Sports Hero

Taekwondo • SHIU Pak-ho

The Chairman and the Coach of Hong Kong Taekwondo Pak Ngai Association – Mr. SHIU

Taekwondo is the national sport of Korea. It has been contested as an official sport at the Olympic Games since 2000. Hong Kong people started taking part in this sport in the 1960s. It is our pleasure to have invited Mr. SHIU Pak-hoi to talk about the establishment and the development of the Hong Kong Taekwondo Pak Ngai Association.

Excel in learning, persist in teaching

Taekwondo is a sport that integrates martial arts and athletics; it emphasizes both the hard and the soft aspects of martial arts and exquisite footwork, as well as highlights physical fitness, speed and coordination. Taekwondo contains a lot of elements, and this is why Mr. SHIU has been in love with it since he was 10 years old and why his passion for Taekwondo has not cooled down in 30 years. When asked about his first encounter with Taekwondo, Mr. SHIU laughed and said that there was a Taekwondo interest class in the community centre in the housing estate where he lived. The fee of the Taekwondo class was cheaper than his other options, so he joined the class and started his life of Taekwondo by chance.

In the past, Mr. SHIU’s family was against his participation in Taekwondo because he sustained some injuries during practice. However, he did not give up. He started off as a student and then became an assistant coach before he finally became a coach. He then founded his own community sports club in 2004. Since then, this association has grown into a club with about 800 members. This success is due to Mr. SHIU’s passion and perseverance towards Taekwondo.

Enthusiastic training for different target participants

The  members  of  the  Hong  Kong  Taekwondo  Pak  Ngai  Association  range  from children who are 3 years old to elderly citizens in their 60s. Some parents even join the association along with their children. Mr. SHIU believes that Taekwondo is a fitness enhancing sport that is suitable for people of all ages. His sports club runs classes for people of different ages. They teach children the spirit of Taekwondo, teach them to respect their teachers, encourage young people to participate in competitions to improve their self-confidence, and help the elderly train their muscles through boxing. Mr. SHIU is committed to promoting Taekwondo as more than a physical exercise. He wants to show people that Taekwondo is both a sport that can enhance  the  psychological  qualities  of  participants,  as  well  as  a  harmonious parent-child activity that can improve communication within families.

Expectations with innovation, improvements with changes

The Hong Kong Taekwondo Pak Ngai Association is a member of the Community Sports Club Project. It receives grants and advice from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) for training and organizing competitions. With regards to the development prospects of Taekwondo in Hong Kong, Mr. SHIU believes that the development and the promotion of the sport should keep up with the times to match the expectations and reality of society. He hopes that Hong Kong will develop a better system to improve the standard of local Taekwondo.

In addition to running Taekwondo classes, the Hong Kong Taekwondo Pak Ngai Association also organizes two or three competitions every year and invites the affiliated clubs of the Hong Kong Taekwondo Association (HKTKDA) and other community sports clubs to participate to enable their students to learn from and share their ideas with other sportsmen. Every so often, the association also sends its students to competitions organized by the HKTKDA to allow them to become more involved in Taekwondo during preparations and competitions, as well as allow them to enjoy the experience more.