Taekwon-Do history
On 15 August 1945, after the liberation of the country, Korean martial arts entered a new phase of its development. It was during this period that the national spirit began to revive and with it schools of different martial arts, which began to come out of hiding.
It was during this period in 1945 that the founder of Taekwon-Do, General Choi Hong Hi, received a high position as one of the founders of the South Korean armed forces. This allowed him to distribute Taekwon-Do in the armed forces, despite the fierce opposition.
General Choi Hong Hi, with the support of Korean President Lee Shinman, introduced his martial arts style into military training in 1955. The general understood that the Korean army could not use Chinese and Japanese martial arts names, so the martial art for the military received the name Taekwon-Do.
On 22 March 1966, the founder of Taekwon-Do, General Choi Hong Hi, convened a founding conference. At the conference, a public association was established with the aim of developing Taekwon-Do worldwide. It was also unanimously decided to grant legal status to the new organization – International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF). Therefore, when it comes to the ITF, it means that the organization represents exactly the martial arts and sport that its founder created. At the same conference, General Choi Hong Hi was elected President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation IТF and was re-elected for a further term every four years, remaining the President of the IТF until his death (June 15, 2002).
Founder of Taekwon-Do and International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF)
Choi Hong Hi was born on November 9, 1918 in the territory of the present North Korea (North Korea), in the town of Hwade. The parents were upset that their son was growing up weak and sickly, although they had already noticed his tenacious character. When the boy was 12 years old, he was sent to the Buddhist monastery to the famous Calligrapher teacher Hong Gil Don, who was also a master of the Taekkyeon-antique Korean art of foot fighting. The poor health of the student interfered with the study of calligraphy, and the master began to teach him Taekkyeon. Thanks to the persistence and hard work Choi was successful, and by the time he left for Japan to continue his education, he became not only a master calligraphy (as evidenced by numerous victories at the competitions of the calligraphic), but also greatly advanced in the study of the Taekkyeon.
In 1937, in Japan, the nineteenth-year-old boy continued to train and at the same time began to practice Karate. Two years later, he was able to get a black belt I-dan, and by the time he graduated from the University of Tokyo had a degree of II-dan. He worked a lot with traditional Korean technique of foot strikes, and it was then he came up with the idea of the need and possibility of reviving the ancient Korean martial arts. After the beginning of the Second World War, the young lieutenant became one of the creators of a secret society, which set the goal of liberation of Korea. This led to arrest and almost seven-year imprisonment. In the prison Choi Hong Hi not only practiced himself, but also began to train other prisoners. As the master himself told, after some time prison turned into one large training room. In these years the foundation of the system, which in the future will be named Taekwon-Do, was laid.
After the war Choi Hong Hi was dismissed and in 1946 he was sent to the South Korean army as an instructor in physical training and hand-to-hand combat. The following years were filled with both independent trainings and lessons with pupils, but the main task was to create a new style, which would be included all the best of traditional eastern martial arts.