“Back-to-back-to-back-to-back” Filipino Taekwondo champion Roberto “Kitoy” Cruz

Tae Kwon Do Matters

“You can’t just show up, and expect to win,” says Roberto Cruz, a six-time gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games. Coach “Kitoy” knows whereof he speaks. He also bagged gold, silver and bronze metals in the Asian Championships, plus three silvers and two bronze plums in the World Championships. Now a successful coach in the Philippines, Coach “Kitoy” talks about the stifling effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on his country and the local Taekwondo scene, and where things could (and controversially, should) be headed from here.