History Of Tae Kwon Do

Choi Hong Hi a South Korean army general and martial artist, founding father of Tae Kwon Do and International Tae Kwon Do Federation; General Choi as he is known was born on the 09 November 1918 in Hwa Dae, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Choi created Tae Kwon Do which means "to kick, to punch, the art" with 2 combine elements of martial arts which he had learned, Taek Kyon a ancient Korean art of  foot fighting which he was thought by his calligraphy teacher Han ll Dong also a master of the that art and Karate from a friend he met during his travel to Japan in 1937.

After 5 years in Japan, Choi return to Korea in 1942 and was enlisted to the Japanese army against his will. He try to escape to join the underground Korean Liberation Army but was charge with treason when he was arrested and sent to prison where he continued to practise martial arts. He was finally freed in August 1945.

In 1946, following the war, Choi was commissioned to second lieutenant and through promotions, to a major general in 1954 in the Korean army where he started teaching those under his command in the art of Tae Kwon Do.

Tae Kwon Do was named on the 11 April 1955. Eventually he trained instructors in tae kwon do for the entire South Korean army. By the time he founded the International Tae kwon do Federation in 1966; there were associations throughout Asia, Western Europe and North America. It was practiced by the armies of several nations that include Singapore where I was born and trained.

In 1971, the South Korean government, afraid that tae kwon do would be used against it, refused to let General Choi's federation teach tae kwon do in North Korea.

General Choi, angry that the martial art was being treated as a political tool, went into voluntary exile and settled in Canada. South Korea established a rival association, the World Tae Kwon Do Federation, based in Seoul. It uses the name that General Choi coined, but many of its rules and procedures are different.

Master/General Choi sadly past away on the 15June 2002 in Pyongyang, North Korea, having helped it to spread Tae Kwon Do to more than 120 countries and 40 million practitioners but he was honour with his name listed in the Tae Kwon Do Hall of Frame as Father and Founder of Tae kwon Do, Founder and First President of the International Tae Kwon Do Federation and Founder of Oh Do Kwan.