Taekwondo, Tae Kwon Do or Taekwon-Do is a Korean martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. The literal translation for tae kwon do is "kicking", "punching", and "the art or way of". They are a kind of martial arts in which one attacks or defends with hands and feet anytime or anywhere, with occasional use of weapons. The physical training undertaken in Taekwondo is purposeful and fosters strength of mind through mental armament.
Dae Sung Lee is a Korean-American master of taekwondo who holds the rank of 7th dan. Lee is a 10-time US national taekwondo team member and two-time Olympic coach. He served as taekwondo coach for the US Summer Olympic team in 1992.
Tang Soo Do refers to a Korean martial art based on Karate and may include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts. Before the Nine Kwans united and formed the martial art Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do was used by select Kwans to identify their Karate-derived martial arts style.
ATA Martial Arts, formerly known as the American Taekwondo Association (ATA), was founded in 1969 in Omaha, Nebraska by Haeng Ung Lee of South Korea.
Taekwondo was introduced to the Philippines through the efforts of Kim Bok Man and Young Man Park. Grand Master Kim Bok Man arrived in 1970 to continue Park's legacy of propagating Taekwondo upon the invitation of President Marcos. Kim continued to pioneer Taekwondo worldwide and left the Philippines in 1971. In 1975, Grand Master Hong Sung-chon came to the Philippines to promote Taekwondo, eventually establishing the Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA). The current central headquarters of the PTA is at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. The PTA is a member of the Kukkiwon, World Taekwondo Federation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Asian Taekwondo Union.
Edward B. Sell was an American martial arts instructor, and the highest ranking non-Korean practitioner of tae kwon do, holding the honorary rank of 10th degree black belt in the art. Sell founded the U.S. Chung Do Kwan Association.
Kyongwon Ahn, 9th dan (Kukkiwon), is a South Korean taekwondo master who founded the United Taekwondo Association (UTA) in the United States.
Kim Byong-Cheol, also known as Kim Byung Chul, is a South Korean Taekwondo practitioner. He won a gold medal for South Korea at the 1992 Summer Olympics in the Taekwondo featherweight division. Taekwondo was still considered a demonstration sport at that time.
Tae-hong Choi was a grandmaster in taekwondo, winner of multiple martial arts titles and a teacher of thousands of students in Oregon.
Kim Pyung-soo, also known as Kim Soo, is a South Korean taekwondo practitioner.
Kim Ki-whang, also known in the United States as Ki-whang Kim, was a Korean martial arts grandmaster. He was chairman in the US of the Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Association, Chairman of the US Olympic Taekwondo team 1988. He helped unify several Korean martial arts into the overall style of taekwondo.
Sun-hwan Chung, also known as James Sun-hwan Chung, is one of the highest-ranking Tang Soo Do, Hapkido, and taekwondo grandmasters in the world. He is founder of the Moo Sool Do form of martial arts and is president of the World Academy of Martial Arts, LLC.
Kim Un-yong or Un Yong Kim was a South Korean sports administrator, vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, and founding member of the WTF executive board. Kim Un-yong was elected the president of the Korean Taekwondo Association on 23 January 1971. He received a doctorate in Political Science in 1963 from the Yonsei University. Kim retired from the WTF presidency in 2004 and was succeeded by Chungwon Choue.
Dong Ja Yang is the former chairman of the AAU National Taekwondo Union from 1979-84. From 1984-88, He was a member of the Executive Board of the United States Olympic Committee. Earning a Ph.D. in counseling psychology, Yang introduced taekwondo to 77 colleges in the U.S. from 1977-83. During these years, he was essential in helping raise taekwondo to Olympic status. He taught Taekwondo for 35 years at Howard University. In 1986, Yang asked WTF President Kim Un-Yong to lower the black belt fee for taekwondo, which resulted in Yang's removal from the WTF Pan American Taekwondo Union. In 1988, three of his students earned medals in the Seoul Summer Olympics: Lynnette Love, Debra Holloway and Sharon Jewell. He received an award from Congressman Ralph Metcalfe for his work in bringing women to taekwondo. He also hosted the Howard University Taekwondo Championships. In 2001, he filed a complaint against the United States Taekwondo Union. Yang was elected to the Taekwondo Hall of Fame and holds a 9th degree black belt.
Jay Warwick is a former United States Olympian in taekwondo. Warwick won bronze medals in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and 1987 Barcelona World Championships, gold at the 1986 Pan Am Championships and silver in 1982, bronze at the 1987 Pan Am Games and 8 national titles. In 1999, he became executive director of the United States Taekwondo Union then Director of Sport Partnerships with the United States Olympic Committee in 2003 and in 2018 became Secretary General of USA Taekwondo. Outside sports, he had a long career as a restaurateur.
Terry PoindexterGautreaux was a former US Olympian who competed in taekwondo.
Brenda J. Sell is an American martial arts instructor, and the highest ranking non-Korean female practitioner of taekwondo, according to the Kukkiwon, an international ranking body within Taekwondo. She holds the rank of 9th degree black belt in the art.
Karate was first introduced to American service men after World War II by Japanese and Okinawan karate masters.
Chavela Aaron is a former international competitor for Taekwondo and Karate. She competed in the 1992 US Olympic Trials as well as other competitions. She earned a silver in the 1991 World Taekwondo Championships in the middleweight division. Originally from Boston, she has also lived in Jacksonville, Florida.
