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.