Rumors are loud. Results are louder. We open the door on taekwondo’s toughest questions—who controls the sport, who actually gets supported, and how a system built on optics quietly drains the people doing the work. No jargon, no corporate gloss, just coaches and athletes laying out what’s broken and how to fix it.

We start where many of you live right now: US Open planning. Vegas usually delivers, but the math is different this year—visa uncertainty, point resets, and creeping fees that punish participation. We break down what clubs should watch for, how to weigh event value versus experience, and why price transparency matters if the goal is development. From “pick your division” add-ons to coaching passes, we call for a saner, athlete-first model that doesn’t mistake revenue for growth.

Then we get into the heart of high performance. Stipends that don’t cover rent, seminars that double as fundraising, and a “support package” that looks big on paper but leaves medalists short on cash. We lay out a clean solution: real residency support (housing, food, transport), tiered camps that separate world-level and development athletes, and an open seminar brokerage where every athlete can earn under clear terms. Nonprofits should prove it with numbers—publish how much reaches training, travel, coaching, and medical. If coaches make six figures and champions can’t pay bills, the model is upside down.

We also tackle governance and culture. Closed boards, recycled leadership, and decisions framed as “tradition” weaken performance and trust. Keep your best people by protecting athlete-coach relationships, listening when red flags pop up, and building pathways that survive personalities. Sport is supposed to be merit-based—like a second-division team knocking out a giant. Let structure amplify merit, not bury it under politics.

If you care about athletes getting what they need to win, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with your team, and tell us: what’s the first change you’d make to put athletes first?