New England Tae Kwon Do of Connecticut
	Modern Day History of Tae Kwon Do
	The occupation of Korea by the Japanese from 1894 to 1945 had an enormous influence on the Korean culture. Without dwelling into the history of the Japanese takeover, basically the Korean emperor was forced to relinquish his throne in 1907 and in 1910 Korea was officially part of Japan. Separate Korean and Japanese public schools were created, with the Koreans receiving the inferior education. There was little attempt by the Koreans to revolt, except for the assassination of the Japanese Prince Hirobumi Ito in 1909 and the disastrous Declaration of Independence in 1919 in which thousands of Korean demonstrators were killed by the Japanese army. As the years passed, Japanese control tightened further. The Japanese language was taught in the schools rather than Korean, and many Koreans today still cannot read the Korean language. During the Second World War, over half a million Koreans were taken to Japan to work, mainly in mining and heavy industry. Sixty thousand of these workers died in Japan during the war. By the time freedom finally arrived in 1945, the Koreans had little love for the Japanese. The fifty year occupation by the Japanese greatly influenced Korean martial arts. Japanese educational curriculum was imposed in all Korean schools, which meant that before the Japanese banned the practice of fighting arts in Korea in 1909, all Korean boys were taught judo and kendo. The Japanese ban on the martial arts in 1909 was not able to suppress their practice completely. In fact, some believe that the ban actually increased the practice, which moved to the Buddhist monasteries, a traditional place of refuge for out-of-favor warriors. T'aeggyon or Tae Kyon, continued to be practiced at Tan O Nol ("youth festivals") until the art was outlawed in 1920. Among its practitioners were Dok-Ki Song and Il-Dong Han. It was under Il-Dong Han in the 1930s that Hong Hi Choi, the future “Father of Tae Kwon Do,” began his martial arts instruction (Dong was Choi’s calligraphy instructor, and began teaching Tae Kyon to Choi because he was so frail). The ban on the martial arts was obviously not effective, and eventually the Japanese lifted the ban to fulfill military requirements during World War II. Judo and Juken-jutsu (bayonet art) began to be taught in 1941, and by 1943 Karate and Kung-fu were also officially introduced to Koreans. All of these arts enjoyed widespread popularity. Hong Hi Choi, the future “father of Tae Kwon Do,” was meanwhile busy learning Shotokan Karate. To further his education, he was sent to Kyoto in 1937, where he met Mr. Kim, a Korean instructor of Shotokan Karate. After two years of training, Choi gained his 1st Dan. He then went on to the University of Tokyo where he continued his training and gained his 2nd Dan, after which he taught Shotokan Karate at the Tokyo YMCA. After Korea’s liberation in 1945, the native arts of Tae Kyon and Subak resurfaced. Among the other styles that surfaced at this time were Bang Soo Do, Kong Soo Do (“Way of the Empty Hand”), Kwon Bop, Tae Soo Do (“Way of the Foot and Hand”), and Tang Soo Do (“Way of the Tang Hand”). The Japanese occupation of Korea had obviously renewed Korean interest in the martial arts, and several Kwans (“schools”) quickly opened in Seoul. These became known as the original 5 Kwans. The first to open was the Chung Do Kwan (a.k.a. Chong Do Kwan, “Gym of the Blue Wave”), which was founded by Won Kook Lee in 1945 in Yong Chun, Seoul. The Moo Duk Kwan was founded later that year by Hwang Kee, who taught an art he eventually named Tang Soo Do (“Way of the Chinese Hand”). The third school was the Yun Moo Kwan, founded by Sup Chun Sang (a.k.a. Sup Jun Sang). The Chang Moo Kwan was founded by Yun Pyung (a.k.a. In Yoon Byung) at a YMCA in 1946, and was followed quickly by the Chi Do Kwan, founded by Yon Kue Pyang. With the outbreak of World War II, Choi was forced to enlist in the Japanese army. While at his post in Pyongyang, North Korea, Choi was implicated as the planner of the Korean Independence Movement and was sent to a Japanese prison for about eight months. While in prison, to prevent boredom and keep physically fit, Choi began practicing his art in his cell. In a short time, his cellmate and guard became students of his. Eventually, the whole prison courtyard became one gigantic gymnasium. The liberation in August 1945 spared Choi from an imposed seven year prison sentence. Following his release, the ex-prisoner journeyed to Seoul where he organized a student soldier’s party. In January of the following year, Choi was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the new South Korean Army. Following his release from prison and commission in the Korean Army, Hong Hi Choi rapidly rose through the ranks, possibly aided by his martial arts experience Hong Hi Choi, began to hone his Tae Kwon Do skills as Company Commander in Kwang-Ju, where he taught his entire company various arts he had trained in. In 1946 he was promoted to first lieutenant and was transferred to Tae Jon and put in command of the 2nd Infantry Regiment. While at his new post, Choi began spreading the art not only to Korean soldiers, but also to the Americans (GI’s) stationed there. This was the first introduction to Americans of what would eventually become known as Tae Kwon Do. In 1947, Choi was first promoted to Captain and then Major. In 1948, Maj. Choi became the martial arts instructor for the American Military Police School in Seoul. In late 1948, he became a Lieutenant Colonel. In 1949, Choi was promoted to full Colonel and visited the United States for the first time, attending the Fort Riley Ground General School in Kansas, where he gave a public demonstration of Korean karate. In 1951, Choi was promoted to Brigadier General. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korea) and U.S. (South Korea) zones of occupation. In 1948 rival governments were established. When North Korean forces invaded South Korea, the UN authorized member nations to aid South Korea. In October 1950 Chinese Communist forces joined the North Korean army and fighting centered around the 38th parallel. In 1951 negotiations for a cease-fire began at Panmunjom; the war ended on July 27, 1953. After the Korean War (1950 -1953), President Syngman Rhee wanted a self-defense curriculum for the entire South Korean military. President Rhee sanctioned adopting Gen. Choi’s art after seeing a demonstration. 1953 brought the creation of the 29th Infantry Division at Cheju Island, which eventually became the spearhead of Tae Kwon Do in the military and established Oh Do Kwan (Gym of My Way), where Choi succeeded not only in training his core group of instructors for the entire military, but also developing the Tae Kyon and Karate techniques he learned into a modern system of Tae Kwon Do. All active military personnel with any experience in martial arts were called to create the Division. Any active duty personnel with the experience of any level of martial art from different Divisions were then transferred and inducted into the 29th Infantry Division. They were trained to the level of black belt (because there was a shortage of instructors) and sent out to train other Divisions. Choi was aided by Tae Hi Nam, his right hand man in 1954. In 1952, Tae Hi Nam was stationed in Ft. Benning, Georgia, and received a lot of publicity when he demonstrated before military troops and the public. Perhaps one of the earlier un-credited stateside introductions to the future Tae Kwon Do. Mr. Nam eventually became General Choi’s highest ranking and most prestigious student. Mr. Nam is the only person to be promoted to 9th Degree (9th Dan) by General Choi Hong Hi. Technically, 1955 signaled the beginning of Tae Kwon Do as a formally recognized art in Korea. During that year, a special board was formed which included the leading masters of the Kwans. According to both Choi and Duk-Sung Son, the conference chose the name of t’aekwondo (“smashing-kick fist way”). The spelling has changed to many deviations over the years. Both Son and Choi claim credit for invention of the name Tae Kwon Do. Choi claims he chose the name because of its similarity to t’aeggyon (Tae Kyon), and because the names tangsudo and kongsudo “referenced Chinese or Japanese martial arts.” Son, on the other hand, claims that he was “directly responsible for searching out and popularizing the original name of Tae Kwon Do.” Choi claims the name was chosen on Apr. 11, 1955, while Son claims it was chosen at the first meeting of the Ch’ongdokwan board of directors on Dec. 19, 1955. Despite the evidence of Choi and Son, it is believed by other prominent authorities that Tae Kwon Do was originally called “t’aesudo” , “Tae Soo Do” or “Tae Su Do” (“smashing-kick hand way”). Kee Hwang, Pyong-Chik Ro, and Kim Soo give “t’aesudo” as the early name for the art that came to be Tae Kwon Do. Jong-Rok Kim of the Kukkiwon also supports this view by stating that the Korean Tae Kwon Do Association (K.T.A.) formed on September 14, 1961 was originally “the Tae Soo Do Association.” However, according to Jong-Rok Kim this was when the Korean Tae Soo Do Association was given official membership in the Korean National Sports Association (KNSA), and that the name Tae Kwon Do was not fully accepted by all Koreans until August, 1965. According to an interview given by General Choi, Tae Kwon Do was the original name and it was later changed against his wished to Tae Soo Do. In 1959, Tae Kwon Do spread beyond Korea. Choi and nineteen of his top Black Belts toured the Far East. The tour was a major success, astounding all spectators with the excellence of the Tae Kwon Do techniques. Also in 1959, Choi was elevated to two illustrious posts; President of the newly-formed Korea Tae Kwon Do Association, and the deputy commander of the 2nd Army in Tae Gu. In 1959, Maj. Gen. Choi attended a “modern weapon familiarization course” in Texas, and used his extra time to visit a Tae Kwon Do school there. But how could Tae Kwon Do already have made its way to the US? We would all like to think that General Choi was responsible for Tae Kwon Do in America, but history may prove otherwise. In 1956, Jhoon Rhee arrived in Texas for military training by the USAF. While there, he taught what was possibly, the first American class in Tae Kwon Do. He was called back almost immediately to complete a year of active duty in the Korean Army, but he then returned to Texas in late 1957 to attend San Marcos Southwest Texas State College. After a demo as a freshman, the first Tae Kwon Do club was formed. Rhee later transferred to the University of Texas at Austin and taught in an even larger club. Rhee trained with the above mentioned Duk-Sung Son under Grandmaster Won Kuk Lee, the founder of Ch’ongdokwan. In the year 1960, General Choi visited Jhoon Rhee’s Karate Club in San Antonio, where he convinced the students to use the name Tae Kwon Do instead of Karate. Thus Jhoon Rhee is known as the first Tae Kwon Do instructor in America. This marked the beginning of Tae Kwon Do in the United States of America. Then in 1962, he moved to Washington, D.C. to become a professional instructor. Jhoon Rhee has remained a major contributor to Tae Kwon Do. It was Jhoon Rhee who first introduced padded sparring gear in the early 1970s. In the mean time back in Korea, Hee-Il Cho joined the army in 1961 as a 4th Dan in Tangsudo; he became a t’aesudo (Tae Soo Do) instructor and learned the Chang Hon forms designed by Gen. Choi. As a result, he is today known as one of the foremost Tae Kwon Do instructors. As we all know Master Hee-Il Cho was responsible for bringing Tae Kwon Do to the New England area around 1969. About the same time Hee-Il Cho was joining the army, S. Henry Cho opened what is believed to be the first permanent commercial Tae Kwon Do school in the U.S. It was located on Twenty-Seventh Street in New York City and had about four dozen people working out at it. He is still located in New York today although not at the original location. He came from the Chi Do Kwan School; one of the original 5 Kwan’s which used General Choi’s Chang Hon Forms when the Kwans were unified. In 1965, Tae Kwon Do became the official Korean national martial art. The International Tae Kwon Do Federation (ITF) was founded on March 22, 1966. Nov. 26, 1967, the U.S. Tae Kwon Do Association was formed. The USTA was superseded in 1974 by the U.S. Tae Kwon Do Federation (USTF). Other notable figures in the martial arts were Ernest Lieb, USAF, studied karate under Chun Il Sup while stationed in Korea and became the first karate chairman of the AAU and later the President of the American Karate Association. Atlee Chittim, 1948, returned from Korea where he had studied Tae Kwon Do, and became affiliated with the USKA. He gave limited instruction at various YMCA’s in San Antonio, Texas, and in 1955, he began teaching at San Antonio College, as a brown belt. Some say it was Chittim who sponsored Jhoon Rhee’s entry into the United States in 1956. In any event, it was Rhee who later promoted Chittim to black belt. Allen Steen, karate pioneer in the American Southwest, who started karate under Jhoon Rhee in 1959 at the University of Texas, earned his black belt in 1962, and in 1963, he promoted his first black belt. Allen Steen was Keith Yates teacher, a noted forms expert. In 1966, he was a member of the victorious U.S. National Karate Team in Hawaii. That same year, he won the International Karate Championships in Long Beach, beating Chuck Norris and Joe Lewis. As an interesting side note, Chuck Norris was responsible for bringing American Karate into Popularity in the 70’s to 80’s. Chuck Norris Began his training in Tang Soo Do when he was stationed in the USAF in Korea. His Teacher in Korea was Jae Chul Shin, who also immigrated to the US in 1967 and heads his own organization today called the World TSD Association. Jae Chul Shin was a student of Grandmaster Hwang Kee who was one of the founders of the original 5 Kwans, Moo Duk Kwan. I find it interesting that the lineage of some of the greatest martial artist can be traced back to the original 5 Kwans even predating Tae Kwon Do. One last note related to Chuck Norris. Master Hee Il Cho purchased his Los Angelas Studio from Chuck Norris when Master Cho left Rhode Island to pursue his movie career. Chuck Norris was awarded and 8th Dan from Gen. Choi in ITF Tae Kwon Do. As a sport, Tae Kwon Do progressed quite slowly. In 1962, Tae Kwon Do was included as one of the official events in the 43rd Annual National Athletic Meet. In May, 1973, the first biennial World Tae Kwon Do Championships were held in Seoul, with more than thirty countries participating. Tae Kwon Do’s big break came when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognized and admitted the WTF in July, 1980. In May 1982, Tae Kwon Do was named an official Demonstration Sport for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. It was an official Olympic Sport in the 1992 games in Barcelona.