Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving punching and kicking techniques. The word Taekwondo can be translated as tae, kwon, and do. In addition to its five tenets of courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit, the sport requires three physical skills: poomsae (품새), kyorugi (겨루기) and gyeokpa (격파).
Hapkido is a Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. It also teaches the use of traditional weapons, including knife, sword, rope, nunchaku, cane, short stick, and middle-length staff, gun, and bō (Japanese), which vary in emphasis depending on the particular tradition examined.
Jae-chul Shin was a Korean martial artist and founder of the World Tang Soo Do Association.
Tang Soo Do is a Korean martial art based on karate and can include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts. From its beginnings in 1944 to today, Tang Soo Do is used by some Kwans to identify the traditional Korean fusion of fighting styles. In the mid 1950s, it became the basis for the martial art taekwondo when the Korean Nine Kwans united.
Korea Taekwondo Association, originally the Korea Tang Soo Do Association (1961), is the first taekwondo organisation. It was founded in 1959,[a] although official South Korean sources give 1961 as its year of establishment.[b] In 1966, some members of the KTA, led by H. H. Choi, broke off from the KTA and formed the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF). The Kukkiwon and the then-World Taekwondo Federation were created by the KTA in the early 1970s. The KTA sits under the Korea Sports Council, is aligned with Kukkiwon, and is a Member National Association (MNA) of the WT. Its goal is to promote the martial art taekwondo as a national sport within South Korea.
Chung Do Kwan, created by Won Kuk Lee in 1944, is one of the first of nine schools or kwan teaching Tang Soo Do. Later, the school began to teach what came to be known as taekwondo. This style of Tang Soo Do is known for its overall power and emphasis on kicks to the head.
Kwan in Korean literally means building or hall, but in the context of martial arts can also refer to a school or clan of martial artists who follow the same style or leader.
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.
Rhee Jhoon-goo, commonly known as Jhoon Rhee, was a Korean-American taekwondo practitioner. He is widely recognized as the "father of American taekwondo" for introducing the Korean martial art to the United States when he immigrated in the 1950s. He was a 10th dan black belt and held the title of Grandmaster.
Lewis Ray "Skipper" Mullins Was an American martial arts fighter who has been described as "the greatest kicker in the history of the U.S. karate scene".
Kim Pyung-soo, also known as Kim Soo, is a South Korean taekwondo practitioner.
Nam Tae-hi was a pioneering South Korean master of taekwondo and is known as the "Father of Vietnamese Taekwondo". With Choi Hong-hi, he co-founded the "Oh Do Kwan" and led the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association (KTA).
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 and chairman of the US Olympic Taekwondo team in 1988. He helped unify several Korean martial arts into the overall style of taekwondo.
Son Duk-sung was a martial artist, Grand Master, 9th degree black belt, co-founder of the Korean martial art of Tae Kwon Do, successor of Lee Won-kuk and leader of the Chung Do Kwan school (1950–1959). He was also the chief Instructor of the South Korean Army and the Eighth U.S. Army, founder and president of the World Tae Kwon Do Association and author of the books "Korean Karate, the Art of Tae Kwon Do” and “Black Belt Korean Karate ".
Lee Won-kuk was a South Korean martial artist, who founded Chung Do Kwan. He introduced karate to Korea in 1944, creating his own style known as Tang Soo Do Chung Do Kwan style, which became Taekwondo as of 1955; instilling a profound influence in this martial art through teaching future masters and authoring the book “Tae Kwon Do handbook“ in 1968.
Chung Yong-taek was a martial artist, 9th degree black belt in taekwondo, belonging to the first Chung Do Kwan school Black Belt promotion and pupil of Lee Won-kuk. He was also the first Korean instructor in open a Chung Do Kwan school outside Korea, in Japan on 1952, and vice president of the World Taekwondo Association.
Frank Massar is a British martial artist. He currently holds the rank of 9th Dan in Taekwondo and is the founder of Massar Taekwondo Association. He has achieved six “Combat Hall of Fame Awards”, and holds several national and international competition titles. He is also featured in many magazines and books. He studied under Won Kuk Lee and also under Pak Hae Man of Chung Do Kwan. Massar received his Dan qualification directly from Kukkiwon (WTF) and graduated from Chung Do Kwan. Massar's precept is to share his knowledge of martial arts with the community at large, 'Passing on the Gift' and keeps in constant contact with various educational associations to achieve this end.
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.
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.
United States