of World Taekwondo, working with the Jamaica Olympic Association.	The Jamaica Taekwon-Do Association (JTA) and its clubs. A separate organisation that is not part of WTJ.
South Korea's taekwondo institutions	Aligned with both: World Taekwondo and the Kukkiwon are headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and WTJ is partnered with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Jamaica.	No affiliation with World Taekwondo or the Kukkiwon.
Black belt certificates	Poom and Dan certificates from the Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul.	Degree certificates issued by the ITF organisation concerned. These are not Kukkiwon ranks.
Forms	Poomsae: Taegeuk 1 to 8 for colour belts, then the black belt poomsae from Koryo onward.	Patterns called tul, beginning with Chon-Ji.
Sparring	Full-contact kyorugi in a trunk protector and helmet with electronic scoring. Kicks to the body and head; punches to the body only.	Controlled-contact point sparring in gloves and foot guards. Hand strikes to the head are allowed. No electronic body protector.
Pathway	World Taekwondo ranking events, World Championships, and the CAC, Pan American, Olympic and Paralympic Games.	ITF's own championships.

World Taekwondo Jamaica is not the Jamaica Taekwon-Do Association

The names sound alike, so the two are often confused. The Jamaica Taekwon-Do Association (JTA), sometimes written Jamaica Taekwondo Association, is the local ITF body. It is a separate organisation with its own leadership, ranks and events.

It is not a member of World Taekwondo, it does not grade through the Kukkiwon, and ITF Taekwon-Do is not on the Olympic or Paralympic programme. World Taekwondo Kingston and World Taekwondo Jamaica have no affiliation with the JTA or any other ITF organisation.

Who stands with World Taekwondo Jamaica

Our national federation is the only taekwondo body in Jamaica aligned with all of these.

World TaekwondoWTJ is Jamaica's sole Member National Association of the IOC-recognised world body.
KukkiwonBlack belt ranks are certified by the World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.
Embassy of the Republic of KoreaSouth Korea's embassy in Jamaica, a partner of WTJ, including the annual K-Lovers' Festival.
Jamaica Olympic AssociationWTJ's national Olympic partner for the Games pathway.
Sports Development FoundationA funding partner of the national programme.
Pan American Taekwondo UnionThe continental union for World Taekwondo events in the Americas.

How to tell which is which

The name is written Taekwondo, with no hyphen.
Black belt certificates come from the Kukkiwon in Seoul.
Students learn Taegeuk poomsae, not tul.
Sparring uses a trunk protector with electronic scoring, as seen at the Olympic Games.

What this means for you

Ranks earned at World Taekwondo Kingston are Kukkiwon ranks, recognised by World Taekwondo clubs around the world.
Our students compete in World Taekwondo Jamaica events, the pathway to Jamaica's national team.
JTA and other ITF clubs, gradings and tournaments are not part of our programme.
An ITF rank is not a Kukkiwon rank, and a Kukkiwon rank is not an ITF rank.

Both are respected martial arts with shared Korean roots. They are simply different organisations, and one is not a branch of the other.

Taekwondo on the world stage

Milestones

1980The International Olympic Committee recognises the World Taekwondo Federation and taekwondo sparring.
Seoul 1988Taekwondo debuts as a demonstration sport at the Olympic Games.
1989Taekwondo is reported to be the world’s most popular martial art.
Sydney 2000Kyorugi (sparring) becomes a full Olympic event.
Tokyo 2020Para taekwondo joins the Paralympic Games — with Jamaica’s Shauna-Kay Hines on the mat.

Why train with us

The benefits of taekwondo

Confidence & self-esteem

Students overcome their fears and build a strong sense of self-worth, rank by rank.

Self-defence

Practical techniques — and the awareness and calm to avoid trouble in the first place.

Safe & supportive

Safety and wellbeing come first; students learn and grow without fear of judgement or injury.

Fun & friendship

Classes alternate serious work with fun, and children make friends who push them to keep going.

Competition

For those who want it, training and support for tournaments through World Taekwondo Jamaica.

Fitness for life

Flexibility, speed, power and stamina that carry into every other sport.

Research: benefits of taekwondo — the Kukkiwon case study →

Our venue

At home at Hillel Academy

Hillel Academy hosts World Taekwondo Kingston as an after-school programme at 51 Upper Mark Way, Kingston 8. Hillel students train on their own campus, and children from other Kingston schools join them in the same classes.

Classes follow the Hillel Academy school calendar and pause when the school is closed — see the no-class dates.

Part of a family of clubs

World Taekwondo MandevilleHome dojang · Church Teachers’ College, Mandeville

Santa Cruz Taekwondo AcademyFridays · Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth

Kickboxing, MandevilleTeens & adults 13+ · Mon & Wed 6:30–7:45 PM

World Taekwondo JamaicaNational federation · member club

Ready for the mat?

Open to children from any school. Registration takes about five minutes. You'll pick a session, read and sign the waiver, and get a confirmation on WhatsApp.

Start registration

About World Taekwondo Kingston