I.T.F
General Choi Hong Hi (9th degree Grandmaster), founder of Taekwon-Do in 1955
and of the I.T.F in 1966.
General
Choi Hong Hi was born on November 9th, 1918, he was frail and quite sickly as a child. In 1937, Choi was sent to Japan to
further his education where he met a fellow Korean, Mr. Him, who was engaged in teaching the Japanese martial art, Karate.
With two years of concentrated training, Choi attained the rank of first degree black belt. These techniques, together with
Taek Kyon (foot techniques), were the forerunners of modern Taekwon-Do.
With the outbreak of World War II he was forced to enlist
in the Japanese army. While at his post in Pyongyang, North Korea, the author was implicated as the planner of the Korean
Independence Movement and interned at a Japanese prison during his eight month pretrial examination.
While in prison, to alleviate the boredom and keep physically
fit, Choi began practicing techniques in his cell. In a short time, his cellmate and jailer became students of his.
The liberation in August 1945 spared Choi from an imposed
seven-year prison sentence. In January of the following year, Choi was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the new south
Korean army he was to use this as an opportunity to introduce Taekwon-Do.
Promotion to first lieutenant in the army led to Choi spreading
the art not only to Korean soldiers but also to Americans stationed at his base in Tae Jon.
1955 is the year that Taekwon-Do was officially founded when
it became a formally recognized art in Korea. Choi continued to spread Taekwon-Do and in 1962 a huge opportunity arrose when
he was appointed Ambassador to Malaysia.
By 1963, the Taekwon-Do Association of Malaysia was formed
and reached national acceptance when the art was demonstrated at the Merdeka Stadium at the request of the Prime Minister,
Tunku Abdul Rhaman.
On the 22nd of March 1966 General
Chois dream became a reality when the 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.