History of Taekwon-do (Organization History)
Date: 11/8/2017 11:58:29 AM
International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is a Taekwon-Do organization founded on March 22nd, 1966, by General Choi Hong Hi (최홍희) in Seoul, South Korea. The ITF exists to promote and encourage the growth of the Korean martial art of Taekwon-Do.
ITF Headquarters
KOREA THE HOMELAND OF TAEKWON-DO
To unified the Taekwon-Do movement with it’s homeland, South Korea. The ITF Headquarters Korea was established in 2009 to bringing the value of the art come life around the world.
ITF Headquarters Korea has a long and rich history of working to improve the Taekwon-Do community. Through the years, we’ve been supporting, representing and developing practitioners, teams, leaders and the Taekwon-Do masters as a whole. We qualify and accredit hundreds of martial artists every year. We push new thinking and research good practice across all disciplines of Taekwon-Do.
Research Papers
Organizing by the our Global Research Committee, we collect and present some selective documents, articles and research about Taekwon-Do History in this website.
General Choi Hong Hi was born on November 9th, 1918, in the Hwa Dae Myong Chun District of Korea.
At the age of twelve he started to study Taek Kyon, an ancient Korean method of fighting with the feet. Later, when he was studying in Japan, he met a Karate teacher who helped him earn his first degree Black Belt in less than two years. He then intensified his training, striving to earn his second degree. Around the same time, he started teaching.
Conscripted into the Japanese army during World War II, he was posted to Pyongyang where he was imprisoned. Wanting to maintain his good physical and mental health during his imprisonment, he practiced karate, alone at first, then by teaching it to the staff of the prison and the other prisoners.
Becoming an officer in the new Korean Army after the end of the war, he continued to teach his martial art to his soldiers as well as to American soldiers serving in Korea.
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.
In 1959, General Choi was named President of the Korean Taekwon-Do Association. Seven years later, on March 22nd, 1966, he created the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF). As the Founder of Taekwon-Do and President of the ITF, he had the ability to share his art with students everywhere. Today, Taekwon-Do training is available around the world.
After a life dedicated to the development of Taekwon-Do, a modern martial art based on traditional values, philosophy, and training, General Choi, Founder of Taekwon-Do and President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation, died of cancer on June 15th, 2002, in the country of his birth.
