Expect fast and furious action when around 900 black belters from all over the country compete in the 2023 SMART/MVP Sports Foundation Best of the Best Taekwondo Championships on Sept. 2-3 at the Ayala Malls, Manila Bay.

The Philippine Taekwondo Association said all 19 regions in the country are all well represented but the National Capital Region fighters are fancied to dominate the two-day event.

Categories on tap in the event fully supported by Manny V. Pangilinan, chairman of Smart Communications and PLDT, are Senior, Junior, Cadet and Gradeschool – both for male and female competitors. Competitions in Poomsae (student back belters) are recognized poomsae individual and free styled individual.

Only gold medal winners in the national events earlier held in NCR, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao as well as UAAP, NCAA, AFP-PNP OLYMPICS and all PTA-sanctioned competitions in Metro Manila and other regions are qualified to join this competition.

Also joining the event are the top fighters from the Taekwondo Blackbelt Brotherhood, Taekwondo Blackbelt Sorority and Philippine Taekwondo Contingent.

As in the past, the event will utilize the taekwondo officiating system with the PSS (Protective Scoring System) and ESS (Electronic Scoring System) electronic armors and socks all in place together with the IVR (Instant Video Replay) system to eliminate human error.

That will also ensure fair scoring and a spectator -friendly tournament. Matches start at 9 a.m. onwards.