Taekwon-do Association of India (TAI)

Taekwon-Do

ITF History

11 Apr 1955

Taekwon-Do was introduced by Gen. Choi Hong Hi.

22 Mar 1966

International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) was inaugurated in Seoul, South Korea. The founding members were national associations of Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, the United States, Turkey, Italy, Egypt and South Korea.

Jan 1972

ITF Headquarters were moved to Toronto, Canada. Gen. Choi Hong Hi fled to Canada due to the political discord with South Korean President and Government of military dictatorship at that time and to facilitate the spread of Taekwon-Do to the whole world.

1985

ITF Headquarters were moved to Vienna, Austria, to help the spread of Taekwon-Do in the Eastern Bloc.

15 Jun 2002

Gen. Choi Hong Hi, the Founder of Taekwon-Do and 1st ITF President, passed away.

22 Sep 2002

Prof. Chang Ung, IOC member, was elected 2nd ITF President.

26 Aug 2015

Master Prof. Ri Yong Son was elected 3rd ITF President.

GENERAL CHOI HONG HI

Founding Father of Taekwon-Do

* 9 November 1918 — † 15 June 2002

Statement

Taekwon-Do was devised, studied and completed by Gen. Choi Hong Hi of Korea and brought into the world as modern martial arts.

Gen. Choi Hong Hi had to practice Karate of Japan because Korea was under its colonial occupation for over 36 years. Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.

In 1946, he made up his mind to create the martial arts of Korea which will outshine over all other martial arts in both spiritual and technical aspects so as to demonstrate the spirit and wisdom of the Korean nation to the whole world.

Choi Hong Hi

He devoted his everything for ten years to study, devise and develop new techniques of attack and defense, comparing with other martial arts, on the basis of the excellent technical movements of “Soo Bak Gi” and “Tae Kyon”, the traditional martial arts of Korea, with its spiritual basis on ethics of the East, by which one can generate his/her strength to the maximum in the principle of modern science, different from the existing technical movements.

It was late in 1954 that he completed the fundamentals of Taekwon-Do.

Hereby on 11th April 1955, the Session of Naming Board consisting of notorious historians and leaders of society deeply versed in martial arts decided to name the martial arts so far studied and completed by Gen. Choi Hong Hi after Taekwon-Do on the basis of his proposal.

Taekwon-Do began to spread throughout the world with the visit of Taekwon-Do demonstration team consisting of 19 pioneers headed by Gen. Choi Hong Hi to Vietnam and in Taiwan in 1959.

Afterward Gen. Choi Hong Hi introduced Taekwon-Do to the United States of America in 1960 while attending Missile Course in Texas, USA.

In 1962, he introduced and disseminated Taekwon-Do to Malaysia and South-East Asia, as a result of which Taekwon-Do association was formed in Malaysia in 1963 and in Singapore in February 1964. And it was spread also in Brunei to lay down the foundations for forming its NGB (National Governing Body).

In 1965, he toured Germany, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia and Singapore with his Demonstration Team for staging Taekwon-Do demonstrations and organizing Taekwon-Do NGB in every country he visited thus laying down the foundations to form The International Taekwon-Do Federation.

Choi Hong Hi

On this basis, Gen. Choi Hong Hi founded the International Taekwon-Do Federation on 22nd March 1966 comprising 9 Taekwon-Do associations of Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, USA, Turkey, Italy, Arab Republic of Egypt and South Korea and was elected as first President of ITF. The establishment of the ITF was of great significance in the history of Taekwon-Do.

The International Taekwon-Do Federation developed rapidly over past decades overcoming all difficulties since its foundation. It has now expanded and developed into a huge international organization with 50 million practitioners in 128 member countries.

Gen. Choi Hong Hi who created Taekwon-Do and founded the ITF as its first President, dedicated his all to Taekwon-Do till last moment of his life, passed away to our great sorrow from his gastric cancer in Pyongyang, DPR of Korea on 15th June 2002.

All Koreans owe a debt of gratitude to Gen. Choi for spreading Taekwon-Do globally, which also put Korea on the map as well as give Korea a warm face to the world.

All Taekwon-Do students owe a debt as well to General Choi, as for without him there would not be a Korean Martial Art called Taekwon-Do.

HISTORY OF TAEKWON-DO

Although the origins of the martial arts are shrouded in mystery, we consider it an undeniable fact that from time immemorial there have been physical conditions involving the use of the hands and feet for purpose of self-protection. If we are to define these physical actions as “Taekwon- Do”, any country might claim credit for inventing Taekwon-Do. There is, however, a scant resemblance between Taekwon-Do, as it is practiced today, and the crude forms of unarmed combat developed in the past.

Modern Taekwon-Do differs greatly from other martial arts. In fact, no other martial art is so advanced with regard to the sophistication and effectiveness of its technique or the over-all physical fitness it imparts to its practitioners. Technically, 1955 signaled the beginning of Taekwon-Do as a formally recognized art in Korea. During that year, a special board was formed which included leading master instructors, historians, and prominent leaders of society. A number of names for the new martial art were submitted. On the 11th of April, the board summoned by Gen. Choi Hong Hi, decided on the name of Taekwon-Do which had been submitted by him. This single unified name of Taekwon-Do replaced the different and confusing terms; Dang Soo, Gong Soo, Taek Kyon, Kwon Bup, etc.

In 1959, Taekwon-Do spread beyond its national boundaries. The father of Taekwon-Do and nineteen of his top black belt holders toured the Far East. The tour was a major success, astounding all spectators with the excellence of the Taekwon-Do techniques. Many of these black belt holders such as Nam Tae Hi, President of the Asia Taekwon-Do Federation; Colonel Ko Jae Chun, the 5th Chief of Taekwon-Do instructors in Vietnam; Colonel Baek Joon Gi, the 2nd Chief instructor in Vietnam; Brigadier Gen. Woo Jong Lim; Mr. Han Cha Kyo, the Head Instructor in Singapore and Mr. Cha Soo Young, presently an international instructor in Washington D.C., eventually went on to spread the art to the world.

In this year, Choi was elevated to two illustrious posts; President of his newly formed Korea Taekwon-Do Association and deputy commander of the 2nd Army in Tae Gu. In 1965 Ambassador Choi, retired two-star general, was appointed by the Government of the Republic of Korea to lead a goodwill mission to West Germany, Italy, Turkey, United-Arab Republic, Malaysia, and Singapore. This trip is significant in that the Ambassador, for the first time in Korean history, declared Taekwon-Do as the national martial art of Korea.

This was the basis not only for establishing Taekwon-Do Associations in these countries but also the formation of the International Taekwon-Do Federation as it is known today. In 1966, the dream of the sickly young student of calligraphy, who rose to Ambassador and the Association President of the most respected martial art in the world came true. On the 22nd of March, the International Taekwon-Do Federation was formed with associations in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, the United States, Turkey, Italy, Arab Republic of Egypt and Korea.