sportanddev.org: Brazilian taekwondo initiative wins Sport Positive Award
A taekwondo initiative from Rio de Janeiro earns global recognition for blending sport and sustainability.
The Jadir Taekwondo Association (AJTKD) has been announced as a winner at the Sport Positive Awards 2025, receiving the top honor in the Education and Training category for its flagship programme, Kicking for Nature.
The Sport Positive Awards are part of the Sport Positive Summit — a global event recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as one of the leading platforms for sport and sustainability. Each year, the Awards celebrate organizations and initiatives that are driving real change for people and the planet.
A new way to earn belts: Through action for the planet
Kicking for Nature is transforming what sport and especially martial arts can do for our planet. Created by the Jadir Taekwondo Association, a non-profit based in Rio de Janeiro, this pioneering programme turns Taekwondo training into a journey of environmental responsibility.
Students don’t earn new belts only by mastering techniques, but by taking real action for the planet planting trees, cleaning up their communities, and leading conversations about climate change. Environmental education becomes a lived experience, not just a classroom topic.
Rooted in the martial arts philosophy of discipline, respect, and harmony, Kicking for Nature brings those values to life in a modern context: caring for our shared environment. Through creative, hands-on activities and strong community involvement, young people learn that protecting nature is part of who they are as athletes, as leaders, and as citizens. Families and neighbors are brought into the process too, creating a ripple effect that strengthens entire communities.
Global inspiration beyond the dojang
The programme’s impact has already reached beyond Brazil, inspiring the creation of the Martial Arts Coalition for Sustainable Development (MCS) — a global network uniting martial arts organizations around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this coalition, AJTKD is helping spread the message that martial arts can be a driver of education, inclusion, and climate action worldwide.
Recognition for a lifelong mission
For more than 25 years, AJTKD has used sport as a tool for social transformation in underserved areas of Rio de Janeiro, offering free Taekwondo training and educational opportunities to thousands of children and young people. The Kicking for Nature initiative builds on this legacy, showing that sustainability can be woven into the very fabric of martial arts education.
“For more than two decades, we’ve seen how sport can transform not only lives, but our relationship with nature itself. Through Kicking for Nature, we bring the philosophy of martial arts — discipline, respect, and harmony — into real environmental action. When young people understand that caring for the planet is part of who they are as athletes and citizens, they develop a deeper sense of purpose and responsibility. That’s the legacy we aim to build,” said Master Jadir Figueira, founder of the Jadir Taekwondo Association.
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