Portugal has an established and distinctive place in the worldwide Kangdukwon family. Its modern story centers on Master Fernando Branco and Academia Tigre Branco, connected through Marcelo Ruhland to Grand Master Kim Chang-Hak.
Fernando Branco and Academia Tigre Branco
Fernando Branco began taekwondo training in 1987, earned his first Dan in 1999 and began teaching in the Oporto District in 2001. After two decades of training, he opened Academia Tigre Branco in 2007. His search for a tradition grounded in martial history, culture and ethics led him beyond the limitations he experienced in commercial and political taekwondo institutions.
In 2008, Branco came into contact with Marcelo Ruhland of São Paulo, Brazil, who introduced him to Grand Master Kim Chang-Hak. After reviewing Branco’s curriculum, technical work and school, Kim Chang-Hak accepted him as a student. Visits between Brazil and Portugal, seminars and continued training established a durable Kangdukwon lineage in Portugal.
A bridge between Europe and Latin America
Portugal’s Kangdukwon community also forms a cultural and linguistic bridge to Brazil and the wider Portuguese-speaking world. That relationship makes Portugal a natural center for Portuguese-language publication, regional exchange and the preservation of traditional Korean martial values in Europe.
The redesigned site therefore gives Portugal a permanent country hub, direct homepage prominence and a Portuguese-language edition. Future additions can include profiles of instructors and students, seminar reports, photographs, school information and Portuguese translations of major federation histories.
Continue reading
Read the original feature A Short History of Kangdukwon in Portugal and the wider account Kangdukwon in Latin America and Portugal.