The History of Tae Kwon Do

Tekwondo was adopted by several Korean martial arts masters, for its similarity to the name Tae Kyon.

General Choi Hong-hi required the army to train Taekwondo, so the very first Taekwondo students were Korean soldiers. The police and air force had to learn Taekwondo as well. At that time, Taekwondo was merely a Korean version of Shotokan Karate. In 1961 the Korean Taekwondo Union arose from the Soo Bakh Do Association and the Tae Soo Do Association. In 1962 the Korean Amateur Sports Association acknowledged the Korean Taekwondo Union and in 1965 the name was changed to Korean Taekwondo Association (K.T.A.). General Choi was president of the K.T.A. at that time and was asked to start the I.T.F. as the international branch of the K.T.A. The southern government was overthrown in 1961. General Choi Hong-hi left for America and established I.T.F. (International Taekwondo Federation) Taekwondo, as a separate entity, two years later.

GENERAL CHOI HONG HI

His beliefs and his vision of a different approach to teaching martial arts led General Choi to combine elements of Taek Kyon and Karate techniques to develop a modern martial art. He called it Tae kwon-Do, which means "The way of the feet and the hands", and this name was officially adopted on April 11th, 1955. The philosophical values and the goals of Tae kwon-Do are firmly rooted in the traditional moral culture of the Orient. On the technical side, defensive and offensive tactics are based on principles of physics.

In 1959, General Choi was named President of the Korean Tae kwon-Do Association. 7 years later, on March 22nd, 1966, he created the International Tae kwon-Do Federation (ITF). As the Founder of Tae kwon-Do and President of the ITF, he had the ability to share his art, based on traditional values, philosophy and training, with students around the world. He believed and practiced the virtues of freedom, justice and righteousness. After a lifetime of dedication to Tae kwon-Do, Gen. Choi passed away on June 15th 2002.

Our remembrance and tribute to Great Grandmaster, General Choi Hong Hi.

THE KOREAN FLAG