The second national Hapkido Championships were held in 2024. Hapkido federation.
The Cambodian Hapkido Federation has laid out expansion plans for 2025, with the goal of building upon the successes achieved in 2024.
However, the federation’s management team warned that it has never received support from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, which has led to financial difficulties.
It has requested that the private sector provide additional support to ensure that its activities can continue at a faster pace.
During the federation’s March 16 annual meeting, held to summarise the work of 2024 and lay out its direction for 2025, Kong Chanthyna, secretary-general of the federation, detailed the results achieved so far.
He attributed the federation’s success to the cooperation of the executive committee, which contributed a high level of resources and personal time for the development of the sport.
The federation regarded the second National Hapkido Championship to have been its finest accomplishment of last year, including the general arrangements for the tournament and the prize money which was awarded to the medallists.
The Cambodian Hapkido Federation held its annual meeting on March 16. NOCC
Chanthyna also noted that the federation sent its athletes to participate in the World Hapkido Championship in Thailand, where they achieved impressive results, winning a total of 40 medals, including 12 golds, 13 silvers and 15 bronzes.
Prime Minister Hun Manet congratulated the team at the time for their remarkable success in bringing home so many medals for the Kingdom.
However, Chanthyna warned of financial difficulties.
“The federation needs further assistance to develop the sport to its full potential. We need to find sponsorship partners for competitions and to send athletes to international events, as this is the core activity that will help the education ministry allocate an annual budget,” he said.
“If the federation can overcome these financial gaps, it will be able to carry out more activities and organise more events, which will encourage the ministry to provide continuous funding,” he added.
The secretary-general noted that over the past 30 years, from its first to its eighth term, the federation has never received a budget from the ministry.
All of the expenses for the development of Hapkido have been covered by funds from the executive committee, as well as from private donors and the private sector.
Nevertheless, the federation has not shown any signs of slowing down.
In 2025, it plans to develop a comprehensive strategy to enhance the skills of its athletes. A key part of this plan is strengthening student abilities to help them achieve success in regional and international championships. This will include efforts to expand their technical knowledge and improve performance in competitions.
The federation also intends to document the history and techniques of Hapkido. This historical record will help preserve the art and serve as a valuable resource for future practitioners. It will highlight the evolution of the art and ensure its legacy is properly recognised.
Additionally, there are plans for organising a solid financial structure, including preparing a budget and finding additional income sources to support the federation's activities. This will provide more resources for running events and programmes and help sustain long-term growth.
One of the goals is to expand the number of Hapkido clubs, with plans to establish new locations. This effort will require additional assistant coaches and staff to manage these new clubs and ensure they maintain high standards of training.
The federation will also continue its strong collaboration with other national and international federations. These partnerships will strengthen the Hapkido community and open more opportunities for competition and development.
Another focus is preparing athletes for upcoming international competitions, particularly an upcoming event in Indonesia. To ensure success, there will be special training programmes tailored to the challenges of competing abroad.
Finally, the federation is committed to improving internal discipline and accountability. This will involve setting higher standards for training and federation activities, while also organising the third National Championship to further test and showcase the athletes' skills.
In 2025, we will send a team to participate in an international competition in Indonesia, as we have received an invitation from the hosts.
By the end of the year, we will organise our third National Championship, and we will make efforts to improve our techniques and match evaluations from the executive committee to make it even better than last year,” explained federation president Kouch Hong Cheak.
He warned that financial challenges may affect these plans and called for additional support from the private sector.
“Regarding our budget, we are still under pressure, but we will continue to discuss solutions because we have prepared long-term strategies. Nevertheless, I appeal to donors and sports enthusiasts, especially private companies, to help support and sponsor the development of Hapkido so that it can continue to thrive and contribute positively to society,” he said.
