'Disciplined man': Coach says taekwondo helped mold Pulong
Did you know that Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo "Pulong" Duterte has a long running annual taekwondo tournament?

Apparently, the sport also had a lot to do with molding the character of the 47-year-old, second-term congressman.
The Pulong Taekwondo Championship is an annual event for Mindanao-based taekwondo athletes. However, due to space constraints, this year's tournament was held only in the Davao Region.
The finals of the 2023 iteration of the event were held Sunday, Nov. 20 at the SM Annex Ecoland in Davao City. Bagging the overall championship was local team, the Regional Central Gym (RCG) Strikers Tagum, said coach Johnny Kim, who is the event's organizer.
RCG Kaizen was named overall first runner-up, while RCG Matanao and the Hwarang, placed 2nd and 3rd runners-up respectively.
“I have been on this journey for a long time already. Paolo was young back then when I trained him (in taekwondo). He was not yet a politician at that time. We are grateful for his support to the club and to our taekwondo athletes,” Kim said.
"It is a very dynamic martial arts form. Its events are very family-friendly,” Kim said of taekwondo.
“Many people think that taekwondo is just all kicking and fighting. It’s more of an exercise, the learning of proper skills and techniques, and, most significantly, disciplining oneself. If you look at Paolo Duterte now, he has grown up to be a fine and disciplined man," Kim said.
Kim said the youngest among the participating athletes during the 10th Pulong Duterte Taekwondo Championship was a three years old, while the eldest was 30.
Almost 700 taekwondo athletes competed during the Davao regionwide championship games. Many of the athletes came from the cities of Davao, Digos, Tagum, and Mati, and the municipalities of Malita, Matanao, Nabunturan, Compostela, and Lupon.
He said the Duterte tournament serves as a proper preparation and tune-up for athletes planning to compete in the national and international taekwondo championships.
The tournament, which attracted a throng of visitors, helped boost Davao City’s tourism industry and local businesses.
Kim invited everyone interested in taekwondo to take up the sport.