I am the president of IMAFD (International Martial Arts Federation of the Deaf). I am deaf and have been since I was three years old. IMAFD has been arranging World Championships for the deaf in martial arts since 1979. The first WC for deafs was held in Japan, and at the time the competing martial arts were Karate and Judo. We received positive feedback and thus worked on expanding the WC, make it bigger and with more genres to compete in. In 1997 Taekwondo joined in deaf World Championships and since then even more martial arts have joined.

More and more deaf around the world have noticed this and are positive. We wish all deafs welcome, no matter if they are born deaf or have become deaf at a later age. People who are heard of hearing, mute, have other disabilities or a combination - all are welcome. We wish for the WC to continue to grow bigger in the years to come, and we wish to work closer together with other federations and/or foundations for the disabled.

Kim Jae Wha
President IMAFD